New Duralar CS-50 System Deposits Inside-And-Outside Ultra-Hard Coatings

Tucson, AZ /PRNewswire/ - Duralar Technologies, (duralar.com) Tucson-area developer of advanced, ultra-hard metal coatings and coating machines has just introduced the Duralar® CS-50 deposition system. The CS-50 is able to coat both the inside and outside surfaces of metal parts, using a proprietary process called DualArmor™.

"The CS-50 system features a tubular processing chamber that opens like a clamshell, allowing metal parts to be placed inside for coating," said Duralar CTO Tom Casserly, PhD. "DualArmor coating employs a unique Hollow Cathode PECVD process to bathe the parts in an extremely intense plasma -- roughly 1000 times greater than a standard CVD plasma -- and this enables parts to be coated at an unprecedented high rate. Also, the chamber eliminates the line-of-sight limitations that spray-type coatings have. Since all deposition occurs within the dense plasma, all part surfaces -- interior, exterior and complex 3D shapes -- are coated with high uniformity, eliminating the need for post-processing rework."

Casserly explained that Duralar's PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) process creates a pendulum-like motion of high-energy electrons traveling back and forth between the sides of the chamber (the cathode), with the two ends of the chamber serving as the anodes. Inside the chamber, high-energy ionized gases are used to clean, create an adhesive bond and deposit ultra-hard coating on the parts.

The CS-50's unprecedented deposition speed now enables the use of thicker hard coatings than were technically possible or commercially feasible before. Previously, conventional DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coatings had a practical total thickness limit of around 5µm; but new Duralar DLC coatings can be 50µm or more. And conventional DLC coatings were deposited one or two atoms at a time, so it could take more than 8 hours to complete a process containing 1µm of DLC. Duralar's new DualArmor technology can deposit high-quality DLC many times faster -- typically 15-20µm per hour, and it is capable of considerably higher rates.

The company noted that the new DualArmor coatings can provide 5 to 10 times the hardness of carbon steel and more than 10,000 times greater wear resistance than 304 stainless steel. The coatings feature high levels of corrosion and erosion resistance, and they are virtually frictionless, with a friction coefficient of <0.08. Because of their carbon content the coatings provide a natural lubricity, which in certain applications can eliminate the need for oils or other lubricants. All Duralar coatings are chemically inert, benign and eco-friendly. By adjusting their recipes, they can be tailored to address specific application requirements.

The new Duralar CS-50 system is specifically designed for high throughput in volume-coating environments, with volumes determined by size of parts and coating thickness. The CS-50 chamber is 60 inches long by 10 inches in diameter, and coatings can be more than 50µm in thickness. Special chamber shields prevent coating of the system's chamber walls, and used shields can be quickly changed out after each run, to be subsequently reworked and reused.

The CS-50 incorporates next-generation software and provides intuitive operator interface, advanced process control and streamlined machine operation. Coating processes are automated through recipes and can allow easy transfer from Duralar's R&D center to customer sites around the world. The DualArmor process is a twin to Duralar's patented InnerArmor® process, which is designed to coat only the insides of parts, such as industrial pipes. InnerArmor is applied by the Duralar CS-10 system, which uses the tubular metal part itself as the deposition chamber. It is able to coat extremely high aspect ratios in pipes and tubulars of industrial lengths.

Duralar ultra-hard coatings are used to enhance performance and extend the longevity of parts and equipment in a broad spectrum of applications -- in industries such as automotive, oil & gas, firearms, aerospace, chemicals, mining, textiles, medical, consumer products and more.

About Duralar Technologies
Duralar Technologies is a global nanotechnology company and developer of Duralar high-performance coatings and coating systems. Headquartered in Tucson, AZ, the company specializes in advanced ultra-hard coatings that are now replacing many previous generations of metal coatings in a range of industries and applications. Duralar Technologies was founded in 2013 by Andrew Tudhope, a Silicon Valley executive and entrepreneur with extensive experience in coating technologies. In 2016, the company acquired ownership of Sub-One Systems, another hard-coatings equipment company. The same year, Duralar Technologies Japan, Inc. was established, with Asian headquarters in Yokohama and an additional technology center in Nagasaki. For further information, please visit duralar.com.

Duralar® InnerArmor® and DualArmor™ are trademarks of Duralar Technologies.