GB2031024A - Process for Electroforming from Natural Flowers - Google Patents
Process for Electroforming from Natural Flowers Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2031024A GB2031024A GB7839612A GB7839612A GB2031024A GB 2031024 A GB2031024 A GB 2031024A GB 7839612 A GB7839612 A GB 7839612A GB 7839612 A GB7839612 A GB 7839612A GB 2031024 A GB2031024 A GB 2031024A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- flower
- electroplating
- electroforming
- plating
- deposited
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 14
- 238000005323 electroforming Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 12
- 238000009713 electroplating Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 30
- 238000007747 plating Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 18
- 239000000243 solution Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 239000000470 constituent Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 239000008151 electrolyte solution Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 5
- 238000001035 drying Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 3
- 238000004140 cleaning Methods 0.000 claims abstract 2
- PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N gold Chemical compound [Au] PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 18
- 239000010931 gold Substances 0.000 description 18
- 229910052737 gold Inorganic materials 0.000 description 18
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 13
- 239000003973 paint Substances 0.000 description 9
- RYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N Copper Chemical compound [Cu] RYGMFSIKBFXOCR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 7
- LFQSCWFLJHTTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ethanol Chemical compound CCO LFQSCWFLJHTTHZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 239000012153 distilled water Substances 0.000 description 6
- 241000233855 Orchidaceae Species 0.000 description 5
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 5
- 239000002253 acid Substances 0.000 description 4
- 206010001497 Agitation Diseases 0.000 description 3
- 239000003792 electrolyte Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 3
- CSCPPACGZOOCGX-UHFFFAOYSA-N Acetone Chemical compound CC(C)=O CSCPPACGZOOCGX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 206010070834 Sensitisation Diseases 0.000 description 2
- 239000000654 additive Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000013019 agitation Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000011159 matrix material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 239000002904 solvent Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000003756 stirring Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000005406 washing Methods 0.000 description 2
- 239000004809 Teflon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920006362 Teflon® Polymers 0.000 description 1
- RTAQQCXQSZGOHL-UHFFFAOYSA-N Titanium Chemical compound [Ti] RTAQQCXQSZGOHL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000005388 borosilicate glass Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000011109 contamination Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052802 copper Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010949 copper Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000005034 decoration Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002950 deficient Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000008367 deionised water Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 210000005224 forefinger Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 238000013467 fragmentation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000006062 fragmentation reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 235000011389 fruit/vegetable juice Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 230000000855 fungicidal effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000000417 fungicide Substances 0.000 description 1
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-M hydroxide Chemical compound [OH-] XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 1
- 239000002917 insecticide Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000005416 organic matter Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000010422 painting Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000049 pigment Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011148 porous material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000010970 precious metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001235 sensitizing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910052709 silver Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000004332 silver Substances 0.000 description 1
- 210000003813 thumb Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 239000010936 titanium Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052719 titanium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000000007 visual effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005303 weighing Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
- C25D—PROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PRODUCTION OF COATINGS; ELECTROFORMING; APPARATUS THEREFOR
- C25D1/00—Electroforming
Landscapes
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Electrochemistry (AREA)
- Materials Engineering (AREA)
- Metallurgy (AREA)
- Organic Chemistry (AREA)
- Electroplating Methods And Accessories (AREA)
- Electroplating And Plating Baths Therefor (AREA)
Abstract
A process for electroforming from natural flowers comprises the steps of cleaning a selected flower, attaching the selected flower to a support member and coating the selected flower with a conductive medium, immersing the coated flower in an electroplating bath containing an electrolyte solution of the metal to be deposited and repeatedly electroplating until a desired depth of plating has been deposited, removing the plated flower from the electroplating medium and rinsing in a cleansing solution, drying the cleaned flower and applying a high pressure liquid jet through the flower stem to eject the disintegrated constituents of the flower from within the plated surface to leave an electroformed replica of the original flower.
Description
SPECIFICATION
Process for Electroforming from Natural
Flowers
This invention relates to electroforming from natural flowers, which term embraces any parts of flowers such as petals and leaves, and is particularly, but not exclusively concerned with the gold electroforming of orchids. Such electroformed flowers are used for decoration, for example jewellery.
The electroplating of leaves and flowers has been proposed, although the plating of natural orchids poses special problems because of their particular shape, texture, surface and pore juices, cell fluids, and the action of any insecticide or fungicide used on them during cultivation.
The present invention is a development of electroplating into electroforming, in which the constituents of the original natural flower are removed once the electroformed replica has been produced.
