Thin Film applications for the injection molding market. How to increase the productivity of your most valuable molding investment

1. SULZER Metco Thin Film Technology
Dan Schumacher | 27th July 2011

2. Who is Sulzer
MyPresentation | slide 2

3. Where is Sulzer Metco
Aufstrebende Märkte
• Brasilien
• Russland
• Indien
• China
Productions Coating machines Customer service Sales
MyPresentation | slide 3

4. Overview
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5. Portfolio
Arc-PVD
HVOF
Materials for
Plasma
PTA*-welding
DC, HF, HCPMS
PACVD
Arc
IONIT IONIT OX
Adding of materials for PTA Adding of materials by Adding of materials in thin Thermo chemical processes
welding thermal spraying films IONIT IONIT OX
(PVD, PACVD, Hybrid)
Surface
Substrate Substrate Substrate Substrate
MyPresentation | slide 5

6. Overview
General Processes
CVD and PACVD
PVD
– APA Arc, Sputter
Plasma Heat Treatment
– Plasma-nitriding
Special Processes
Combi Treatment
– Nitriding + PVD
Hybrid
– Combination of two high ionization coating technologies (Arc and Sputter; Arc and
HPPMS)
HIPAC
MyPresentation | slide 6

7. Overview
Two basic processes
CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition)
– One or more chemical precursor gases are used CVD
– Chemical reactions in the gas phase
– PACVD / DLC
PACVD
PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition)
– Arc PVD
– Sputter
PVD
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8. Overview
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9. CVD
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10. CVD
CVD
Thermal CVD
- High-temperature PACVD
(900–1050˚C) Plasma-Assisted CVD
- Medium-temperature
(720–900˚C)
Classic
Classic DLC layers
hardcoating layers
hardcoating layers (150–250°C)
(400–600° C)
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11. PVD
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12. PVD
Vacuum measurement Process gas
and control system Vacuum
pumpset
Circular
Evaporators
Window
Power
supplies
Infrared-
temperature-
measurement
Substrate holder
Coating
chamber BIAS Power supply
(substrate)
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13. PVD
PVD coating
Applied to most metal alloys and galvanised products (metals and plastics)
Coating thickness: 0,5 -10 µm
Hardness: 1.000 – 4.000 HV
Temperature resistance: 300 – 900 °C
Deposition temperature: 200 – 600 °C
Structures:
– Multilayer
– Nanostructure Layers
– Modified Layers
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14. PVD
Arc Evaporation:
Thermal electron beam
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Sputter:
DC sputtering
Magnetron sputtering
HF sputtering
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15. PVD
Coating deposited by a classic circular evaporator
Arc
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Coating deposited by an evaporator with
extended magnetic filed
APA Arc
faster spot motion
smaller spot size
less droplet emission
higher evaporation rate
higher target utilization
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16. Thin Film Coatings
Coating design and architecture
substrate substrate substrate substrate substrate substrate
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17. PVD
Benefits
Low friction and low adhesion characters
Strong wear resistance
High hardness, high oxidation resistance and reduced chemical reactions
New developments open up economic machining of new materials
Coating of plastics
Cost reduction
Improved product quality
Longer maintenance intervals
Reduction of coolants and lubricants
Increased life time
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18. Plasma Heat Treatment
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19. Plasma Heat Treatment – Plasma-Nitriding
Conventional heat treatment
Annealing, hardening and tempering
For applications in tribological, corrosive, and mechanical-dynamic systems
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IONIT®: Plasma-nitriding for alloyed steel, cast, sinter, and special materials
IONIT OX®: Special process for improved corrosion and wear protection
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20. Plasma Heat Treatment – Plasma-Nitriding
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21. Plasma Heat Treatment – Plasma-Nitriding
Plasma heat treatment
High surface hardness
Improved resistance against wear, corrosion, and fatigue
Reproducible nitride structure
Activation of high-alloyed steels
High accuracy grade, low distortion
Reduced adhesion and cold welding
Environmentally friendly
Our Service for Customers
Tailored solutions
Treatment of big parts (up to 13 metres length, 10 tons, 1.8 metres diameter)
Long experience (over 40 years)
Consultant service
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22. PACVD - DLC
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23. PACVD - DLC
PACVD (Plasma-Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition)
Takes place at significantly lower temperatures than thermal CVD
Differentiable in two application areas
Deposition of classic hardcoating layers (TiN, TiCN, Al2O3)
Deposition of hard amorphous carbon layers (DLC)
MyPresentation | slide 23

