System and method for electroformed coating on a component

Abstract

An electroforming system and method includes disposing a cathode defining a mandrel within an electrolytic solution, and applying a voltage to the cathode in the electrolytic solution to form a coating on the cathode. The coating can be formed as an amorphous coating, having no discernible grain boundaries or no discernible long-range order.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of coating a component, the method comprising:
 electrodepositing a coating onto a cathode submerged within an electrolytic solution, wherein the cathode is the turbine engine component, and wherein the electrolytic solution comprises:
 40-70% by volume nickel sulphamate; 
 1-15% by volume cobalt sulphamate; 
 20-50% by volume deionized water; 
 0.1-10 milliliters per liter of a wetting agent; 
 0.01-50 gram per liter of boric acid; and 
 0.01-1 grams per liter of phosphorus acid; 
   wherein the coating is amorphous defined by the coating comprising no discernable grains or the coating comprising grains with average grain size less than 20 nanometers.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the coating has no discernible grain boundaries. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the coating has no discernible long-range order. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the grains have average grain sizes less than 5 nanometers. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the coating is a nickel-cobalt phosphate. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the cathode is aluminum. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the wetting agent is a paraffin additive. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the electrolytic solution comprises 0.01-10 grams per liter of saccharin. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein electrodepositing further includes passing a voltage through the electrolytic solution, wherein the current is greater than 0.5 and less than 5 volts. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein a pH of the electrolytic solution is greater than two and less than six. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein a temperature of the electrolytic solution is greater than 35° C. and less than 65° C. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the component is a fan blade. 
     
     
         13 . A component comprising:
 a coating electrodeposited onto a surface of the component, wherein the coating is amorphous defined by the coating comprising no discernable grains or grains having an average grain size that are less than 20 nanometers.   
     
     
         14 . The component of  claim 13  wherein the average grain size is less than 5 nanometers. 
     
     
         15 . The component of  claim 13  wherein the coating has no discernible grain size. 
     
     
         16 . The component of  claim 13  wherein the grains have no discernible long-range order. 
     
     
         17 . The component of  claim 13  wherein a Vickers hardness of the coating is greater than 500 kg/mm 2 . 
     
     
         18 . The component of  claim 13  wherein the coating is a nickel-cobalt phosphate. 
     
     
         19 . The component of  claim 13  wherein the coating comprises a thickness that is greater than or equal to 1 micrometer and less than or equal to 75 micrometers. 
     
     
         20 . The component of  claim 13  wherein the surface is aluminum.