According to one aspect of the invention a process for electroforming from natural flowers, comprises the steps of cieaning a selected flower, attaching the selected flower to a support member, and coating the selected flower with a conductive medium, immersing the coated flower in an electroplating bath containing an electrolyte solution of the metal to be deposited, subjecting the coated flower to an electroplating process by making it an electrode and repeating the electroplating process until a desired depth of plating has been deposited, removing the plated flower from the electroplating medium and rinsing in a cleansing solution, during the cleaned flower and applying a high pressure liquid jet through the flower stem to eject the disintegrated constituents of the flower from within the plated surface to leave an electroformed replica of the original flower.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an electroformed flower produced by a process according to the immediately preceding paragraph.
Any plating irregularities can be ground off the electroformed flower which can also be acid cleaned, rinsed with water and other cleansing chemicals both inside and out and briefly returned to the electroplating bath for a finished deposit of plating metal.
There now follows a description of a particular embodiment of the invention, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows diagrammatically a simple electroplating bath for gold plating and electroforming of orchids.
A selected flower is subjected to preliminary preparatory treatment before processing with the apparatus illustrated. In this case an orchid is selected for desired characteristics, in particular prominentvein detail, slightly twisted profile and curly edges. Generally the flowers should be of good shape and freshly cut and free from any visual imperfections from the flower spike.
The selected flower is severed from its original stem, leaving about 1 cm length of stem on the flower. The anthers and sticky substance on the stigma are removed and any crevice in the orchid lip is filled with soft white paper tissue. This is then coated with a thin layer of special adhesive, which is also applied around the stalk base to the flower, on the stigma, between the petals and sepal attachment, in order to level out any furrows and depressions.
The cut flower is then attached to a support in the form of a length of copper wire, suitably, for example, .35 mm in diameter and of 16 cm in length. Both ends of this wire are threaded through the flower stem and then the wire is twisted a few turns around the stem in order to secure the wire firmly to it. Care is taken not to wind the wire too tightly around the stem, otherwise fragmentation of the stem may occur and the flower will become detached.
The flower is subjected to an initial sensitisation process prior to electroplating and electroforming and in this sensitisation process the flower is dipped into a conductive paint containing silver as a conductive pigment. The flower is removed from the paint medium after coating and held to allow excess paint to flow into ali recesses, for example the lip and stigmatic opening. Conveniently, the tip of the stem is gripped between the thumb and fore finger and excess paint on the flower may be removed by a gentle flicking action or with a soft painting brush.
The back of the flower is placed on a flat horizontal plastic grid and the flower then shaped.
After the paint has dried, the flower is removed from the grid and any areas devoid of paint are appropriately re-touched.
The flower is then secured by means of the thin copper wire to one end of a long stiff copper wire and the flower petals and sepals are arranged in a plane parallel to this wire so that no air can be trapped in any recessed corners and with the lip cup faced upwards.
If the flowers are small, two or more are attached to one supporting wire. Other mounting arrangements can be employed according to the particular production process in hand.
Any protruding wires are then severed and the painted flowers inspected and re-touched with sensitising paint as necessary. At this stage any flowers which are defective, for example of poor shape or badly wrinkled due to action of the paint solvent, are rejected.
A P.V.C. tpolyvinylchloride) sleeve or sheath is fitted onto the supporting wire right up to the connecting wire attachment in order to prevent this wire from being gold plated. In practice, before use these sleeves must be leached in hot, dilute, medium-strength hydroxide solution (20% is sufficient), then immersed in water and acid washed, followed by thorough rinsing in water.
The flower is then subjected to a pre-plating step using-an electroplating bath as illustrated.
The particular plating details will depend upon the scale of production and in this case a simple system is illustrated, consisting of a one litre solution of electroplating medium, in this case a gold electrolyte solution 16, contained in a 1.5 litre squat-form, heat-resistant, borosilicate glass beaker 1 5. Agitation of the electrolyte 1 6 is effected by a stirrer rod 21, driven from below the beaker 1 5 by a combined magnetic stirrer mechanism and hot plate 22.
A platinised titanium grid 17, measuring 16x25 cm is shaped to fit the curved beaker wall and a stabilised filtered rectifier with accurate current readout is used to control the electroplating current between the anode 1 7 and a cathode 18, which in this case comprises the copper wire 1 8 attached to the flower 12 and to the side of the glass beaker 1 5 by a clip 22. A
P.V.C. sleeve 1 9 protects the end of the wire 1 8 immersed in electrolyte 1 6.
