KDF Wear Coatings - In Line Sputter Coating
ABOUT
Thin film wear coatings are integral to enhancing the durability and functionality of various products, from industrial tools to everyday items like razor blades.
These coatings serve to protect against abrasion, corrosion, and oxidation, extending the lifespan and maintaining the performance of the underlying substrates. Utilized across a broad spectrum of industries, including automotive and personal care, wear coatings find applications on components such as gears, medical devices, and personal grooming products.
The process of applying these coatings often involves Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) techniques, with sputtering being a prominent method due to its ability to achieve uniform, high-quality coatings. This method is particularly valued for its precision and versatility in depositing a wide range of materials, including titanium nitride (TiN), chromium nitride (CrN), titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN), aluminum titanium nitride (AlTiN), tungsten (W), tungsten carbide (WC), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), tantalum (Ta), and diamond-like carbon (DLC). These materials are chosen for their ability to reduce friction, resist wear, and, in some cases, add decorative colors to the coated objects.
KDF Technologies is at the forefront of providing sputtering tools that are critical for the deposition of these wear coatings. The efficiency and reliability of KDF's sputtering tools make them a staple in the production lines of various industries, ensuring that products meet the highest standards of durability and performance. By enabling the application of wear coatings, KDF Technologies plays a vital role in the daily production of items that are better suited to withstand the rigors of their intended use, thereby enhancing the overall quality and reliability of a wide array of products.
Key products that benefit significantly from thin film wear coatings, enhancing their performance and longevity, include:
Drill Bits:
Used in machining, mining, and construction, drill bits coated with materials like titanium nitride (TiN) or titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) exhibit increased hardness, reduced friction, and resistance to wear and heat, leading to longer service life and improved efficiency in drilling operations.
Razor Blades:
The application of thin film coatings such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) on razor blades enhances their sharpness and resistance to wear, providing a smoother shave and extending the usability of the blades significantly.
Cutting Tools:
Tools used for cutting, shaping, or removing material in manufacturing, such as end mills, inserts, and taps, are coated with materials like TiN, TiAlN, or AlTiN to improve their hardness, reduce wear, and extend their lifespan, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing the need for frequent replacements.
Automotive Components:
Parts such as gears, pistons, and engine valves benefit from wear coatings like chromium nitride (CrN) and diamond-like carbon (DLC), which improve resistance to abrasion and corrosion, reduce friction, and enhance fuel efficiency and overall vehicle performance.
These examples highlight the importance of thin film wear coatings in various applications, significantly contributing to the durability and efficiency of high-wear products, and KDF Technologies is here to support you.
KDF Magnetron Sputtering
Magnetron sputtering is well suited to providing these films. Sputtering systems from KDF Technologies are in use at leading medical device companies depositing films such Au, TiW, Ir, Ag, Zr, Ta, TaN, Ti, and TiN. With established technologies such as HIPIMS and Pulsed DC reactive sputtering we are in an ideal position to personalize a tool for your unique medical device application, backed by our team of dedicated applications, design and vacuum experts.
Key Capabilities
3-Dimensional and Large Parts
Parts up to 4” in thickness can be loaded into tall horizontal (900 series) systems.
Pallets can hold total loaded weights of up to 150 pounds (system specific).
HIPIMS:
HIPIMS (High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering) is a sputtering power supply and technique that can produce highly dense, smooth, and hard films with enhanced conformality or step-coverage for high aspect ratio applications.
Plasma Emission Monitoring (PEM):
Perfect your reactive processes with an advanced reactive feedback control system delivering improvements to deposition rates, coating properties and process stability. A PEM unit optically monitors the plasma emission from the cathode and can quickly adjust the reactive gas flow in order to maintain the process in high-rate metallic mode versus the low-rate poisoned mode.
Auto Rate Adjust (ARA):
Auto-rate-adjust will automatically adjust the scan speed or deposition power to account for a decrease in deposition rate from target wear, thereby maintaining a stable process thru the life of the target.
Water Cooling:
If heat during your process is a concern the chamber, internal shielding, and cathodes can all be water cooled.
Water Pump:
Water pumps are high-performance pumps used in conjunction with the high vacuum pump (turbo or cryo) that increase water vapor pumping speeds to substantially improve system throughput and process stability.
Scan Velocity Control:
Allows the operator to create velocity profiles for the pallet as it passes through the deposition zone, enhancing film uniformities and rates.
IR Pallet Temperature Measurement:
Integrated pyrometer pallet/part temperature measurement. Instant feedback on temperature of your pallet and/or parts. Temperature readings can be integrated into recipes allowing for continued cooling, or heating, before proceeding with further recipe steps.
Have questions? Contact KDF about our in line sputtering tools
In line with your process
The most reliable in-line sputtering tools in the industry are developed and manufactured by KDF. All of KDF’s systems are engineered to meet versatility and high throughput demands across a number of markets at the industry’s lowest cost of ownership.
- Mainstream silicon
- Emerging materials
- Flat panel displays
- Optical communications
- Medical devices
Across all platforms, KDF’s in-line batch sputtering systems are easier to use and maintain than cluster tools. KDF’s solutions provide users with increased:
- Film uniformity
- Throughput run to run
- Process stability
- ROI
- Automation
- Tool uptime
- Reliability
- Environmental health and safety benefits
KDF meets the needs of its customers by quickly developing tailored solutions and building on its core competencies. KDF can specifically engineerits tools for increased throughput, ROI or time to market. All existing KDF equipment is supported with upgrades and retrofits. In addition, as theOEM for MRC batch systems, KDF sustains all MRC batch products offering complete parts and service support on a world wide basis.
943ix and 954ix
The 943ix and 954ix are two of KDF’s x Series™ products. They feature the latest KDF cathode designs, which have been lengthened to 17 inches, offering improved uniformity over the entire pallet. x Series™ cathodes are available in both Planar™, Inset™ and RF/DC LMM™ cathode form.
