Coated components

Greater performance and

reliability
Coated components
Greater performance and reliability
 Published by
OC Oerlikon Balzers AG
Oerlikon Balzers Headquarters
Iramali 18
P.O.box 1000
LI-9496 Balzers
Liechtenstein

Tel +41 81 784 7500

E-Mail: info.balzers@oerlikon.com
www.oerlikon.com/balzers

© 2010
3rd edition/November 2010

Copying, translation into other

languages, microfilming, electronic
processing and all other forms of
reproduction and transmission are
forbidden without written permission
from the publisher.

04
Contents

It all comes down to the surface 07

Tribology under the magnifying glass 09

The tribological system 09

Friction 10
Typical wear mechanisms 11
Failings of simple material solutions 12
Advantages of surface treatment 12

Comprehensive surface technology 13

Surface treatment processes 13

PVD and PACVD processes 16
Hard coatings: classification and nomenclature 19
Properties of BALINIT ® coatings 20
BALINIT ® coatings at a glance 21
Advantages of BALINIT ® coatings 28
Limitations of BALINIT ® coatings 29

Coating as a design element 31

Choosing the right materials 31

Materials and their coatability 32
Hardness and strength of materials 34
Component surface quality 34
Component design for coating 35
Conservation and packaging 36

Application tailored solutions 37

Engine technology 37
Engines 37
Motor sport 41
Fuel injection 43

Mechanical drives 45
Vehicle gears 45
Industrial drives 49
Ball- and roller-bearings 51

Fluid technology 55
Compressors 55
Hydraulic pumps and hydraulic motors 57
Valves and fittings 60

Other applications 61

05
Partners in your success 65

Research and development 65

Test methods for quality assurance 66
Test methods for specification and analysis 68
Applications support 71
Custom services 71
Production process and process engineering 73
Quality management 74

Glossary 75
Tribology, PVD technology and coatings

06
It all comes down to the surface

Friction is a key factor in the performance and service life of precision compo-
nents. Frictional behaviour is chiefly governed by the properties of the component
surface, therefore great importance is attached to methods of treating surfaces
to improve their wear and corrosion resistance and thus reduce friction.

Oerlikon Balzers (hereinafter: Balzers) Experience has shown that many tribo- BALINIT ® coating lends itself to mass
plasma-assisted coating processes systems can be optimised through the production of engine components and
have proved themselves excellent for choice of the right coating. BALINIT ® enhances the performance of the
creating economical, reliable tribosys- standard coatings cover a range of whole system. Examples include BALI-
tems. Collaboration with our custom- properties and make it possible to pick NIT ®-coated components in state-of-
ers has taken us far beyond just coat- the coating that will yield the desired the-art diesel injection systems as well
ing: Today’s customer also looks for results. What is more, Balzers works as wrist pins, tappets and piston rings.
competent help and support in the with the customer to devise custom As a partner to renowned automakers
early development and design phases solutions for getting specific outcomes, and suppliers, Balzers is totally com-
as well as professional project man- thus allowing scope for creativity in mitted to developing innovative tech-
agement, quality management, logis- design. nologies.
tics and processes to meet the needs
of mass production. Coating enhances component perfor- This booklet will provide designers and
mance, reliability and service life and their customers, as well as operating
BALINIT ® coatings offer reproducible permits lighter, more compact designs. and maintenance engineers, with an
quality in every run by virtue of the Reduced energy consumption and the overview of the processes used to
PVD and PACVD processes that Bal- use of environmentally benign products make wear-resistant, low-friction sur-
zers has developed, together with in smaller quantities are further advan- faces with improved corrosion resist-
technical quality systems that enable tages that come into play in the build- ance. It will show off, in particular, the
the manufacturer to meet and maintain ing of machines and equipment just as capabilities and advantages of BALI-
specifications in the production pro- they can in engine and vehicle making. NIT ® PVD and PACVD coatings.
cess.
Components of machine tools, textile
machines, injection moulding equip-
ment for plastics, and equipment for
food processing now come with BALI-
NIT ® coatings as a standard feature.
Coating is also a proven technique in
fluid technology, used to upgrade
critical components in hydraulic drives,
pumps and valves.

07
08
Tribology under the magnifying glass

Solving any wear problem begins with a careful analysis of the tribological system
and all the factors that affect it. Such an analysis reveals what frictional states
and wear mechanisms occur and when. Engineered processes for treating com-
ponent surfaces, coating in particular, often result in more efficient solutions than
pure material or design alternatives.

The tribological system

A tribological system consists of com- tribological system and its behaviour,

ponent surfaces that are in moving and thus the extent, nature and pro-
contact and thus become tribologically gress of wear. The fundamental con-
active. Friction and the resulting wear nection is thus between friction and
depend heavily on the composition wear.
and structure of the materials in the
system. A further effect is often due to
lubricants such as oil, grease or water.
Tribosystem
Particles on the surfaces also affect
wear. Other factors at work include the 5 1 Base object
2 Opposed body
prevailing service temperatures, the 3 Surrounding influences:
6 6
loads applied, and loading modes 2 Temperature
such as sliding, rolling, oscillating and Relative humidity
Pressure
pulsating. All these effects govern the 4
3 4 Intermediate material:
Oil
1 Grease
Water
Particles
Contaminants
5 Load
6 Motion

09
Friction

Friction in a tribosystem can be clas- coefficient of friction µ, which depends on constant service conditions and
sified by the state of the contact be- on the frictional state and the tribologi- appropriate system design. Mixed
tween interacting surfaces: cal factors that are at work in an appli- and boundary friction often cannot be
cation process. completely avoided, despite lubrica-
Dry friction occurs when the inter- tion, and this is especially true when
acting surfaces are in direct contact. The Stribeck curve shows that the a triboprocess is being started up or
coefficient of friction is especially low allowed to run down. A wide variety
Boundary friction is an intermediate for fluid friction in oil-lubricated tribo- of wear mechanisms can occur as a
state between dry and mixed lubrica- systems. This state, however, depends result.
tion, in which adsorbed lubricant
molecules cover the interacting sur-
faces.
Stribeck curve: schematic graph of friction
Mixed friction is a superposition of
frictional states such as dry, boundary Coefficient of friction µ
and fluid. Here the load is taken up
partly by solid-to-solid contact and FN FN FN
partly by a load-bearing lubricant film.
v v v Opposed body
d Intermediate material
Fluid friction is friction in a liquid Base object

lubricant film that completely separates

Distance Surface roughness R
one contact partner from the other between
(hydrodynamic and hydrostatic friction). bodies

All these frictional states obey the rule

that friction (and thus the danger of
wear) increases with increasing direct
contact between the two relatively
moving partners. The degree of friction Dry friction
(d < R) Mixed friction (d ≈ R)
Fluid friction
(d >> R)
in a tribosystem is described by the
Viscosity x sliding speed v
normal force FN

Stribeck curve: oil lubrication proper proportion. What is more, the

and friction coefficient design of the tribosystem must permit
The Stribeck curve describes how the the formation of a gap that narrows in
coefficient of friction varies in oil-lubri- the direction of flow, because the
cated tribosystems. Low values are lubricant film must be able to exert a
seen above all in fluid friction, that is, pressure against an externally applied
when the sum of the roughness (asper- force. Mixed, boundary or dry friction
ity) heights of the frictional partners is can occur if the thickness of the lubri-
less than the thickness of the lubricant cant film becomes smaller as the
film. This condition can come about sliding speed decreases or the load
only if the parameters viscosity/sliding increases.
speed/load (normal force) are in the

10
Typical wear mechanisms

It seldom happens in practice that a wear mechanism occurs alone in a tribosys-

tem. As a rule, several of these mechanisms act together or in succession during
the wear process. Failure due to wear, however, commonly results from one
mechanism playing a dominant role.

Abrasive wear comes about when ent hardnesses or when the harder
material is torn away by hard or sharp- surface is sufficiently rough or sharp-
edged particles in between the inter- edged.
acting surfaces, but can also result
from hard or sharp-edged (abrasive) Consequences include scratches,
surfaces and asperity peaks of one or grooves, chips and material removal
the other partner. Abrasion is promot- at the surfaces.
ed when the surfaces have very differ-

Adhesive wear occurs when two Consequences include cold welding

tribologically active surfaces in a state with material transfer, pits, smearing or
of mixed or dry friction form an inti- similar damage to the surface struc-
mate, adhesive bond. This can be the tures (scuffing, scoring, galling).
case if the surfaces have the same
composition or show a strong tenden-
cy to combine and there is no protec-
tive passive film.

Surface fatigue results from repeti- terms of hydraulic loads, the hardness
tive (pulsating or alternating) mechani- and elasticity of the material are crucial.
cal or hydraulic loads that lead to crack
formation and propagation below the Consequences of surface fatigue in-
loaded surface, culminating in damage clude cracking, pitting and micropit-
to the surface. If the surface is loaded ting, especially where elements are in
by friction, wear can be reduced by rolling contact. On hydraulic compo-
diminishing the friction coefficient. In nents cavitation-erosion occurs.

Tribo-oxidation involves a chemical Tribo-oxidation can be controlled by

reaction induced by the tribological lowering the temperature and the co-
(frictional) contact and yielding prod- efficient of friction, providing inert (un-
ucts that have a detrimental effect on reactive) contact surfaces or designing
the tribological processes at the sur- surfaces with better form stability.
faces. For example, a closely toler-
anced pair of components or the seat Consequences include fretting corro-
of a rolling bearing may seize up. sion.

11
 Failings of simple material solutions

The identification of wear mechanisms some materials offer tribological advan-

in tribosystems gives the first pointer to tages such as high strength but have
how wear might be combatted: drawbacks such as susceptibility to
corrosion at the same time. Other
- Reducing the friction coefficient constraints on material selection arise
- Increasing the surface hardness from requirements on design, weight,
- Applying inert surface coatings function, cost, availability, and environ-
mental considerations.
If the sole approach tried in order to
reduce wear is selection of the ma-
terials of construction, it turns out that

Advantages of surface treatment

Greater scope for design is opened The treatment of component surfaces,

up especially with surface coatings on the other hand, offers a better out-
applied by PVD (physical vapour de- look for success. For one thing, it may
position) or PACVD (plasma-assisted be possible to produce the desired
chemical vapour deposition). The base tribological behaviour in the system
material provides strength and tough- without a costly change of design or
ness, while the coating guards against materials. For another, surface treat-
wear and corrosion and reduces fric- ments open up room for design im-
tion. The main coating materials used provements while the component is
are carbon-based, but nitride coatings still under development. Surface prop-
have also proved useful for many erties can be manipulated in order to
applications. realise certain advantages in the tech-
nological competition:

- Longer service life

- Ability to tolerate greater loads
- Ease and low cost of maintenance
- Environmental gains and conserva-
tion of resources
- Improved response in kinetic systems
- Lower energy consumption
- Resistance to corrosion
- Possibility of designing to close
tolerances
- Use of lower-cost base materials

12
Comprehensive surface technology

A comparison of engineered surface treatment methods for precision compo-

nents reveals that PVD and PACVD coating processes enjoy many advantages:
Not only do they make it possible to apply wear-resistant, low-friction hard coat-
ings in a precise, environmentally safe way that is tailored to the application in
question, but they can also be modified to reach target figures such as hardness,
friction coefficient and thickness. Balzers groups these hard coatings under the
BALINIT ® brand.

