Resistance to fretting and adhesive wear is critical for load-bearing components such as those in aircraft engines and landing gear - especially under poor lubrication conditions. Aerospace components protected with BALINIT coatings exhibit excellent wear resistance, a low frictional coefficient, functional stability at high temperatures and improved corrosion and erosion resistance.
The solution for wear problems affecting aircraft components starts with an exact analysis of mating surfaces and associated ambient influences, which provides insight into the frictional and wear mechanisms underlying component failure. An effective solution is often provided by a single treatment of the component surface with a coating from the BALINIT® hard coating portfolio.
With Oerlikon Balzers coatings, the aerospace industry benefits from ever more lightweight materials. Moreover, Oerlikon Balzers customers especially value the excellent protection from seizure and extended maintenance cycles of their coated components.
Oerlikon Balzers coating solutions have also been applied in demanding space environments, including NASA’s Artemis missions, from the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022 to the crewed Artemis II mission in 2026.
BALINIT® coatings support critical spacecraft components by reducing fretting and wear, helping to ensure reliable performance under extreme conditions such as vacuum, friction, temperature variations and high mechanical loads. This legacy of space exploration dates back to the historic Apollo 11 mission in 1969, where Oerlikon Balzers’ advanced vacuum and coating technologies helped protect the spacecraft during humankind’s first crewed lunar landing.