24. PACVD - DLC
System for DLC coatings
advanced arc module
graphite cathode
planetary
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25. PACVD - DLC
DLC coatings
Amorphous Carbon based structure
At temperatures below 200° on the basis of pulsed glow discharges or high-frequency
C
discharges
All DLC coatings have an adhesion layer, multilayer possibly
Coatings can be tailored with respect to:
– Electrical conductivity
– Hydrophobic/hydrophilic behaviour
Applications
Tribological applications
Automotive, Racing, Engineering
Plastic injection and molding
Optical industries
MyPresentation | slide 25

26. PACVD - DLC
Hardness
Coefficient of
friction
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27. PACVD - DLC
Corrosion test
Salt spray exhalation test DIN SS 50021 (100% rel. humidity, 35° 5% NaCl)
C,
New After 192 hours
MyPresentation | slide 27

28. Surface energy
θ θ θ
Metal
DLC TiN TiAlN Carbide
Surface energy is a measure of the affinity to sticking
The lower the value, the less a material will weld or stick to a surface
MyPresentation | slide 28

29. PACVD - DLC
Benefits:
High wear resistance
Low coefficient of friction
Excellent adhesion
Corrosion resistance
Smooth surfaces
Chemical inertness
Possibility to run two coated surfaces against each other for optimal performance and
reliability
MyPresentation | slide 29

30. Combi Treatment
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31. Combi Treatment
Two steps:
Plasma-nitriding
Subsequent PVD or DLC coatings
Plasma-nitrided surfaces considerably improve the supporting effect for PVD
or DLC coating
Surface treatment may be applied either in one single or two separate
processes
1.2344 CrN 1.2344 PN + CrN
[N] [N]
Load
Load
Penetration depth: 33 µm Penetration depth: 6,5 µm
MyPresentation | slide 31

32. Combi Treatment
Basic precondition for successful combi treatment ensures best adhesion of the
PVD layer
Nitriding process usually generates a compound layer that has to be removed
prior to coating
Plot of hardness for a combi treatment
CL = Compound layer
DL = Diffusion layer
SM = Substrate material
MyPresentation | slide 32

33. Combi Treatment
Not to be forgotten is a slight roughening of the surfaces during nitriding
Necessitates intermediate polishing prior to PVD coating therefore permits only
the classic combi treatment in two separate operations
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34. Combi Treatment
Benefits
Optimisation of tool and component properties
Significantly longer tool and component life
Increased production reliability and delivery reliability
All types of PVD coatings can be applied (TiN, CrN, CrN-multilayer, CrN-mod, and DLC)
Improvement of fatigue properties by residual compressive stresses
Can make PVD coatings affordable for mass production
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35. Hybrid
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36. Hybrid
Combination of two high ionization coating technologies
Arc and Sputter
Arc and HPPMS
APA Arc module Magnetron sputter
MyPresentation | slide 36

37. Hybrid
Coating structure
Sputtered
insulating
amorphous
coating 1 µm
Arc deposited
crystalline 2 µm
AlTiN
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38. HIPAC
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39. HIPAC
IOT RWTH Aachen
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40. HIPAC
HIPAC = High Ionisation Plasma for Advanced Coatings
A slight modification of the HPPMS (or HIPIMS) technology
Combination of two high ionization coating technologies
Arc and Sputter
Arc and HPPMS
Characteristics
Low duty time (< 5 %)
low frequency (< 1000 Hz)
High peak power (> 0.5 MW)
Low plasma temperature (possibility to perform low temperature depositions)
MyPresentation | slide 40

41. HIPAC
Deposition in edges and holes
By DC processes
By HIPAC
20 mm
10 mm
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42. HIPAC
Benefits
Very high plasma density
Dense and smooth coatings
High target utilization
Very low substrate temperature
Homogeneous coating thickness in complex substrates
Deposition inside tubes and trenches with high aspect ratios
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43. Pre-Treatment
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44. Pre-Treatment
Cleaning of the surfaces
Wet chemical cleaning of oil, grease and other contaminations
Rinsing of the parts using de-ionized water in a three stage cascade
Blown dry using nitrogen or hot dry air, or dried in a tunnel kiln
Optimization of the roughness profile
Removal of surface layers, or their systematic
Adjustment by means of nitriding
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45. Pre-Treatment
AEGD (Arc-Enhanced Glow Distance)
Ion cleaning: cleaning of the surfaces in plasma
Performed in vacuum coating machine
Removal of reaction layers and activation of the surface
Optimizing adhesion to ensure adequate coating functionality
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46. Post-Treatment
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47. Post-Treatment
Procedures can be used for post-treatment, depending on the application:
Blasting
Brushing
Polishing
Functional layers on tools and components are smoothed
Thanks to their amorphous structure DLC coatings are already very smooth after
coating, no pre-treatment is needed
MyPresentation | slide 47