Surface treatment processes

DIN (German Institution for Standards) Electroplating processes The nitriding process involves dif-
guideline 8580 identifies two classes of The most important electrochemical fusing nitrogen into the steel surface
manufacturing processes by which the and chemical processes for protection to harden the metal in the boundary
tribological processes that take place against wear and corrosion are hard zones down to a typical depth of 0.5
at material surfaces can be influenced: chrome-plating and chemical nickel- mm. A hardness of approx. 900 HV is
plating. attained in the outer diffusion zone. A
- Application of coatings by such compound layer (iron nitride such as
processes as electrodeposition, ther- Hard chrome (approx. 1,200 HV) is Fe4N) up to 20 µm thick can be formed,
mal sputtering or deposition from the applied in coating thicknesses of up to depending on the process conditions
gas or vapour state (PVD/PACVD) 200 µm. It is suitable for components and the substrate material. These ni-
subject to abrasive wear, but micro- tride zones are resistant to moderate
- Modification of material pro- cracking inherent in the process limits wear and corrosion.
perties by means of nitriding or its use against corrosion. While micro-
boronising, for example. cracks can be avoided by application Many electroplating and nitriding pro-
of a thin coating (a few µm thick with a cesses involve environmentally prob-
All these processes have special appli- hardness of 1,200 HV), such a coating lematic media. In addition, classical
cations associated with their distinctive offers only limited wear resistance. hard chrome-plating baths contain
properties. In many cases, however, a hexa-valent chromium compounds,
variety of processes can be employed, Chemical nickel can be applied over which are carcinogenic. The construc-
particularly when stresses are not too a range of hardnesses, depending on tion of some kinds of electrochemical
great. the process conditions; the maximum plants is no longer feasible in many
is approx. 600 HV. The advantage of industrial regions; the same is true of
chemical nickel coatings lies chiefly in salt-bath nitriding plants.
corrosion protection. The tribological
properties can be enhanced by inclu-
sions (dispersion) of hard (diamond,
silicon carbide) or soft (PTFE) phases.

13
Key properties of PVD and PACVD - Coatings are thin, typically 0.5-4 - PVD/PACVD processes are environ-
processes include: µm. This feature in conjunction with mentally benign and do not entail
close tolerancing means that the the use or emission of pollutants. The
- A wide range of coatings can be component retains its form, fit and gases used are noble gases such as
made. The high vacuum employed dimensions after coating without the argon together with ordinary working
makes it possible to achieve coating need for costly refinishing. gases such as hydrogen and acetyle-
properties that are not available with ne. No toxic reaction products are
gases and baths at atmospheric generated.
pressure (thermal spraying, nitriding,
electro- or chemical deposition). The
resulting coatings offer good adhe-
sion, high hardness and wear resist- Coating thicknesses and process temperatures
ance, and these properties are often
specially tailored for the service in Coating thickness [µm]
question. 1,000

- PVD/PACVD processes as used for

component coating operate at rela-
tively low coating temperatures
of 200-500 °C. These temperatures 100 1
are chosen to lie at or below the tem-
pering temperature of steels in order 5
to avoid altering the fundamental 2
material properties. 4
10
3
6

1
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200

Coating temperature [°C]

1 Plasma spraying
2 Electrolytic and chemical deposition
3 Phosphating
4 Nitriding (white layer)
5 Boronising
6 CVD
7 PVD, PACVD

14
Applications of surface treatment processes

Protection against Protection against Protection against Application areas

Scuffing Abrasion Corrosion

Electroplated hard chrome + ++ + Chemical apparatus,

food industry, hydraulics
Electroless nickel plating + + +++ Chemical apparatus,
food industry, hydraulics
Diffusion processes + ++ + Engine components, tools
(nitriding, nitrocarburisation, boronising)
Plasma spraying + ++ ++ Turbine vanes

CVD (thermal) ++ ++ + Tools

PVD hard coatings ++ ++ + Tools, machinery, engine

(TiN, TiCN, TiAIN, CrN) components, motor sport
PVD/PACVD carbon coatings +++ ++ ++ Machinery, engine components,
(WC/C, DLC) motor sports

Tribological advantages: sliding-wear tests show that, after a

PVD and PACVD coatings running-in phase, BALINIT ® carbon-
Coatings applied by PVD and PACVD based coatings have low coefficients
offer far superior tribological perfor- of friction, which have a positive
mance: effect especially under conditions of
deficient (starved) lubrication and
- PVD and PACVD coatings, particular- mixed friction.
ly carbon coatings, feature a unique
combination of protection against - PVD hard coatings have only a slight
scuffing and abrasion. chemical-physical interaction with
metals. For this reason, they are also
- The dry-running qualities of treated well-suited to preventing tribo-oxida- Sliding-wear test

and untreated components illustrate, tion. The properties of PVD coatings Experimental method:
above all, what protection against also improve corrosion protection 1 Ball, nonrotating, diam. 3 mm
AISI 52100 (DIN 1.3505), 60 HRC
scuffing and surface fatigue results and thus guard components from 2 Test ring: AISI 52100 (DIN 1.3505), 60 HRC
from surface coatings. Data from external factors. Abrasive-blasted or polished, N4
Coated
Test conditions:
F = 30 N
Dry-running/Sliding-wear test v = 0.3 m/s
Dry contact

Coefficient of friction

F
X AISI 52100 (DIN 1.3505) uncoated
0.6
X AISI 4142 (DIN 1.7225) nitrided
X Cr electroplated
X Ni-P chemical
0.4
X = Test stopped on account of severe abrasive wear
1
0.2 2
BALINIT® C (WC/C-PVD)

0
0 100 200 300 800 v

Sliding distance [m]

15
 PVD and PACVD processes

The advantages set forth on the previous pages explain why Balzers has fo-
cussed on PVD (physical vapour deposition) and PACVD (plasma-assisted chemi-
cal vapour deposition) for the coating of precision components. The technologies
used are ones that work with plasma assisted processes and can be both flexibly
and precisely controlled: sputtering, ion plating, arc evaporation and
PACVD.

Sputtering
In reactive sputtering (cathodic sputter- 1 2
1 Argon
2 Reactive gas
ing), cleaned and pretreated compo- 3 Planar magnetron
nents for coating are placed on a turn- evaporation source
(coating material)
table and loaded into the vacuum 4 Components
chamber of a PVD sputtering machine. 3 4 < 250 °C 3 5 Vacuum pump

After the components have been heat- 4

ed, they are bombarded with argon

ions (ion etching) to produce a clean
metal surface free of atomic contami-
5
nants – a key requirement for coating
adhesion. Next, a high negative electric
potential is applied to the sputtering elements of the coating is admitted to Balzers uses sputtering only to apply
sources, which contain the coating ma- the chamber, and the sputtered par- the WC/C coating. The coating
terial. A gas discharge is struck, lead- ticles react with it. A thin, compact material contains tungsten, while the
ing to the formation of positive argon hard coating with the desired structure reactive gas contains carbon. The
ions, which are accelerated toward the and composition is thus formed on the coating system that results is made up
coating material and evaporate it. A components. In order to maintain a of a carbon and hydrogen matrix with
reactive gas containing the nonmetallic consistent coating thickness, the inclusions containing tungsten. This
components are rotated about one or WC/C coating (a-C:H:W) is marketed
several axes at constant speed during as BALINIT ® C.
the coating process.

Enhanced sputtering
The BALINIT ® CNI chromium nitride 2
1
3
1
2
Electron beam source
Argon
coating is applied by an enhanced 3 Reactive gas
6
sputtering process, which works on a 4 Planar magnetron
evaporation source
similar principle. The coating material (coating material)
contains chromium, nitrogen gas is 4 5 < 250 °C 4 5
6
Components
Low-voltage arc discharge
present, and there is an additional 5
7 Auxiliary anode
ionisation step. A low-voltage arc dis- 8 Vacuum pump

charge in the middle of the machine 7

enhances the plasma intensity several-

8
fold and thus produces a much higher
degree of ionisation.

16
Ion plating
Ion plating is a PVD process involving 2
1
3
1
2
Electron beam source
Argon
reactive electron-beam evaporation. 3 Reactive gas
77
In ordinary sputtering, a metal plate is 4
5
Components
Coating material
bombarded with argon atoms to gen- 6 Crucible (anode)
erate the coating material. The metallic 4 < 500 °C 7 Low-voltage arc discharge
8 Vacuum pump
component for ion plating (e.g., tita- 4

nium or chromium) is evaporated by a

5
low-voltage arc. Balzers employs ion
6
plating to apply, among others, the
8
BALINIT ® A titanium nitride coat-
ing.

Arc Evaporation
1 Argon
In arc evaporation, an arc is struck 1 2 2 Reactive gas
between the backing plate (anode) and 3 Arc sources
(coating material
the coating material (cathode). The arc and backing plate)
moves over the coating material and 3 3 4 Components
< 500 °C 5 Vacuum pump
evaporates it. Because of the high cur- 4
4
rents and power densities employed,
the evaporated material is ionised to a
high degree. Reactive gas and metal
ions hit the component surface and 5
are deposited there as the coating
material. Balzers uses this process to
make, among others, the BALINIT ®
FUTURA NANO titanium-alumin-
ium nitride coating.

PACVD process
1 Argon
The high-frequency PACVD process 1 2 2 Reactive gas
comes into play when Balzers applies 3 Components
4 Plasma sheath
the BALINIT ® DLC metal-free car- 5 High-frequency connection
bon coating. The setup is similar to 6 Vacuum pump
that used for sputtering, but a high- 3 < 250 °C 3

frequency AC voltage is imposed after

4
a metallic adhesion film has been
sputtered. A gas discharge, initiated in
the vacuum chamber after the reaction 6
gas is injected, generates carbon and 5
hydrogen atoms (ions and radicals),
which form a compact coating on the
components. The coating properties
can be controlled by changing the
applied voltage.

17
Combined PVD/PACVD process
1 Electron beam source
The enhanced sputtering process is 2
1
3 2 Argon
combined with PACVD in order to ap- 3 Reactive gas
7 4 Planar magnetron
ply carbon-containing multifunc- evaporation source
tional coatings such as BALINIT ® (coating material)
DLC STAR. A hard, tough metal layer 4 6 < 250 °C 6 4 5
6
Plasma sheath
Components
is deposited by sputtering, and PACVD 5 7 Low-voltage arc discharge
is used to build up the tribologically 8
9
Auxiliary anode
High-frequency connection
8
effective carbon coating on top of it. In 10 Vacuum pump
contrast to conventional combination
10
coatings, Balzers multifunctional coat- 9
ings are made in a single process that
yields homogeneous, defect-free coat-
ings of uniquely high quality and adhe-
sion strength.

P3eTM Pulse Enhanced Electron

1 1 Electron beam source
Emission 2 3 2 Oxygen environment for
With the P3e™ coating technology, cathodic arc souces
6 3 Reactive gas O2
Balzers became the world’s first com- 4 Arc sources (coating material
pany to deposit hard corundum + – and backing plate)
5 Components
typed aluminium-oxide based 4 5 < 600 °C 4
6 Low-voltage arc discharge
coatings in a PVD process at tem- 8 5
7 Auxiliary anode
peratures significantly below 600 °C. 8 Pulsed cathodic
arc evaporation
7
Such coatings formerly could be pro- 9 Pulsed high-power
duced only by CVD at much higher substrate voltage
10 Vacuum pump
temperatures. For certain qualities of + 10

cemented carbides, however, the CVD

process poses the danger of embrittle- 9

ment, and it was nearly impossible to

coat steels at all. PVD oxide coatings
were developed primarily for tools, but
they are also suitable for mechanical
elements where insulating properties
are desired along with resistance to
high temperatures and corrosion.