The sensitised flower is slowly lowered into
the gold electrolyte solution 1 6 in the glass
beaker 1 5 and a current switched on. The
supporting wire 1 8 is mounted on the rim of the
beaker 1 5 using the clip 22 so that the flower 12
is spaced marginally from the sides of the beaker
15, and with its front facing the anode 1 7. Initially
a very low current density is set in the bath to
avoid burns on the wires. When the wires have
been completely covered with bright gold deposit,
the electroplating current is increased to plate at
half the recommended current density for the
bath. The electroplating solution 1 6 is agitated
with the stirrer rod 21, which may comprise a 4
cm Teflon (Registered Trade Mark) coated stirring
rod.The stirring speed is increased after the
flower is stiff enough to withstand breakage from
the increased agitation of the electrolyte 1 6. The
flower is pre-plated with stiff bright gold coating
for a minimum time and, if the flower shows areas
devoid of plating, it is removed, rinsed in distilled
water followed by acetone and then dried
whereupon it is re-touched with conductive paint
and subjected to a repeat of the pre-plating
process.
The gold and other bath additives are
replenished according to the operating
requirements of the electroplating bath.
A general requirement of the electroplating
bath is that it should have a very stable filtered
rectifier source of current and a strong inert
container vessei, in which the electroplating
solution can be well agitated at a constant
temperature of controllable value during
electroplating.
Both the pre-plating and gold forming
electroplating bath must be able to produce
sound, strong, fairly hard, bright, uniform and
relatively thick plating deposits and must give exceilent throwing power and be fairly resistant to
organic matter contamination.
After removal from the pre-plating bath, the
flower is re-immersed in an electroplating bath,
which may conveniently be the pre-plating bath
itself, with the same or a different electroplating
solution and this second bath effectively
comprises a build-up bath, in which the plating deposit is increased in thickness. In this 'build-up' bath the flowers are plated under strong agitation until the flower is thick enough to be handled, whereupon it is removed from the bath washed, dried and weighed.
The stem is then trimmed to leave about 2 mm in length and weighing is repeated. The flower is re-wired with .35 mm diameter copper wire to the main copper wire support, with P.V.C. sleeves fitted to prevent gold plating of the copper wires themselves.
The flower is cleaned in an acid cleaner bath and rinsed with distilled water. Following this the flower is treated in a gold strike bath to provide good adhesion of gold deposits on the flower, followed by washing thoroughly in distilled water.
Electroforming is continued until the flower shell is strong. During gold electroforming, the front and back parts of the flower are successively exposed to face the anode at regular intervals in order to enable a uniform build-up of gold plate on both sides. Again gold and other additives are added as required. The fully-formed flower is removed from the electroplating bath and dipped in a drag out solution. The flower is then washed and the support wires removed. After drying the flower is weighed and placed on a heat-resistant glass container. Deionised water is then added to immerse the flower completely, followed by autoclaving for 2 hours at 1.055 kgf/cm2 (15 Ibs.
p.s.i.) followed by cooling.
In order to remove the flower matrix, a fine, high-pressure jet of water is directed through the cut stem end and this forces the disintegrated constituents of the flower matrix to be ejected through the gap between the stem opening and the jet. The flowers are washed with water and finally in distilled water and any water is flicked out from the interior of the flower shell.
Finally a jet of ethanol (at solution concentration of 95% by volume) is introduced through the stem aperture of the flower and both the interior and the exterior rinsed with the solvent. Ethanol is removed from the interior by flicking. The flowers are finally dried under a hot stream of moving air.
The resulting flower is an electroformed replica in a desired precious metal, in this case gold, of the original natural flower.
As a finishing step, any irregularities may be ground off and the flowers acid cleaned, followed by rinsing with water and suitable cleansing chemicals; the interior being rinsed out with a jet of solution as before. A further rinse is carried out with distilled water followed by a gold strike, a general rinse and thorough 'jet' rinsing out of any chemicals from the interior of the flower shell. The flowers can be brightened up in the gold bath for
10 to 30 minutes to provide a finishing coat, any such further plating being followed by cleansing out of all chemicals and washing with distilled water, treatment with ethanol and drying.
Claims (2)
1. A process for electroforming from natural flowers, comprising the steps of cleaning a selected flower, attaching the selected flower to a support member, and coating the selected flower with a conductive medium, immersing the coated flower in an electroplating bath containing an electrolyte solution of the metal to be deposited, subjecting the coated flower to an electroplating process by making it an electrode and repeating the electroplating process until a desired depth of plating has been deposited, removing the plated flower from the electroplating medium and rinsing in a cleansing solution, drying the cleaned flower and applying a high pressure liquid jet through the flower stem to eject the disintegrated constituents of the flower from within the plated surface to leave an electroformed replica of the original flower.