48. Thin Film Equipment
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49. Thin Film Equipment
Modular METAPLAS-DOMINO technology platform
Magnetron sputter modules
HIPAC technology
DLC technology modules (PACVD, PACVD plus PVD)
Combi Treatments (plasma-nitriding and PVD)
Hybrid technology (sputtering plus Arc, HPPMS plus Arc)
AEGD (Arc-Enhanced Glow Distance)
Different system sizes:
– 300x300
– 400x500
– 600x700
– 1200x1100 (usable volume)
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50. Thin Film Coatings
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51. Thin Film Coatings
Coating design and architecture
substrate substrate substrate substrate substrate substrate
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52. Thin Film Coatings
Classic PVD coatings
TiN, TiCN, TiCNgrad
CrN, CrNmulti, CrNmod
Special PVD coatings
AlTiN, AlTiN Saturn
W-C:H
Micro alloyed coatings
M A C for Plastics, Forming, Machining
Amorphous coatings
PACVD coatings
– Cavidur®
– DYLYN®, DYLYN® Plus
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53. TiN
Monolayer structure
Coating thickness 2 to 7 m; Hardness 2500
High oxidation resistance
Very good adhesive properties of the coating
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TiCN
Multilayer structure
Coating thickness 3 to 7 m; Hardness 2800
High degree of oxidation resistance
Excellent adhesive properties of the coating
MyPresentation | slide 53

54. Thin Film Coatings
CrN
Monolayer structure
Coating thickness 2 to 7 m; Hardness 2300
High oxidation resistance
Very good adhesive properties of the coating
Resistant to solvents
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CrNmulti
Multilayer structure
Coating thickness 3 to 7 m; Hardness 2500
High degree of oxidation resistance
Very smooth surface
Excellent adhesive properties of the coating
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CrNmod
Multilayer structure with a glass-like cover coating
Coating thickness 3 to 7 m; Hardness 2500
Extremely low tendency of sticking
Very low tendency of cold welding
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55. Thin Film Coatings
Builds of the CrN layers
CrN
Chrom
Applications
- PE, PP, PET, POM - PVD extrusion - die casting
- versatile usable - die casting - PUR
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56. Thin Film Coatings
AlTiN
Monolayer
Coating thickness 1 to 7 m; Hardness 3400
High degree of oxidation resistance
Very good adhesion
Solvent resistant
Insensitive to fingerprints
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AlTiN Saturn
Monolayer
Coating thickness 1 to 7 m; Hardness 3400
High aluminium content
Extremely high oxidation resistance
Very smooth surface
Nanocrystalline morphology
Excellent adhesion
Combination of high hardness and fracture toughness
MyPresentation | slide 56

57. Thin Film Coatings
Micro Alloyed Coatings (M A C)
Based on APA evaporation technology
Individually adjustable coating design by micro alloying
Targeted optimisation of particle size, ductility, oxidation resistance, hot hardness, wear
resistance, thermal conductivity
Extended tool life, energy efficiency, and environmentally sensible savings
MyPresentation | slide 57

58. Thin Film Coatings
Plastics
Longer lifetime
Extended cleaning intervals
Prevention of adhesion and sticking
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Forming
Higher forming speeds
Improved quality of parts
Prevention of cold welding and sticking
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Machining
Higher cutting rates
Higher rates of feed
Reduction of wear and friction
MyPresentation | slide 58

59. Thin Film Coatings
W-C:H
Cutting of Al and non ferrous metals
Coating temperature: 150 – 200 °C
Hardness: 1000 – 1200 HV
multilayer structure with a
– Cr adhesion layer;
– WC supporting layer
– and a functional layer WC/C Multilayer
the coating thickness can be adjusted
MyPresentation | slide 59

60. Thin Film Coatings
W-C:H
tribological coatings
wind power application
uncoated W-C:H coated
Load: 1500 N/mm2; 1.35 x 106 cycles Load: 2000N/mm2; 5.4 x 107 cycles
W-C:H provides plus 30% power density
MyPresentation | slide 60

61. Thin Film Coatings
Cavidur® for Racing
Amorphous PACVD coating
Coating takes place in a clean room
Coating temperature from 180 – 350 °C
Very high adhesion and hardness
Extremely low friction
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62. Thin Film Coatings
Benefits
Extending component life
Performance boost
Increased hardness
Reduces wear on counter parts
Coating mostly used on engine parts, gears
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63. Thin Film Coatings
DYLYN®, DYLYN® Plus
Amorphous PACVD coating
Coating takes place in a clean room
Coating temperature from 200 – 390 °C
High hardness
Low friction
High wear resistance
Little or no lubricants needed
Less production stops
No change of design needed
Less maintenance
MyPresentation | slide 63