18
Hard coatings: classification and nomenclature

Quite a large number of coatings can In nitride hard coatings, metal atoms cess and group nomenclature is en-
be made by the PVD and PACVD from groups IV-VI of the periodic sys- countered in the market. The English
processes that have been described. tem (Ti, Cr) form compounds with non- abbreviation “DLC” (diamond-like car-
Their classification and nomenclature metal atoms (C, N, O). Stoichiometric bon), for example, refers to the whole
begins with a separation of the most compounds (i.e., 50% metal atoms group of amorphous carbon coatings,
important hard coatings into three and 50% nonmetal) are commonly but DLC is inadequate as a term for
groups. The first includes coatings in chosen because such compounds any individual carbon coating belong-
which metals and nitrogen combine to frequently offer the most favourable ing to this group.
form metal nitrides (TiN, CrN, TiAlN, properties.
etc.). The second group comprises The Balzers product family of carbon
carbide coatings generated from met- Carbon coatings are most often coatings has its own brand names,
als and carbon (TiC, WC, NbC, etc.). formed through the use of hydrocar- with BALINIT ® C denoting the a-C:H:W
There are also blends of materials bons. The kind of amorphous hydro- system (WC/C) and BALINIT ® DLC the
from these two groups (such as TiCN). carbon network (a-C:H) produced will a-C:H coating.
Carbon coatings containing metals vary with the process conditions. The
(a-C:H:Me) and those free of metals carbon atoms can have graphitic (sp2) Hydrogen-free carbon coatings make
(a-C:H) make up the third group. or diamond-like (sp3) bonds; the coeffi- up a further class. These are identified
cient of friction as well as the hardness as tetragonal carbon or amorphous
of the coating depend on the ratio of diamond (ta-C).
the bonding type. As a consequence,
an inconsistent blend of material, pro-

Nomenclature of carbon coatings

Scientific name Balzers brands Other names found

in the market

Metal-free carbon coatings a-C:H BALINIT ® DLC DLC (diamond-like carbon)

iC (ionic carbon)
a-DLC
Metal-containing carbon coatings a-C:H:Me BALINIT ® C DLC (diamond-like carbon)
Me-DLC
MeC (metal-carbon)
Me = metal iC/Me
(e.g. tungsten, titanium, Me-C:H
tantalum) MeC/C
MCH
Hydrogen-free carbon coatings ta-C Amorphous carbon
Amorphous diamond

Coating materials and material structure

Nitride coatings Carbon coatings

Metal: Nonmetal:
Ti, Cr, Al C, N, B

Graphite (sp2) DLC (sp2 and sp3) Diamond (sp3)

19
Properties of BALINIT ® coatings

BALINIT ® PVD and PACVD coatings Properties and tribological effectiveness of BALINIT ® coatings
have qualities that make them superbly
well-suited to use on precision compo- BALINIT ® C BALINIT ® C
STAR
nents:
Coating material a-C:H:W (WC/C) CrN + a-C:H:W
- High hardness Typical microhardness (HK 0.01)*/*** 1,000 I 1,500 1,000 I 1,500
- Good wear resistance Typical coating thickness (µm) 1-4 3-5
- Low coefficient of friction Increase in surface roughness Ra (µm)* approx. 0.02 approx. 0.02
- Good corrosion resistance Coefficient of friction against steel (dry)* 0.1 - 0.2 0.1 - 0.2
- Thin coatings Coating temperature (°C) < 250 < 250
- High precision, excellent Maximum service temperature (°C)* 300 300
replication of contours Coating colour anthracite anthracite
- Good adhesion Protection against abrasive wear + I ++ + I ++
Protection against adhesive wear +++ +++
The coating thicknesses generally Protection against tribo-oxidation ++ ++
range from 0.5 to 5 µm, whereby the Protection against surface fatigue +++ ++
coatings exactly match the surface Protection against corrosion* + +
topography of the component and so
remain faithful to its shape. Edge sharp- * Depends on application and test conditions
ness and surface roughness remain ** Ion plating
*** HK (Knoop hardness) corresponds approximately to HV (Vickers hardness)
virtually unchanged. This means that
remachining is no longer needed; the
coating can become the last step in
component manufacturing.

Coating adhesion: Ion etching be-

fore the start of material deposition
results in excellent metallurgical bond-
ing of the coating to the substrate
material. In spite of their great hard-
ness, BALINIT ® coatings adhere so
well that flaking does not occur even
when the surface undergoes plastic
deformation.

Excellent replication of contours with BALINIT ® coatings Excellent adhesion of BALINIT ® coatings

20
BALINIT ® DLC BALINIT ® DLC BALINIT ® CNI BALINIT ® D BALINIT ® A BALINIT ®
STAR FUTURA NANO

a-C:H CrN + a-C:H CrN CrN TiN TiAlN

> 2,000 > 2,000 1,750 1,750 2,300 3,300
0.5 - 3 2-4 1-4 1- 4 1- 4 1-4
approx. 0.02 approx. 0.02 approx. 0.02 approx. 0.2 approx. 0.03** / approx. 0.2 approx. 0.2
0.1 - 0.2 0.1 - 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4
< 250 < 250 < 250 < 500 / < 250 < 500 / < 250 < 500 / < 250
350 350 700 700 600 900
black black silver-grey silver-grey gold-yellow violet-grey
+++ +++ ++ ++ ++ +++
+++ +++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++
++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

BALINIT ® coatings at a glance

Overall coating structure Section from WC/C coating
BALINIT® C
BALINIT® C Star
0.1 µm
WC/C
Properties coating
BALINIT ® C is a metal-containing
amorphous carbon coating (a-C:H:W
or WC/C) with a multilamellar structure. White
WC coating
Phases rich in tungsten carbide and lamellae:
WC-rich
carbon alternate every few atomic Cr intermediate
layer Black
layers, giving a very low coefficient of lamellae:
friction at dry running: 0.1 to 0.2. In Substrate
C-rich
BALINIT ® C STAR, the combination of material
a metallic support layer (CrN) with the
tribologically effective carbon coating Coating structure of BALINIT® C
The multilamellar structure of the BALINIT ® C coating results in good running-in
enhances the load-bearing capacity.
and burnishing behaviour and reduces dry friction.

Benefits
BALINIT ® C is highly resistant to adhe-
sive wear (scuffing) in particular. It has
a high load-bearing capacity even un-
der conditions of deficient lubrication
or dry contact. Thanks to its low fric-
tion coefficient, it also acts to reduce
surface fatigue (pitting) and tribo-oxi-
dation (fretting corrosion). The 1,000

21
HK grade of BALINIT ® C is used where BALINIT® C in dry running and starved lubrication (gear test)
abrasive conditions are milder and sur-
face pressures are high but sliding Number of load cycles
speeds are relatively low. This BALI- 107
NIT ® C grade shows excellent running- Terminated after 2,000,000
106
in and burnishing behaviour under 150,000
constant sliding load by virtue of its 105
29,000
moder-ate hardness. The harder (1,500 104
HK) grade of BALINIT ® C can be used 103
1,400

where sliding speeds are higher; it of-

102
fers better protection against abrasive
wear. BALINIT ® C STAR has been 10
found to perform well under very high 1
surface pressures on soft substrates. uncoated uncoated BALINIT® C BALINIT® C
dry lubricated dry lubricated

Special frictional properties FZG test Lubricant: Esso CL46B (plant-based)

Speed: 1,000 rpm Lubricant feed rate: 1 drop per minute
Surface pressure: 1,000 N/mm2 Source: IMM (TU Dresden)
Dry running
Dry running is the case most frequently
studied – not because it is the most
common application but because it is
well-defined and easy to measure. This Burnishing and material transfer with BALINIT® C coating
condition brings out the special qual-
ities of the BALINIT ® C (WC/C) coating: Component coated
its very good burnishing behaviour with BALINIT® C BALINIT® C
during run-in and its slight coating
transfer, with burnishing of the mating
part as a side effect. In comparison
with other friction-reducing materials uncoated frictional partner
such as MoS2, graphite-based paints
and Ni-PTFE coatings, WC/C com- Before running-in After running-in
bines low friction with high wear resist-
ance.
BALINIT® C: comparison of frictional performance

Coefficient of friction

AISI 52100 (DIN 1.3505) uncoated

Coated with MoS2
X X = Test stopped on account
0.6 of severe adhesive wear
Coated with PTFE

X X X PVD-coated with MoS2

0.4
BALINIT® DLC (a-C:H)

0.2
BALINIT® C (a-C:H:W)

0
0 250 500 750 1,000 1,250 1,500 1,750 5,000

Sliding distance [m]

MoS2 = Molybdenum disulfide PTFE = Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon®)

22
Performance of BALINIT® coatings in mixed friction

Wear [µm]

3.5

3.0
290 N 1,200 N
2.5

2.0
5
1.5
No measurable
wear at 290 N
1.0

0.5
Block-ring test
0 Block coated
BALINIT® C1000 BALINIT® C1500 BALINIT® DLC BALINIT® CNI Speed: 0.3 m/s
WC/C WC/C Load: 290 N/1,200 N
Oil: 5W-30

Mixed friction Coatings and additives Two trends lie in store for the future.
Carbon coatings are employed in lu- Additives are frequently employed to Firstly, additive use will decline on en-
bricated systems far more often than reduce wear in lubricated systems. Ef- vironmental grounds, with coatings
in dry-running ones. The behaviour of forts to identify the action of additives used instead. Secondly, additives are
coatings with, and in comparison to, when used with coated parts have being developed and tested that can
lubricants has been demonstrated in been under way for some years. The cooperate with PVD coatings to deliver
a gear scuffing test (see page 22). effects have been found to be slight on greater performance than either prac-
Experiments performed by the IMM the whole. The coating (WC/C is the tice alone.
(Institute of Machine Elements and one most studied) and the additive
Machine Design) at the Technical Uni- work together positively in many cases Applications
versity of Dresden show that both light but negatively in many others. For ex- BALINIT ® C finds use in all domains of
lubrication and WC/C coating can lead ample, sulphur-based high-pressure mechanical engineering, in motors and
to marked gains in service life, but the additives together with the tungsten transmissions, and also in fluid technol-
best results are obtained with a combi- in the WC/C coating form WS2 com- ogy. This coating also aids functional
nation of the two. This means on the pounds that reduce friction similarly reliability in systems where lubricants
one hand that coating cannot supplant to MoS2. This effect was measured at must not be employed (cryogenic and
regular lubrication, but on the other short running times, high pressures vacuum systems, clean rooms, food
hand that lubrication and WC/C coat- and low sliding speeds. equipment). BALINIT ® C is particularly
ing act in a positive synergy. suitable for case-hardening as well as
In most instances the coating has the ball- and roller-bearing steels because
Not only carbon but also nitride coat- more robust and permanent action. it can be applied at temperatures
ings come out well in mixed-friction This is no surprise, for the coating is under 200 °C.
tests. Chromium nitride in particular applied as a uniform, hard and wear-
may actually surpass carbon coatings. resistant film while additives take the
form of small soft particles that come
into play only under load.