2. An electroformed flower formed by electroplating a natural flower and removing the original flower from within the plated surface by a process as claimed in Claim 1.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7839612A GB2031024B (en) | 1978-10-06 | 1978-10-06 | Process for electoforming from natural flowers |
| HK14784A HK14784A (en) | 1978-10-06 | 1984-02-16 | Process for electroforming from natural flowers |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7839612A GB2031024B (en) | 1978-10-06 | 1978-10-06 | Process for electoforming from natural flowers |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB2031024A true GB2031024A (en) | 1980-04-16 |
| GB2031024B GB2031024B (en) | 1982-03-24 |
Family
ID=10500171
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7839612A Expired GB2031024B (en) | 1978-10-06 | 1978-10-06 | Process for electoforming from natural flowers |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2031024B (en) |
| HK (1) | HK14784A (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN101654038B (en) * | 2009-06-24 | 2012-10-10 | 宁连才 | Method for producing fresh flower refreshing decorations |
| CN102877092A (en) * | 2012-10-18 | 2013-01-16 | 范社强 | Silver or gold and silver peony prepared by adopting electrochemical plating method and preparation method thereof |
-
1978
- 1978-10-06 GB GB7839612A patent/GB2031024B/en not_active Expired
-
1984
- 1984-02-16 HK HK14784A patent/HK14784A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN101654038B (en) * | 2009-06-24 | 2012-10-10 | 宁连才 | Method for producing fresh flower refreshing decorations |
| CN102877092A (en) * | 2012-10-18 | 2013-01-16 | 范社强 | Silver or gold and silver peony prepared by adopting electrochemical plating method and preparation method thereof |
| CN102877092B (en) * | 2012-10-18 | 2015-06-03 | 范社强 | Silver or gold and silver peony prepared by adopting electrochemical plating method and preparation method thereof |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB2031024B (en) | 1982-03-24 |
| HK14784A (en) | 1984-02-24 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| DE4021044C2 (en) | ||
| CN1137576A (en) | Method of producing hollow electoformed product of precious metal | |
| JPH0158277B2 (en) | ||
| GB2031024A (en) | Process for Electroforming from Natural Flowers | |
| CN109972093B (en) | High polymer bionic configuration photothermal conversion material and preparation method and application thereof | |
| CN106400060B (en) | A kind of no golden liquid of cyanogen sulphite casting | |
| US2123297A (en) | Process of preparing perforated metal articles | |
| US4869788A (en) | Dental diamond bar and manufacturing method thereof | |
| FR2530674A1 (en) | PROCESS FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC REMOVAL OF NICKEL DEPOSITS AND NICKEL-IRON ALLOYS FROM COPPER-BASED SUBSTRATES USING ORGANIC CARBOXYLIC ACID OR ITS SALTS AND HALIDES | |
| US4196061A (en) | Direct nickel-plating of aluminum | |
| ES2477589T3 (en) | Metallizing process that does not contain copper cyanide for zinc and zinc alloys | |
| GB2129835A (en) | A method for providing a bi- coloured pattern on a metal ornamental article by coating | |
| JPH01301882A (en) | Method for plating electrically nonconductive body with metal | |
| JP3012762U (en) | Decorative items with antibacterial properties | |
| US1452281A (en) | Metallizing articles | |
| CN106191944A (en) | A kind of preparation method of metal film artware | |
| JPS63212529A (en) | Vacuum molding method for synthetic resin molded product | |
| JPS5837195A (en) | Electrodeposition painting method | |
| JPH0633461B2 (en) | Electroless plating method and pretreatment agent for electroless plating | |
| Kuhn et al. | The electroforming of gold and its alloys | |
| DE2128878A1 (en) | Process for the electro refining of metals and reusable composite electrode for carrying out this process | |
| JPS63213689A (en) | Forming die | |
| JPS63218331A (en) | Method for blow molding synthetic resin molded item | |
| SU710838A1 (en) | Method of relief decorating of articles made of polystyrene-base thermoplastic materials | |
| KR20000000703A (en) | Production method of metal craft work in artistic form |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 732 | Registration of transactions, instruments or events in the register (sect. 32/1977) | ||
| PE20 | Patent expired after termination of 20 years |
Effective date: 19981005 |