Electroforming is a special type of electroplating in which a part is fabricated by the deposition of the desired metal on a form called a mandrel or matrix. The electrodeposited metal is built up to the desired thickness on the mandrel, and then the two are separated.

Electroforming offers a wide range of control over strength, density, porosity, and purity of the deposited metal to meet individual product needs. Extremely fine molds and dies can be electroformed from a variety of metals, most commonly copper, nickel, and iron. The virtually perfect surface reproducibility offered by electroforming makes it ideal for such dimensionally critical applications as lens molds, embossing plates, fine printing plates, and high-resolution optical disk molds. KEYWORDS for this process: electroformers