23
 BALINIT® DLC Benefits
3 BALINIT® DLC STAR BALINIT ® DLC is suitable for the most
drastic wear conditions and high rela-
Properties tive sliding speeds. The strengths of
2
BALINIT ® DLC is a pure, metal-free, this coating lie in protection against
amorphous carbon coating that con- abrasion, tribo-oxidation and adhesion
tains only carbon and hydrogen. Its (scuffing). The coating can accommo-
diamond (sp3) bonding content is date surface pressures that would
1 higher than in BALINIT ® C coatings. quickly lead to scuffing and cold weld-
The coating is therefore very hard and ing under normal service conditions.
1 µm
compact (>2,000 HK). It also features Frictional losses are minimised and
Typical structure of a multifunction extreme chemical stability and a dry corrosion resistance is enhanced.
BALINIT ® coating of the STAR series: friction coefficient of 0.1 to 0.2. BALINIT ® DLC STAR improves the
1 Base material (component)
2 CrN supporting layer
A special coating technology results load-bearing capacity of hard DLC
3 Tribologically effective carbon layer in very good adhesion despite high coatings.
internal stresses. For extreme load
situations, the carbon coating can be
combined with a metallic (CrN) sup-
port layer (BALINIT ® DLC STAR).

Wear coefficient and friction Coefficient of friction and wear

Where parts experience sliding wear,
a combination of low friction and high Coefficient of wear [10-15 m3/Nm]
abrasion resistance is crucial. Friction 13
is measured in the pin-disc dry sliding- 12
Nitride coatings
wear test. Abrasion resistance is deter- 11
10
mined in the calowear test, where a 9
Carbon coatings
CrN
steel ball rotates on the surface and 8
7
diamond paste is added so that the 6
BALINIT® C1000 (a-C:H:W)
TiN
ball grinds a spherical pit in the coat- 5
TiAlN
4
ing. The lowest friction and wear rates, 3
BALINIT® C1500 (a-C:H:W)
and thus the best conditions for slid- 2
BALINIT® DLC (a-C:H)
1
ing-wear applications, are achieved 0
with BALINIT ® DLC coatings. 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

Coefficient of friction against steel [dry]

24
BALINIT® DLC STAR coating for valve seats

DLC

CrN

Needle seat (schematic) Fracture surface of BALINIT ® DLC STAR coating Top view on worn surface
Bright dots: tips of CrN grains
Dark background: run-in DLC coating

BALINIT® DLC STAR coating multifunctional carbon coating BALI- Applications

for valve seats NIT ® DLC STAR and nitride coatings BALINIT ® DLC coatings are used in
Sliding wear and abrasion are not the have proven to perform well under motor sports, in the automotive and
only loads on components such as the such conditions. In the case of BALI- textile industries, instrumentation,
injector needles of diesel injection sys- NIT ® DLC STAR, the DLC coating pumps, seals, valves and other preci-
tems. High cyclical tensile-compressive ensures good running-in behaviour sion components where good wear
loads combined with extremely fast while wear is generally blocked at the resistance and high surface quality
micro-motions also act on the conical CrN-DLC interface. Scanning electron are needed. The virtues of this coating
seal surfaces that work at high fre- micrographs show this clearly: The also come into play in severely stressed
quency to regulate fuel feed. These white spots indicate the tips of col- components of modern diesel fuel-
surfaces not only experience friction umnar CrN crystals and the surround- injection systems. BALINIT ® DLC STAR
and abrasion but are also subject to ing dark areas represent the run-in decisively improves the performance
severe surface fatigue. Both the hard DLC coating. and durability of valve-train compo-
nents, wrist pins and high-pressure
pump components.

25
BALINIT® CNI Applications
The application spectrum of BALINIT ®
Properties CNI extends from wear protection in
BALINIT ® CNI is a chromium nitride machinery and hydraulics (pistons) to
(CrN) coating applied by a special the automotive (valve train compo-
process that yields a particularly dense, nents, piston rings) and the aircraft in-
smooth coating. The increase in rough- dustry. As BALINIT ® coatings are FDA
ness Ra is less than 0.02 µm, inside (Food and Drug Administration) ap-
normal manufacturing tolerances, and proved, BALINIT ® CNI can be applied
the coating hardness of 1,750 HK is to parts that come into direct contact
substantially greater than that of elec- with foods. Other applications arise
troplated hard chrome (approx. 1,000 wherever thin electroplated chrome
HK). and nickel have been used in the past.
By virtue of its special process, BALI- Coating structure of BALINIT® CNI
Benefits NIT ® CNI has also proved a highly con-
This chromium nitride coating offers not just great
Components coated with BALINIT ® ductive material and exhibits excellent hardness but also a high degree of tightness and
CNI display good wear resistance and chemical stability at electrical junctions. smoothness. Coated components show improved
wear and corrosion resistance as well.
good frictional qualities under condi- Chemical electrodes, hot contacts and
tions of deficient lubrication when fuel-cell applications are applications
they are subject to severe mechanical in which BALINIT ® CNI provides good
loads. At the same time, they show electrical conductivity even in the most Corrosion test
improved corrosion resistance. Be- drastic environments.
cause the coating temperature is less Area not corroded [%]
than 250 °C, a broad range of ma- A key property of PVD coatings is 60
terials can be coated. The coatings their thinness, which sets them apart 54 %

are faithful to the component shape from conventional electroplated and 50

and can thus be applied as the final thermal spray coatings. The gaps be- 40
step in the manufacturing process; no tween these processes, however, are
further machining is needed. What is increasingly being closed with thinner 30 27 %

more, the production process does electroplated as well as thicker PVD 20

not generate pollutants or residues. coatings. CrN coatings up to 50 µm
thick are now being applied to relative- 10

ly precise parts subject to heightened 0

abrasive or corrosive wear. Typical 4 µm 34 µm
examples are coatings for piston rings, PVD - CrN Electroplated
hard chrome
pumps for abrasive media and com-
ponents of textile machinery (thread
guides and components in contact Comparison of CrN applied by PVD with
with fibres). electroplated hard chrome in the 48 hr salt-spray
test of DIN 50021 SS.
Specimen: Untreated ball-bearing steel
AISI 52100 (DIN 1.3505)
Surface quality: N2 / Ra = 0.04 / Rz = 0.4

26
BALINIT® D BALINIT® A BALINIT® FUTURA NANO

Properties Properties Properties

BALINIT ® D is a chromium nitride (CrN) BALINIT ® A, a titanium nitride (TiN) BALINIT ® FUTURA NANO is a titanium
coating applied by reactive ion plating coating, is applied by ion plating or aluminium nitride (TiAlN) coating, ap-
or arc evaporation. This process is arc evaporation, as is BALINIT ® D. plied by arc evaporation at tempera-
carried out at temperatures of up to In contrast to that coating, it employs tures up to 500 °C. As against chro-
500 °C. titanium in place of chromium. mium nitride and titanium nitride coat-
ings, it is optimised in terms of hard-
Benefits Benefits ness (3,300 HK), coefficient of friction,
BALINIT ® D displays a good combina- BALINIT ® A can be used everywhere, residual stress and maximum service
tion of abrasion, corrosion and oxida- offering high hardness (around 2,300 temperature.
tion resistance. The coating is marked- HK), good frictional qualities (friction
ly harder (about 1,750 HK) than hard coefficient 0.4) and stability at high Benefits
chrome and adheres better. temperatures. This coating displays extraordinarily
great wear resistance, impact strength
Applications Applications and high-temperature stability (up to
Large components such as housings High tempering temperature steels and 900 °C).
and shafts that are not temperature- some lower tempering temperature
sensitive are coated with BALINIT ® D steels can be coated with BALINIT ® A. Applications
for the mechanical, automotive and The coating is employed where high BALINIT ® FUTURA NANO is used
aircraft industries. Coatable materials abrasion resistance is desired, often chiefly for engine components under
include titanium and nodular iron but combined with a decorative function. great temperature stress (valves) and
also high tempering temperature for automotive structural parts subject
steels. to severe abrasive wear. Good results
are also achieved on components for
hydraulic machinery.

Impact erosive wear Nitride and carbon coatings in impact erosive wear
In fluid technology, impact erosive wear
is crucial where the flow of abrasive Wear [µm]
media is controlled. Metal-on-metal 0.9
sliding is secondary under these con- 0.8
ditions. Surfaces and coatings must 0.7
combine hardness and toughness in 0.6
order to stand up to this kind of load. 0.5
Nitride coatings such as TiN or CrN 0.4
as well as DLC coatings with a nitride 0.3
support layer (BALINIT ® DLC STAR) 0.2
are best suited to these requirements. 0.1
0
WC/C DLC CrN-DLC TiN CrN Cr Steel HSS
sputtered PACVD Sputter-CVD Ionplating sputtered electroplated

Test: centrifugal impeller

200 µm particles of SiO2, 80 m/s, impact angle 90°

27
Advantages of BALINIT ® coatings

The characteristic properties of BALI- - eliminates the need for rema-

NIT ® offer many advantages in prac- chining. The thinness of BALINIT ®
tical application and thus afford much coatings and the appropriate tem-
scope to the designer. peratures at which they are applied
mean no increases in roughness and
BALINIT ® no uncontrolled dimensional changes
- enhances reliability and length- of components. Homogeneity and
ens service life. Many mechanical geometrical integrity mean that
elements perform critical functions, manufacturing tolerances can be
and just a few micrometers of wear held below 1 µm and make it possi-
can result in failure. BALINIT ® wear Bronze bushing replaced by coating ble to place coating as the last step
protection guarantees higher reliability of wrist pin. in the process when manufacturing
and increased service life. precision components.

- protects dry-running systems. - boosts power and reduces - helps protect the environment.
The low friction coefficients of BALI- weight. BALINIT ® coatings come Lubricants and additives pollute, so
NIT ® permit operation with deficient into their own where higher tribo- areas such as fluid technology are
lubrication as well as emergency logical loads and higher mechanical increasingly using water-based hy-
operation in case of an undesired loads occur at the same time. BALI- draulic fluids (HFA fluids) or additive-
loss of lubricant. Coatings also allow NIT ® C, for example, enhances the free lubricating oils. There is also a
systems to function where lubricants load-bearing capacity of gear wheels, rising demand for ozone-neutral re-
are not permissible, as in cryogenic so that they can be made smaller and frigerants in climate-control applica-
and vacuum equipment, the food thus lighter but still handle increased tions. When wear problems result
industry, clean rooms and space burdens. from these shifts, BALINIT ® coatings
technology. offer new solution approaches.
- lessens the need for lubrication
- replaces costly materials. and maintenance. Oil lubrication
While the base material provides the drives up operating costs because of Environmentally benign coating
needed strength, BALINIT ® imparts the continual need for inspection and When you use BALINIT ® coatings,
hardness and good frictional behav- maintenance. Lifetime lubrication with you are adopting an advanced technol-
iour. This makes it possible to cut grease, however, often fails to meet ogy. In contrast to many conventional
costs by replacing expensive ma- stringent tribological requirements. coating processes such as phosphat-
terials such as cemented carbides, A supplemental BALINIT ® coating ing, nitriding, electro- and chemical
ceramics and bronze with steel. improves tribological performance plating (hard chrome, chemical nickel,
Examples include cemented carbides and greatly lengthens maintenance etc.), the BALINIT ® vacuum process
in pump shafts, bronze bushings in intervals. generates no polluting compounds,
hydraulic systems or wrist pin bear- emissions or residues. If you must
ings in internal combustion engines - reduces the threat of corrosion. meet environmental limits or manufac-
and the metals used for plain bear- Thanks to this quality of BALINIT ® turing standards, or if you are seeking
ings. coatings, severely loaded compo- ISO 14001 certification, BALINIT ®
nents can function reliably even in coatings can offer new avenues to you.
unfavorable environments.

