Innovation has a name - Oerlikon Balzers

Processes for surface treatment Processes for the surface treatment of tools and precision components

Electro- or chemical plating (hard chromium, chemical nickel)

Advantages:

• Good corrosion resistance
• Low processing temperature
• Deposition also in bore holes, slots etc.

Disadvantages:

• Limited selection of coating materials
• Relatively soft coatings
• Ecologically problematic treatment baths (include cyanide, heavy metals, fluorides, oils and greases)
• Limited accuracy of surface replication

Diffusion processes (Nitriding, nitrocarburisation, boronizing, phosphating, etc.)

Advantages:

• Good corrosion resistance
• Good reproducibility

Disadvantages:

• Relatively soft coatings
• Limited selection of base material (must be suitable for nitriding)
• Long processing times
• Substances from processing are damaging to the environment and to health
• Post-treatment required

CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition)

Advantages:

• High wear resistance
• Economic production of thicker coatings
• Also suitable for bore holes, slots etc.

Disadvantages:

• High processing temperatures
• Coatings with several metals (e.g. TiAlN) are not possible
• Edges become rounded (coating thickness)
• Uses ecologically problematic, toxic metal chlorides

PACVD (Plasma-Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition)

Advantages:

• Significantly lower process temperatures are possible than for CVD
• Precise coatings
• Low temperatures

Disadvantages:

• Only limited suitability for bore holes, slots etc.

PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition)

Advantages:

• No environmentally damaging materials and emissions, no toxic reaction products
• Great variety of coatings can be produced
• Coating temperature below the fineal heat treatment temperature of most steels
• Small, precisely reproducible coating thickness (accurate surface replication, true to size,
• High wear resistance
• Low frictional coefficient

Disadvantages:

• Bore holes, slots etc. can only be coated down to a depth equal to the diameter or width of the opening
• Corrosion resistant only under certain conditions
• In order to achieve a uniform coating thickness, the parts to be coated must be rotated during processing

P3e^TM (pulse Enhanced Electron Emission)

Advantages:

• All advantages of PVD technology
• Great variety of oxide based coatings possible
• First alpha-aluminium oxide based coating by a PVD process
• Low deposition temperature (600°C) compared to CVD (1'000°C) for deposition of alpha-aluminium oxide

Disadvantages:

• Same as for PVD technology