Duralar Technologies, a developer of hard coatings and coating machines has just introduced a new system for high-throughput deposition on the interior and exterior surfaces of metal parts.
The new Emperion system uses plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technology using Duralar's DualArmor hollow cathode process. This creates a high-energy electron field that bathes metal parts in an extremely dense plasma and can coat all surfaces – interior, exterior and complex 3D shapes – with high uniformity. According to Duralar, this eliminates the unevenness that is typical of line-of-sight, spray-type coatings. The plasma also coats parts more rapidly at rates up to 0.5 µm per minute. ‘The Emperion features twin deposition chambers that allow virtually continuous coating and high throughput,’ said Duralar CTO Tom Casserly. ‘While one chamber is processing, the operator can be unloading and reloading the second chamber. Also, the system's proprietary DualArmor process is able to coat parts very rapidly and very evenly, both inside and out.’
Small footprint The Emperion has an 87 x 110 inch footprint, requires less electrical power than most competitive systems, and needs only a small amount of chilled water and process gas, the company says. The system’s two standard deposition chambers are vertically oriented, each 40 inches by 10 inches in diameter, with custom configurations avaiable for specific users. The Emperion is able to apply different PECVD coatings, including Duralar's ArmorLube, which combines hardness up to 2000 HV with dry lubrication. This coating's carbon content provides a natural graphitic lubricity and an extremely low coefficient of friction - less than 0.1.
This story is reprinted from material from Duralar, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