28
Limitations of BALINIT ® coatings

Advantages aside, there are limits on Unfavourable component

the use of a BALINIT ® coating in some geometry
situations: For physical and engineering reasons,
coatability is limited when deep holes
Replacement for and deep, narrow slots and grooves
corrosion-resistant steel (cavities) are present.
The corrosion resistance of a coated
component depends on the coating
material, the base material, the corro- Coatability of internal contours
sive medium and the surface rough-
ness of the component. While BALI-
NIT ® coatings do enhance corrosion
resistance, PVD-coated unalloyed
steels cannot replace corrosion-resist- L

ant steel, as corrosive media can get

through tiny local defects in the thin
hard coatings and cause pitting cor-
rosion in the base material.
D
Continuous dry running
BALINIT ® coatings extend the service Rule of thumb for acceptable coating adhesion and thickness:
lives of precision components in all Opening (diameter D) should be greater than depth (length L) to
be coated.
frictional states: hydrodynamic lubri-
cation, mixed friction and dry friction.
While the coating permits dry running
in emergencies, it does not match the From problem solver
friction coefficient of an oil film and so to design element
cannot serve as a long-term substitute The performance potential and appli-
for lubrication in severely loaded tribo- cation range of BALINIT ® coatings are
systems (no cooling action). far from exhausted. The outcome of
coating can be optimised only by an
Heavy abrasive wear early, comprehensive analysis of the
In spite of their greater hardness, thin entire tribosystem with all its elements
hard coatings offer only a marginal and their properties, as well as the
improvement where even cemented interactions between the frictional
carbides are subject to tenths of a partners. The answer lies in the highly
millimetre of wear. developed field of surface engineer-
ing, which Balzers offers you in the
early phases of design.

29
30
Coating as a design element

Any user who means to exhaust the full potential of wear-protection coatings
must include them in the design phase. This is when the component form, the
manufacturing method, and the selection of material and heat treatment can be
optimally brought into accord with a highly effective coating. A coating thus
affords scope for designing a more powerful system.

Choosing the right materials Coordination of tempering and

There are essentially no limitations coating temperatures
on the coating of steels by PVD and
PACVD processes. For each material Hardness [HRC]
used, the temperature of the final heat
70
treatment - usually the tempering tem-
perature in the case of steels - must Range of coating temperature
be higher than the coating tempera- 65
for BALINIT® C

ture, since coating is the last step in

manufacturing.
60
Mechanical engineers commonly select
hardened unalloyed steel (such as ball-
55
bearing steel AISI 52100/DIN 1.3505)
for severely loaded parts. This repre-
sents a good compromise between 50
economics and strength. Process
definitions for the most important PVD 0 100 200 300 400
and PACVD coating processes take
this factor into account. These coat- Tempering temperature [°C]

ings are applied in the range of the

tempering temperature between 150 Tempering diagram for AISI 52100 / DIN 1.3505
and 250 °C. Good coating adhesion
requires that the temperature be a
minimum (approx. 100 to 150 °C) at higher temperature and a slight loss
the start of the process. The tempera- of hardness (2-5 HRC) may well be
ture can rise in the course of coating, accepted for the sake of a robust pro-
depending on the part dimensions and cess and good coating adhesion. It is
batch loading. But the coating tem- recommended that these values be
perature should not exceed the tem- set down and documented in quality
pering temperature by much, if at all, agreements.
so that the hardness will not be unduly
reduced. In practice, a somewhat The following pages offer suggestions
on the selection of a suitable material
and on how to design, pretreat and
conserve components in the right way
for coating.

31
Materials and their coatability

Steel Cast iron Sintered materials

Ball- and roller-bearing steel, From the standpoint of temperature, As a rule, cemented carbides can
case-hardening steel and special- cast iron is well-suited to coating. be coated without any restriction but
purpose tool steels are typical The tribological qualities of the com- mechanical operations such as grind-
materials for precision components. ponent can be improved by coating, ing must be modified as appropriate.
These and other low tempering tem- but graphite inclusions in the base Cemented carbides should be ma-
perature steels can be coated at tem- material affect the coating structure. chined with coolant-lubricants contain-
peratures up to 200 °C. Typical repre- ing cobalt inhibitors. Sintered metals
sentatives include AISI 52100 (DIN Nonferrous metals with open pores cannot be coated
1.3505) and AISI 5115 (DIN 1.7131). Nickel and titanium alloys are because residues from the sintering
readily coatable and are used primarily process outgas in vacuum, interfering
Heat-treatable steels and higher for special applications such as cor- with the plasma processes.
tempering temperature tool rosion protection and lightweight con-
steels such as AISI M2 (DIN 1.3343) struction. Other materials
and HSS pose no problems for coat- Suitable ceramics, that is, conduc-
ing. The lower hardness of heat treat- Copper, magnesium and alumin- tive or metallised ones, can be coated.
able steels, however, means that they ium alloys are coatable in special Oxide ceramics such as aluminium
are not often employed for precision cases. The age-hardening conditions oxide need special processes that per-
components. are an important factor in alloy selec- mit coating application even though
tion. Hot age hardening at the highest an insulating surface is present.
Nitrided steels can be coated, but possible temperature is recommended.
the porous parts of the compound Nonferrous alloys have low hardness Because of their lack of conductivity
layer (white layer) have to be removed and supporting action under high sur- and their sensitivity to high tempera-
first. Components must be lightly re- face pressures, so their use is restrict- tures, plastics are not coatable with
ground or microblasted before coating. ed to loads that the materials can BALINIT ®.
The most common nitriding processes handle.
are gas-phase, salt-bath and plasma
nitriding. The plasma process provides Brass can only be coated after chemi-
the best basis for subsequent PVD or cal nickel-plating.
PACVD coating because the formation
of the white layer can be suppressed Aluminium alloys display natural or arti-
in this process. ficial (hard anodised) oxide films. There
are two options for coating aluminium
Austenitic steels can be hard- alloys without hard anodising: prelimi-
coated by all PVD/PACVD processes. nary chemical nickel-plating (a thick-
With these soft steels it must be con- ness of 5 µm is sufficient) followed by
sidered that while thin coatings reduce standard coating processes, or the
friction and wear, they do not increase use of special processes if no chemical
the resistance to deformation. nickel is applied.

General-purpose engineering Chrome-plated and nickel-plated

steels can be coated with all PVD metals can in principle be coated.
and PACVD hard coatings, but these Such electroplate/PVD composite
typical structural steels, with lower coatings, in which the electroplated
strength and supporting action, are layer has limited adhesion to the sub-
seldom used for precision components. strate, are best employed under com-
bined corrosion and wear conditions
where mechanical loads are not too
severe.

32
Coatable materials

Materials BALINIT® C BALINIT® DLC BALINIT® CNI BALINIT® D BALINIT® A

a-C:H:W a-C:H CrN CrN TiN
BALINIT®
FUTURA NANO
TiAlN

Steels with
heat-treatment temperatures > 500 °C
Heat-treatable steels + + + + +
Cold-working steels + + + + +
Hot-working steels + + + + +
High-speed steels + + + + +
Austenitic steels + + + + +
Age-hardened steels + + + + +

Steels with
heat-treatment temperatures around 200 °C
Ball- and roller-bearing steels + + +
Case-hardening steels + + +
Hardenable chrome steels + + +
Low tempering temperature tool steels + + +

Other materials
General engineering steels + + + + +
Nitrided steels (after pretreatment) + + + + +
Cast iron
Chrome-plated metals
Nickel-plated metals
Nickel alloys + + + + +
Titanium alloys + + + + +
Copper alloys
Aluminium alloys
Cemented carbides + + + + +
Sintered metals (after pretreatment)
Ceramics
Plastics – – – – –

+ coatable
– not coatable
conditionally coatable (inquire)

33
Hardness and strength of materials

The hardness and load-bearing capac- The following details should be kept in Roughness plays a central role in fric-
ity of materials play a special role in view: tion and wear processes. The smaller
coating because typical PVD/PACVD the roughness, the better the tribologi-
coatings are not self-supporting. A - Surfaces must be metallically bright. cal properties. Improving the surface
hard substrate offers adequate sup- Corroded, brown-finished, steam- quality, however, comes with costs as
porting action for the coating and pre- blued or similarly treated surfaces well. This is true for both uncoated
vents it from breaking up (“eggshell cannot be coated. surfaces and those that will receive
effect”). coatings. For severely loaded precision
- Ground surfaces must not display components, designers specify the
Therefore as a rule of thumb, to burrs, grinding cracks, oxide skins well-ground surfaces (Rz = 0.5-5 µm).
apply a coating, the greater the load or rehardening burns. PVD coatings follow the surface topo-
on the component, the harder the sub- graphy exactly, and there is just a very
strate material must be (> 45 HRC). small increase in roughness.
Plasma nitriding or case-hardening of
soft steels can produce a boundary A roughness in the high range (i.e., 3
zone that will support the coating. If to 5 µm) can be chosen when applying
subsequent loss of hardness is to be “softer” coatings such as BALINIT ® C
avoided, the tempering temperature Coating (WC/C, approx. 1,000 HK), thanks to
must be higher than the temperature the very good running-in and burnish-
at which the component is coated. ing qualities and the good behaviour
Do not reduce the substrate hardness towards the mating part. With hard
badly ground well ground
of the component to be coated. nitride and DLC coatings, the rough-
Furthermore, it is advisable to coat ness Rz should be between 0.5 and
the harder surface in the tribosystem. - Coolants employed in grinding must 1 µm to avoid unduly great wear to
not contain calcium sulfonates, com- the mating part.
pounds of boron or iodine, or silicone-
Component surface quality based antifoaming agents. The increase in roughness with PVD
coatings is generally negligible. There
Along with strength, the surface condi- - Ground, honed, polished or lapped is an increase of approx. 0.2 µm in
tion of the component affects coating surfaces must be cleaned of abrasive Rz with sputtering, evaporation and
performance. A necessary condition compounds and their residues. PACVD processes, and approx. 2 µm
for good coating in a vacuum process with arc coating. Methods such as
is therefore: - Brazed and soldered joints must be blasting or brushing have become
free of pipes, fluxes and cadmium. standard in order to remove rough-
A readily coatable component ness peaks (droplets) after arc coating.
is one that has been ground - Blind holes and internal threads must
or polished, well cleaned, and be free of hardness salts and other
conserved for shipping. contaminants.

- Chips, wax, adhesive tape, paint and

other nonmetallic contaminants must
be removed from the components,
also grinding dust, cleanser residues,
fingerprints and the like.

- The components must be demagnet-

ised.

