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Creation of microchannels in Cu

I am trying to create several rectangular ducts in a block of Cu. The ducts should be on the order of .1mm X .1mm and about 50mm long. The walls of the ducts should be very smooth (roughness around 1um RMS). I have thought about etching these but controlling the depth seems to be a problem. Maybe electroplating the walls of the ducts onto the block might work. Does anyone have any experience doing such things. The masks for the electroplating would have to be very, very accurate.

Please help.

Peter stark
arthur d little - cambridge, Massachusetts
2000

The process of actually making a part rather than a coating is called 'electroforming' and you may find more info using that keyword. Accuracy of masking and electroplating shouldn't be problem, although it is far easier to get a smooth surface on the inside of an electroform (the surface you are electroforming onto) than to get a smooth surface on the outside (the surface that is still wet with plating solution as you pull the part out of the plating tank).

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2000

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