PVD Coatings
Welcome to the website for PVD Coatings, a class of vacuum coating processes used to deposit thin film coatings that improve the characteristics and functionality of tools and machine parts. Numerous sectors and hundreds or perhaps thousands of applications as diverse as “self-cleaning” windows, medical implants, cutting tools, decorative fittings, and Formula 1 racing parts use PVD coatings that are deposited using vacuum coating machines.
Coated cutting tools.
Coatings are used to increase the life and productivity of cutting and machine tools.
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Low friction coatings
Low friction coatings are used to reduce energy losses due to friction in automotive applications.
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Magnetron sputtering.
A coating method as versatile as magnetron sputtering can be utilised to cover almost any material. Sputtering is essentially the energetic bombardment of a solid’s surface layers by ions or neutral particles in order to remove atomized material from it.
Magnetron Sputtering
Here’s an example of a magnetron sputtering target in action. You can see the blue glow discharge or plasma formed by ionising a neutral gas such as argon.
Common PVD coatings
TiN Coating
Due to its appealing bright gold hue, TiN is still the most recognisable PVD coating used to successfully mill steel in industry.
TiAlN Coating
In many applications, TiAlN has supplanted TiN. The TiAlN coating’s hue can vary and is based on the Ti:Al ratio in the coating; it can be anything from black to bronze. For a variety of metal machining and manufacturing applications, TiAlN delivers outstanding performance.
CrN Coating
CrN coatings are tough thin film coatings with high hardness, good oxidation resistance, and a low coefficient of friction for a ceramic coating, making them perfect for metal and plastic forming applications. They have a metallic silver-like appearance.