34
 Component design for coating

Coated surface = The best coating results will be achieved if component condition and geometry
functional surface are in harmony with the physical and engineering conditions of cleaning, prepa-
The designer can exert a good deal ration and coating.
of control over unit coating costs by
taking into account the coating from
the very beginning of the component Component condition - Blind holes can be coated, but they
design process. The configuration is - Components are fixtured for coating. should not have a depth greater than
best if only the component with the Allowance should be made for the their diameter.
functional surface has to be coated - surface covered by the fixture, which
that is, other surfaces of the compo- will remain uncoated. Geometry, dimensions and
nent are not coated needlessly and no weights
expense is incurred in masking them - Surfaces that must be left uncoated In addition to the condition, the ge-
off. The illustration shows an example. are covered by a mechanical mask. ometry and weight of the component
If the functional surface of the worm Optimal component design must must be considered. The maximum
is rigidly attached to the shaft stubs, permit this, since the use of pastes size and weight of a component for
the entire component must be coated. (as in nitriding) is not possible. coating depend on the coating select-
A better solution is to make the worm ed. The maximum weight is about
and stubs separately. This approach - Preassembled (glued, screwed or 3,000 kg, or a diameter of 1,300 mm
saves space in the coating machine pressed together) components can- and a length of 1,500 mm.
and thus optimizes the number of not be coated. The joint surfaces will
components per batch. The two parts outgas in vacuum and may not lend
can be joined or press-fitted together themselves to adequate cleaning.
after coating. Welded structures must be put
through a stress-relief anneal before
coating.

uncoated coated uncoated

functional surface

A component not designed for coating: Fewer units per coating batch, need for masking.

coated
functional surface

A component designed for coating: More units per coating batch.

35
Conservation and packaging

The parts must be guarded against The use of oils in fabrication processes
rusting in the course of transport. This has proved not to be a problem, be-
can be done by treating them with a cause there is less danger of residues
slight water-displacing oil, which can on the parts.
be removed without residue by alkaline
cleaning after delivery. An alternative is Proper packaging guards components
VCI (volatile corrosion inhibitor) paper from harm due to external factors and
in a vacuum package. Undiluted oil, keeps them from damaging one an-
grease or wax should not be used. other. A packaging that is also suitable
These conserving agents are difficult for repeated use and for return ship-
to remove and would interfere with the ment is advisable.
sensitive baths used in cleaning sys-
tems. For mass-production parts we recom-
mend consulting with us on fabrication
When emulsion coolants are used in media and packaging. We shall be
manufacturing, it is essential to clean glad to assist you.
components thoroughly before con-
servation. This must be effected in
an aqueous process using deionised
water. Otherwise, water hardness can Optimal coating results do not depend
result in lime deposits on the parts; solely on component design. The
such deposits can combine with the choice of the right coating for the ap-
conserving agent to form durable sur- plication is also crucial to boosting
face residues that cannot be removed component and system performance,
by chemical means. as the next chapter will demonstrate.
Balzers offers both proven, standard
solutions and customised coatings for
specific needs.

36
Application tailored solutions

The chief objectives of today’s designers and design engineers as they work out
new and innovative concepts include lighter weight, higher output from more-
compact mechanisms, lower emissions, and minimal lubrication and maintenance.
As requirements on systems grow more stringent, so do requirements on their
components, and classical materials soon reach their limits. Potential for perfor-
mance can be greatly enhanced with application-tailored BALINIT ® hard coatings;
indeed, only BALINIT ® makes new design solutions feasible in many cases.

Engine technology Engines friction will bring about not just greater
output but also a potential for lower
Boosted fuel economy, reduced emis- Design innovations aimed at boosting fuel consumption and emissions.
sions, greater power and passenger efficiency, such as lighter aluminium Solutions based on BALINIT ® carbon
comfort are among the challenges that engine blocks, are costly in terms of or metal coatings have proven them-
have led vehicle and engine developers development. Less effort has been selves both in automotive production
toward innovative engine designs: focussed on cutting internal friction and in racing. The very good wear and
and how this will affect power output. friction behaviour of these coatings
- Gasoline engines with direct fuel in- Frictional losses in engines occur at improves the performance and service
jection, variable valve timing, smaller piston/connecting rod joints, crank- life of engine components such as
displacement and turbo charging, as shafts, valve trains and oil pumps, tappets, wrist pins and piston rings.
well as fuel-cell hybrid technology among other places. A reduction in

- Diesel engines with high-pressure

injection, soot filters and exhaust gas Wear of diesel truck engine by parts
recirculation and capable of running
on low-sulphur fuels Free mean effective pressure
FMEP [bar]

Drastic testing in motor sports is often 1.8

a first step toward the adoption of
coated components in the automotive 1.6

industry. Mechanical components for 1.4

racing service are designed for maxi- Piston train

mum strength and must be as light as 1.2

possible at the same time. BALINIT ® Generator
1.0
coatings are crucial for the reliable Fuel system
functioning and long life of these com- 0.8 Steering pump
ponents in hard racing service. Air compressor
Valve train
0.6
Oil pump
0.4
Water pump

0.2
Crankshaft

0
600 1,000 1,400 1,800 2,200

Engine speed [rpm]

This test programme result shows how much friction loss is due to individual engine components and thus
how these components affect fuel consumption in a truck diesel engine.
Source: IVECO Motorenforschung AG

37
Valve train face. With regard to service life and
BALINIT ® C and BALINIT ® CNI are wear, both coatings are far superior to
recommended for the coating of tap- conventional phosphating. BALINIT ®
pets in high volume production. The coatings have found acceptance in
WC/C coating displays its special motor sports for friction and wear re-
advantages in low friction, while the duction. BALINIT ® DLC STAR is used
CrN coating stands out chiefly in the on a large scale for the coating of cam
good wettability of the very fine sur- followers and tappets.

Friction reduction in the valve train of a passenger car

with carbon coating of tappets

Frictional torque [Nm]

3.0

2.5

2.0 Coating of engine parts reduces friction and

thereby increases the output and efficiency of
1.5 the drive system.
Phosphated
1.0
WC/C-coated
0.5

0
0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000

Engine speed [rpm]

Test method: Cylinder-head test stand, non-fired

Source: Ford/INA

Measurable advantages are also Reduced valve-train power consumption with

gained in truck engines. Tappets coat- BALINIT ® DLC-coated tappets (truck engine)
ed with DLC were tested on an en-
gine test stand. They proved to reduce Power consumption [kW]
frictional power consumption by as 2.0
much as 400 W in comparison with 1.8
uncoated
BALINIT® DLC-coated
uncoated cast-iron tappets at higher 1.6
speeds. 1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
BALINIT® DLC-
0
coated tappet 500 1,000 1,500 2,000

Engine speed [rpm]

38
Piston rings and PVD coatings are finding greater
Piston rings cause significant frictional and greater acceptance along with the
losses in engines, while being subject proven coatings for piston rings, such
to added wear as a result of rising as hard chrome and molybdenum,
ignition pressures and exhaust gas plus nitriding for steel rings. A bench-
recirculation. For this reason, a wide mark trial has shown that BALINIT ® C
variety of anti-wear coatings offer is among the best solutions. In a com-
potential improvement. Electroplated parison with the most important stand-
coatings with fine dispersed carbides ard coatings, BALINIT ® C displays the
least ring and cylinder wear.

Wear of cylinder liners with variously treated piston rings

Tribometer: Cameron-Plint TE77
0.3 Load: 8 MPa
Temperature: 80 °C
Cylinder-liner wear [mg] Test duration: 6h
0.2 Frequency: 10 Hz
Cylinder liners: Grey cast iron
0.1 Oil: Lubrizol TH 53303

X Treatments applied to piston-ring surface only

0
X X Source: Scania AB
0.1
x = no wear detected
Piston-ring wear [mg]
0.2
Plasma-sprayed Nitrided Hard chrome Chrome BALINIT® C
ceramic (WC/C)

A simulation with passenger-car piston Friction and wear tests on piston rings (passenger car)
rings showed that PVD-CrN and PVD-
WC/C sustained greater loads in the Friction coefficient Normalised wear
scuffing test than hard-chrome-coated 0.12 1.2
or nitrided rings. What is more, CrN
displayed the lowest wear while friction 0.10 1.0
Normalised wear Friction coefficient
was least with WC/C. An engine test 0.08 0.8
provided impressive confirmation of
these results, with WC/C and CrN 0.06 0.6

cutting the frictional power consump- 0.04 0.4

tion (at 2,000 rpm) by 9-20 % in com-
parison with hard chrome coating and 0.02 0.2

nitriding. 0 0
Hard chrome Nitrided CrN - PVD WC/C - PVD

Test conditions (model test):

Wear test: 100 N, 600 cm/min, 60 min
Friction test: 100 N, 100 cm/min
Lubricant: oil
Cylinder liner: cast iron

39
Results on piston rings in two-stroke Piston ring wear in two-stroke engines
engines for recreational and sport ve-
hicles were similarly convincing. Some Wear [µm]
chrome dispersion coatings (even 7
those established in the field) were not
6
up to the challenge of this application,
failing by heat checking. A series of 5

tests was dedicated to comparing 4

a variety of PVD coatings: Here sput- 3
tered CrN coatings (BALINIT ® CNI)
2
showed the lowest wear. They are
applied in a thickness of 10 µm in 1

series. 0
BALINIT® A BALINIT® C1000 BALINIT® C1500 BALINIT® DLC BALINIT® CNl
In addition to replacing conventional TiN WC/C WC/C

coatings for piston rings, DLC and

WC/C coatings are also employed as Running time: 50 hours
running-in coatings on nitrided, chrome-
plated or flame-sprayed piston-ring
surfaces.

Wrist pins When wrist pins are coated by PVD

The high injection and combustion processes, not only the bronze bush-
pressures typical of today’s diesel ing becomes unnecessary and the
and racing engines mean very severe wear is reduced. There is also a
pressures where the wrist pin is in marked reduction in friction and thus
contact with the small eye of the con- in engine power consumption. Fric-
necting rod. Bronze bushings, which tional power consumption, measured
are commonly used as wrist-pin bear- at high revolutions and high ignition
ings, can well reach their strain limit. pressure, was cut by as much as
BALINIT ® DLC or BALINIT ® DLC STAR 600 W in a test rig.
coatings on the wrist pins take over
the friction-reducing function of the
bushings and render them super- Reduced friction with BALINIT ® DLC-coated wrist pins (truck engine)
fluous. These coatings also permit a
lighter, stiffer connecting rod design. Reduction of power consumption [W]
What is more, BALINIT ® coatings 700
effectively prevent scuffing of material Ignition pressure: – 45 bar – 65 bar – 90 bar – 115 bar – 135 bar – 155 bar
in the wrist-pin hole of the aluminium 600
piston.
500

400

300

200

100

0
800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000 2,200

Engine speed [rpm]

40
Motor sport

Innovations in motor sport often foreshadow mass-production applications in

automaking. This holds for coatings as well. A variety of PVD-coated components
have long been used in nearly every category of motor sport, above all in the
valve train, piston group, transmission and chassis and suspension parts.

