Vacuum Technology Dry Lubrication
Technology
PVD-Equipment at GMN:
State of the art magnetron PVD-sputter technology with coating chamber optimized for bearing components.
Custom designed substratum holders for the efficient deposition on complex 3-dimensional surfaces without mechanical influences.
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Characteristics and advantages of PVD-coating:
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General: possibility of deposition of a wide range of materials, such as metals, semiconductors or ceramics, in spite of melting point or vapor pressure. |
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Coating of layers without exceeding a critical temperature of the substratum. |
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Equal layers, high bonding strength at high growth-rates. |
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Layer thickness from a few nanometers (10-9 m) up to microns (10-6 m). |
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Minimum amount of chemical waste |
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Solid lubricants for GMN bearings:
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Silver (Ag), |
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Lead (Pb) |
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Gold (Au) |
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Molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) |
Bonding layer or co - sputtered materials for stabilization of functional layer:
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Chrome-nickel steel |
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Copper |
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Titanium |
Physical principle:
The solid lubricant is sputtered from a magnetron sputter source and deposited as a thin layer on the surface of the substratum.
Ions of the process gas (basically argon) are accelerated and shot on the negative charged target which consists of the coating material. Caused by the high energy of these striking ions, the target atoms are sputtered on the surface. These atoms in a gaseous condition condense on the substratum to be coated and leave a thin lubrication film.
Supported by an additional bias voltage, ionized parts can be accelerated in direction of the substratum, where the sputtered atoms can be plated more strongly on the surface. |
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Plasma Cleaning:
Before coating the bearing components must be refined to create a reactive, clean metal surface. GMN uses plasma cleaning equipment. The parts are cleaned on a water or hydrocarbon basis followed by vacuum drying and oxygen - plasma - cleaning. |
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