Arc-PVD Coating

What is Arc-PVD?

Arc-PVD is like Physical Vapor Deposition because each process uses thermal energy (heat) to evaporate a coating material. Once this coating material is in vapor form it is deposited, sometimes with other gases, onto the substrate through the process of condensation.

The Arc portion of the name comes from the electric arc that is used to heat the material that will be evaporated. When you think of an arc you may think of welding equipment, which uses an electric arc to melt metal so that it can be joined. Another familiar example of an electrical arc is lightning. An arc occurs when there is a prolonged electrical discharge through a normally nonconductive medium like air. This discharge produces a plasma, and the plasma may produce visible light, think lightning.

Arc-PVD System Components

An Arc-PVD coating system is composed of the following components:

• Cathode - the negatively charged electrode that holds the coating material to be evaporated
• Coating Material - this material will be heated until it sublimates (turns from solid to vapor)
• Power Supply - generates the arc discharge that strikes the cathode and heats the coating material
• Containment Chamber - contains the reaction and acts as the electrical ground
• Substrate - the item that will be coated and to which a negative voltage is supplied
• Other Gases - gases such as Nitrogen or Hydrocarbons are introduced during the evaporation process and combine with the coating material to create the desired coating attributes

As the coating material becomes vaporized, it also becomes ionized. This ionization of the coating material is why a negative voltage is applied to the substrate. The ionized coating material is then drawn toward the negatively charged substrate. And those ions aren’t drawn slowly, they accelerate rapidly toward the substrate resulting in what’s known as ion bombardment. As the ions bombard the part being coated, they build into thin layers.

Working together, these components can layer thin films on a variety of tools, components, and devices used in a plethora of industries.

Ions!

As mentioned above, other gases may be introduced during the vaporization of the coating material. These gases combine with the coating material to form compounds which are then applied to the substrate. Depending on the compound created, the finished ARC PVD coating may posses enhanced properties such as:

These are fantastic properties that a lot of industries can benefit from. In fact, here are some industries and the applications to which Arc PVD coatings are often applied.

• Equipment Manufacturing - gears, splines, bearings, pistons, valve parts.
• Automotive Components - engine components, transmission components, others
• Marine - corrosion prone parts
• Food & Beverage Production
• Medical Device Manufacturing - surgical instruments, orthopedic implants, dental instruments
• Aviation - actuators, latches, flight controls
• Plastic Molding & Forming - ejector pins, slides, mold bodies, calibrators
• Weapons Manufacturing - slides, safeties, bolts

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