Wear and friction reduction Friction reduction

in motorcycles
The coating of tappets, finger fol- Power output [HP] Torque [Nm]
lowers, wrist pins and transmission 120
parts in sport motorcycles yields im-
113.0 HP at 12,145 rpm
proved wear resistance as well as 110
110.6 HP at 12,145 rpm
gains in power. A dynamometer test 100
showed a 2.2 % power increase for Tappets from a Kawasaki racing motorcycle.
a Kawasaki Ninja. Today mass-pro- 90 Left: uncoated, after approx. 250 km; severe wear
necessitates replacement.
duced wrist pins and finger followers 80 Right: BALINIT ® DLC-coated, after approx. 1,000 km;
95
are coated with BALINIT ® DLC. BALINIT®-coated
uncoated
almost no wear; still in service.
70 85
75
60
65
67.8 Nm
50 55
at 10,045 rpm
70.0 Nm 45
40
at 9,646 rpm 35
30
8,000 10,000 12,000
Speed [rpm]

Motorcycle: Kawasaki Ninja

Parts coated:
Tappets: BALINIT ® DLC
Wrist pins: BALINIT ® C (WC/C)
Transmission: BALINIT ® C (WC/C)

Power gain: 2.4 HP = 2.2 %

Increase in torque:
2.2 Nm = 3.3 % at lower speed

Shock absorbers
The coating of shock absorbers is
not just a matter of appearance. The
excellent sliding properties of PVD
coatings also lead to better response
(reduced stick-slip) and improved
anti-diving behaviour. The coatings
BALINIT® FUTURA NANO (TiAlN)-coated motorcycle shock absorber tube
used are TiN, DLC and TiAlN.

41
Formula 1 Valves experience severe loads at seat, ance for valve spring retainers among
Formula 1 racecars could not compete tip and shank. Ductile CrN coatings other parts, but it is ideally suited to
without thin hard coatings. DLC and (such as BALINIT ® CNI) have proven internal surfaces (holes) as well.
nitride coatings are applied to engine serviceable for exhaust valves, WC/C
parts under extreme loads, such as or DLC for intake valves. DLC coat- Where service conditions are critical,
camshafts, finger followers, valves and ings, commonly over a nitride base piston rings can no longer reliably hold
connecting rods, in order that they can layer (e.g., BALINIT ® DLC STAR), are the aluminium pistons away from the
withstand high speeds and high sur- employed in the valve train. cylinder walls. Carbon coatings on the
face pressures and meet the need for aluminium pistons eliminate the danger
longer service life. Furthermore, a long list of steering and of seizing. Coating the piston-ring
suspension parts, as well as threaded grooves simultaneously provides effec-
The small eyes of connecting rods are connectors made of titanium, receive tual protection against cyclical frictional
coated in order to allow operation WC/C or TiN coatings. wear due to the side flanks of the
without bushings. In most cases the piston rings.
frictional partner of the small eye is a Titanium parts can be additionally oxi-
DLC-coated wrist pin. The lateral sur- dised in a special process (Ti-Plus).
faces of the connecting rods are coat- Along with a TiO2 layer, an oxygen
ed so that frictional losses at the crank diffusion coating typically 10-15 µm
arms can be reduced to the greatest thick is applied; the latter affords good
extent possible. support to the rather soft titanium
alloys. This process has found accept-

BALINIT ®-coated parts for motor sport

42
Fuel injection

Innovative diesel injection systems BALINIT ® carbon coatings offer qual-

such as unit injector and common rail ities that enhance the performance
were milestones in engine technology. limits of the materials and protect se-
Injection pressures in diesel engines verely stressed precision components
have risen to 2,000 bar and beyond, against adhesive and abrasive wear.
and these systems provide both opti- At the same time, these coatings have
mal fuel utilisation and improved engi- ideal emergency running properties,
ne emission values. The high pressures so that operating life is extended even
however, impose extreme stresses on under starved lubrication conditions.
conventional materials used for injec- In practice, these coatings help boost
tion system components and unac- effective engine output, lengthen main-
ceptable wear can result. Increased tenance intervals, and reduce fuel con-
contact forces and correspondingly sumption and emissions of soot and
narrow lubrication clearances make other pollutants.
lubrication more difficult, further pro-
moting wear. Mass-produced BALINIT ® C, BALINIT ®
DLC and BALINIT ® DLC STAR coat-
These processes have the following ings have become indispensable for
consequences: the functioning of injectors, plungers
and plain bearings in common-rail and
- Plungers and injector needles must unit injector systems. Hard coatings,
be manufactured to a tolerance of however, have been in service even
less than 1 µm in order to prevent longer, for example in in-line and dis-
leaks in operation. Acceptable life- tributor pumps employed in commer-
time wear rates are in the order of cial vehicles, marine diesel engines
tenths of a micrometre. and stationary power plants.

- The prevailing pressures exert such

stresses on hardened steel bearing
components that scuffing may occur.
Pump plunger

- Classical materials such as bronzes Plate

in plain bearings can experience Polygon ring

plastic deformation.

Schematic drawing of a diesel injection pump BALINIT ®-coated polygon ring for a
diesel injection pump

43
Common-rail injectors Service life of Pump plungers for marine,
BALINIT ® DLC sets a new standard in common-rail injector plungers locomotive and utility vehicle
common-rail systems. The hard car- applications
bon coating provides great abrasion Service life [h] Since the 1980s, Balzers has applied
resistance for the tribologically stressed 10,000
PVD coatings to plungers for in-line,
components in modern common-rail 2,000 distributor and single-cylinder pumps
injectors. These components must 1,000 used in marine diesel engines, engines
handle high surface pressures and at 100
for construction machinery and station-
the same time stand up to severe abra- 20 ary plants (emergency generator sys-
sive stress due to ultrafine particles in 10 tems). These applications feature the
the fuel. BALINIT ® DLC gives these 1 use of heavy oil and contaminated
components the needed service life. fuels, leading to premature wear and
0.1 0.05 high maintenance costs. For this rea-
0.01 son, original-equipment plungers in the
uncoated WC/C BALINIT® DLC injection pumps of large engines are
coated with BALINIT ® C or BALINIT ®
Test conditions DLC, which contributes to better
Material: AISI 52100 (DIN 1.3505) bearing steel economy and lower emissions.
Criterion for stopping test: Material wear of 1 µm
Diesel injector under accelerated operating conditions

Unit-injector system:
plain bearings
The BALINIT ® C carbon coating
strengthens many components in the
unit-injector system, such as the plain
bearings that transfer the motion from
cam to plunger. In a floating system
with a pin, a bushing and a roller, the
pin and bushing are coated with BALI-
NIT ® C to safeguard against wear.

44
Mechanical drives

The design of drive components for Wear-protection coatings offer a dif-fer- helicopter transmissions, and in racing
vehicles and machinery is marked by ent approach. Their use guards com- transmissions, where it reduces friction
trends such as the use of lightweight ponents against scuffing and pit- and boosts power. Another application
construction, higher efficiencies, more ting and extends their service lives, area where coating protects against
severe loads, lower lubricant consump- thus making the whole system more surface fatigue, tribo-oxidation, brinel-
tion and longer maintenance intervals. durable. ling and also permits unlubricated
These requirements tend to increase operation is for rollers and races in
the wear of bearing and transmission The BALINIT ® C carbon coating, for industrial roller bearings, which experi-
components. Alternative material se- example, has proved its worth in the ence very severe loading.
lection can only rarely meet these planetary transmissions of construction
challenges. machinery and commercial vehicles, in
the emergency operating reserve of

Vehicle gears - Pitting is a further possibility if a Torque

load-bearing lubricant film is present
Wear Scuffing Pitting Tooth fracture
Wear modes and causes of failures in but the loading capacity is limited by limit limit limit limit
gear transmissions depend on the load the compressive strength of the gear
and the peripheral speed: surface. Due to continuous cyclic
loads at high contact pressures, fine
- Sliding wear occurs at low periph- cracks are produced at grain bounda-
eral speed when there is no continu- ries or at inclusions beneath the sur-
ous lubricant film between the tooth face. These cracks lead to detach- No damage
faces, so that the surfaces come into ment of particles from the surface,
direct contact (mixed friction). leaving small pits on the tooth faces.
Peripheral speed
- Scuffing can come about at low - Micropitting is attributable to
peripheral speed when loads are starved lubrication. Microscopic Service limits of gear drives
more severe. This process can also cracking and chipping give the
result if the viscosity and thickness visual impression of gray spots.
of the lubricating film decrease with The danger of scuffing and micropitting
rising peripheral speed and tempera- The use of case-hardened steels vir- is reduced, while the maximum load
ture, so that the lubricating film ulti- tually exhausts the load-bearing capac- capacity (pitting resistance) is increased
mately ruptures. Scuffing is common- ity of gears. The danger of scuffing is compared to case-hardened gears. A
ly preceded by wear to the tooth mitigated by additives in the gear oil. source for this improvement lies in the
faces. Carbon coatings, however, are more excellent running-in behaviour of BALI-
effective against all wear mechanisms NIT ® C. The coating reduces local sur-
in transmissions. face pressures (Hertzian pressure) and
enhances the reliability of poorly lubri-
The BALINIT ® C (WC/C) coating in par- cated gears.
ticular separates metallic gear surfaces
reliably under mixed friction conditions.

45
High-speed spur gears High-speed gears in severe service
BALINIT ® C quadruples the service
life of gears. The standard FZG C test Tooth face pressure [N/mm2]
shows that the fatigue strength is 2,100
increased by 10-15 % over case-
hardened but uncoated gears. In the 2,000

test the failure criterion for gear service 1,900

uncoated

life was defined as single-tooth wear BALINIT® C (WC/C)

of 4 % due to pitting. The key factors 1,800

in these improved figures were the 1,700

lower local surface pressure (Hertzian
pressure), which resulted from reduced 1,600

friction in the rolling contact, and the 1,500

outstanding running-in behaviour of 2 4 6 8 107 2 4 6 8 108

BALINIT ® C. Number of loading cycles

Test method: FZG C test

Material: Case-hardened steel
Hardness: 62 HRC
Roughness: Rz = 3 µm
Criterion for stopping test:
4 % material loss per tooth
(weight) by wear

Uncoated transmission gear:

surface fatigue (pitting) despite
continuous lubricant film

Pitting wear with combined Rolling-contact fatigue test

surface treatments
PVD coating is not, however, the only Hertzian pressure [N/mm2]
option for increasing the pitting resist- 2,800
ance of gears. Other treatments in- EH + WC/C
clude combined case-hardening and EH
DH EH + Vibro + WC/C
2,600
nitriding (duplex treatment) and surface
polishing by the Vibrofinish process.
Gears show marked gains in pitting 2,400

resistance and service life as a result

of both PVD coating with WC/C and 2,200
duplex treatment, but the best results
come about with a combination of 2,000
Vibrofinish and WC/C coating. 105 106 107 108

Cycles

EH: case-hardened, 0.7-0.9 mm

DH: duplex-hardened, 1,050, HV10
WC/C: BALINIT ® C-coated, 1,000 HV / 2 µm
Vibro: Agusta superfinish, Rt 3.2 / 0.6 µm

Test conditions:
Oil: Mobil Jet / 80 °C
Sliding/rolling ratio: 24 %
Speed: 2,860 rpm
Material: M50 Nil / > 700 HV
Source: J. Kleff and D. Wiedmann,
ZF Asset Brite Euram Project

46
Gear wear by scuffing Gear wheel wear in dry running and starved lubrication
Scuffing, a consequence of starved
lubrication, is an important mechanism Number of load cycles
of gear wear. Simulating the process 107
on the test stand involves supplying Terminated after 2,000,000
106
only very small quantities of lubricant 150,000
and comparing the results with coat- 105
29,000
ings. Experiments at the IMM (Institute 104
of Machine Elements and Machine 103
1,400

Design) at the Technical University of

102
Dresden have shown that service life
can be significantly extended by either 10

light lubrication or a WC/C coating, but 1

the best results are obtained with a uncoated uncoated BALINIT® C BALINIT® C
dry lubricated dry lubricated
combination of the two. This means on
the one hand that coating cannot sup-
plant regular lubrication, but on the FZG test
other hand that lubrication and WC/C Speed: 1,000 rpm
Surface pressure: 1,000 N/mm2
coating act in a positive synergy. Lubricant: Esso CL46B (plant-based)
Lubricant feed rate: 1 drop per minute
Source: IMM (TU Dresden)

Spur gears for motorcycles Planetary gear set for Model test: planetary gears
The practical impact of protecting concrete mixers
gears against scuffing was illustrated A quite different kind of load causes Total wear of sun and planetary gears [mg]
by an emergency that occurred during wear in the planetary gears of concrete 600
a motorcycle race. The transmission mixers. The very low speed and the
was threatened with scuffing due to simultaneously high surface pressure 500
uncoated
a loss of oil, but amazingly the rider mean that no lubricant film can form, 400
was able to finish the race thanks to and the sun wheel, the most greatly
coating of the most severely stressed stressed component, is subject to se- 300

gears. An analysis showed that the vere abrasion. With BALINIT ® C (WC/C) 200
Sun and planetary gears
BALINIT® C-coated
uncoated gears had perceptible wear coating, wear is practically brought to
marks but the coated ones displayed a halt after a running-in phase. 100

virtually no abrasion. 0
0 40 80 120 160 200

Operating time [h]

Test conditions:
Gear tooth profile: FZG-C
Low-speed wear
Load: 2,180 MPa (316 KSI)
Sliding speed: 0.04 m/s

Gears from a motorcycle spur gear

transmission after loss of oil:
BALINIT ® C (WC/C)-coated (left),
uncoated (right)

47
Transmissions for aircraft Helicopter transmission
For weight reasons titanium alloys
are replacing steel more and more in Temperature [°C]
gears. The low hardness and poor ad- 250
hesive wear resistance of Ti-alloys can X X = Test ended because of wear
be overcome by using BALINIT ® C. 200
Standard transmission
uncoated
But also steel gears benefit from BALI- 150
BALINIT® C-coated
NIT ® coatings. E.g., helicopters must transmission
have the ability to run under emer- 100

gency conditions (transmission fluid

50
loss) long enough to land safely. Tests
of carburised steel helicopter trans- 0
missions revealed an increase from a -0.5 0.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5

scant hour to over six hours of emer- Time [h]

gency reserve with BALINIT ® C coat-
ing. BALINIT ® C-coated gears permit emergency operation for a considerably
longer time after a loss of transmission fluid.
Source: P. Maret and C. Varailhon / EUROCOPTER France

Torsen differentials Rear-axle gearboxes in trucks Reduction of power consumption [kW]

The performance of differentials in pas- Very great friction develops in truck 2.5
senger cars is impaired by friction and rear-axle gearboxes with spiral bevel
wear arising chiefly on cold starting. gears. Development engineers have 2.0
uncoated

Engineers are successfully improving therefore studied whether PVD coat-

reliability with WC/C coatings. ings could cut this friction. They found 1.5

that frictional losses could be reduced

by 1-1.5 kW (depending on the oil 1.0

temperature) with WC/C coating. BALINIT® C

0.5

0
40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Oil temperature [°C]

Reduction in truck rear-axle power

consumption by BALINIT ® coating

Gear ratio: 2.93

Speed: 1,100 rpm

48
Industrial drives Worm gear sets: greater loads, longer service lives

Worm gears with coated worm Wear rate of bronze gear [mg/h]
Lubrication is not always enough to 1,000
protect helical-gear transmissions,
which are coming under more and
more severe stress, against friction 100 Worm uncoated
and wear. Worm systems, for example,
work under very unfavourable tribo-
logical conditions. The sliding motion 10
and the force between the worm and Worm BALINIT® C (WC/C)-coated
gear faces make it difficult for a lubri-
cant film to form. For this reason, the 0
gear is most often made of bronze in 0 100 200 300

order to avoid scuffing. In service, Test time [h]

how-ever, the teeth of the bronze gear
wear away quickly and the gear must Worm set data:
be realigned or replaced. Carbon coat- Number of teeth (gear): 41
Angle: 12.5°
ings can improve the reliability and Shaft spacing: 100 mm
performance of worm drives in several
ways. In the worm transmission of a Test conditions:
Worm speed: 400 rpm
laser machining device, for example,
coating the steel worm with BALINIT ® C Materials:
Worm: AISI 5115 (DIN 1.7131)
reduces wear of both the worm and Gear: Bronze, DIN 2.1060.03 (GZ-CuSn12Ni)
the bronze gear.

Worm gears with

coated steel wheel
Accurate workpiece positioning in
machine tools is effected with worm
gears. When a classical bronze wheel
is used, wear leads to errors that can-
not be entirely compensated by fine
adjustments; the result is dimensional
errors in the work. Costly remachining
is necessary particularly for expensive
parts such as turbine blades. As a
countermeasure, the bronze wheel is
replaced with a WC/C-coated steel
wheel. The coating performs two func-
tions: It emulates the frictional qualities
of the bronze and at the same time its
hardness works with the supporting
action of the steel to protect against
wear.

49
Cam and follower drive system Simulation of cam drive
BALINIT ® C wins the comparison test
FN(ϕ)
by a clear margin: The values and time
variation of load and velocity in cam 100Cr6 - 100Cr6 Test roller Mating roller
drives imply poor lubrication conditions Si3N4 - 100Cr6
n1
and a danger of excessive wear. In the Si3N4 - Si3N4
search for a better solution, couples
involving hardened steel, ceramic TiN - 100Cr6

(Si3N4) and hardened steel with PVD TiN - TiN

n2 ϕ
coating were compared. By far the WC/C - 100Cr6
100Cr6 = AISI 52100
best results came about when one WC/C = BALINIT® C
WC/C - WC/C
or both rollers were coated wtih BALI-
0.01 0.1 1 10
NIT ® C.
Coefficient of wear [10-12 m3/Nm]

Contact force: 0-2,000 N

Hertzian pressure: 0-1,106 MPa
Slippage: 10 %
Speeds: n2 = 200 rpm / n1 = 0.9 · n2
Source: Surface Engineering Laboratory, University of Siegen

Cam drives in
can-forming machines
Very great forces must be transmitted Ø 377

in can-forming machines, and so cam

drives are used. The low speed of Ø 362
motion means that no adequate lubri-
cant film can form, and the surfaces
Cam
have a tendency to scuff. WC/C coat-
ing of the rollers produced a significant Roller

increase in the service life of the cam

drive.

50
Ball screw drive system Ball screw drive
BALINIT ® C makes it possible to boost
the speed of machine-tool operations. Frictional torque [Nm]
Lead screws are often used in the feed 1.25
of these machines, but positioning 1.15
speeds are limited by wear and friction 1.05
between the balls and the return 0.95
tubes. Practical tests have shown that 0.85
WC/C coating of the balls in particular 0.75
can reduce the frictional torque and 0.65
uncoated
return tube coated, balls uncoated
stick-slip effects. 0.55 balls coated, return tube uncoated
0.45 balls and return tube coated

0.35
0 100 200 300 400

Speed [rpm]

BALINIT ® C (WC/C) reduces friction and wear and cuts the frictional torque of the ball screw drive.
Source: WBK, Institute of Machine Tools and Production Science, University of Karlsruhe

Ball- and roller-bearings

The typical rolling motion in ball- and A variety of materials are currently used For some applications and some fric-
roller-bearings means that friction and in an attempt to combat these and tional requirements, however, conven-
wear conditions are generally good. other problems. One example is a very tional materials are not adequate and
When loads are severe and lubrication pure form of the standard bearing steel special materials are too costly. BALI-
is poor, however, wear mechanisms AISI 52100 (DIN 1.3505). Nitrided or NIT ® coatings offer an excellent solu-
can arise that will ultimately harm the chrome-plated steels offer protection tion in these cases by virtue of their
entire tribosystem: against corrosion, while tool steels are great hardness and dimensional stabil-
suitable for high-temperature applica- ity. By affording effective protection
- Scuffing in case of starved lubrication tions and ceramic rollers can serve in against wear, these PVD coatings re-
- Abrasion due to contaminants very high-speed applications. veal new tribological potential, especial-
- Surface fatigue (pitting) when over- ly where extreme service conditions
loading occurs (high/low temperatures, aggressive
- Fretting and brinelling in the presence environments, vacuum, clean-room
of vibration settings) limit reliability and make lubri-
cation difficult or impossible.

51
 FE-8 test stand
Cylindrical-roller thrust bearings Service life [h] Bearing type: 81206
Specially designed test stands are 1,000
Load: 33 kN
used to study the frictional and wear Cage material: PA 66
Speed: 15 rpm
behaviour of roller bearings. Critical > 250
Temperature: 30 °C Dry running
lubrication conditions and loads lead- 100
Coefficient Source: IME, Aachen University (RWTH Aachen)
ing to scuffing are preferably investi- of friction: 0.004
Roller wear: 5 mg
gated on stands for cylindrical-roller
thrust bearings. Because this type of 10
bearing is inherently subject to high
tribological stress. 1.5
0
Rings and Rollers uncoated
BALINIT® C (WC/C)-
coated

Material pairs for roller bearings The advantage of coating only the other tribosystems: It applies in the first
The Institute for Machine Elements rings over coating the rollers is under- instance only to systems with a ten-
and Machine Design at RWTH Aachen standable because more contact area dency towards adhesive wear. If abra-
University studied the development of is coated and the coating itself is sion and surface fatigue are in ques-
wear in thrust bearings with various somewhat thicker. There is no direct tion, it is better to coat both frictional
combinations of WC/C coatings. In way to account for the poorer behav- partners.
one series only the rollers were coated, iour with all coated components; one
in another only the rings, in another possible interpretation is that steel
both frictional partners. Interestingly, surfaces with the selected lubricant
bearings with all coated components cooperate with the WC/C coating to
displayed only the second-best wear produce especially good running-in
behaviour, after those with coated and wear conditions. But this finding
rings. cannot necessarily be extended to

Effect of material pair with coating of thrust bearing components

Test conditions:
Wear [mg] Test stand: FE8 thrust bearing
9 Bearing: 81212
Speed: 7.5 rpm
8
Roller Axial thrust: 80 kN
7 Shaft ring Contact pressure: 2,000 MPa
6 Housing ring Bearing temperature: 70 °C
Running time: 80 h
5 Base material: AISI 52100 / DIN 1.3505
4 Source: J. Loos, RWTH Aachen
3
2
1
0
Rollers: WC/C 100Cr6 WC/C
Rings: WC/C WC/C 100Cr6

52
Partial coating of rollers wear by some 50 %, and treating half Surface fatigue
Another interesting experiment involved the rollers results in more than a 90 % Early in the 1980s tests on spindle
coating various numbers of the rollers decrease in wear. This behaviour bearings showed that a reduction in
but not all of them. The aim was to occurs because the coated rollers race wear can be expected with WC/C
show whether and how well coating promote good running-in and burnish- coating. More recent measurements
protects against wear even when not ing even for the rings, which also have been carried out to examine in
all the rollers are coated. Surprisingly, receive some of the coating material. detail the actions of the individual com-
even a few coated rollers bring about The same phenomenon can also be ponents. Test-stand trials on radial
marked improvements. Coating just observed in respect of the uncoated bearings have shown for example that
two of a maximum of 15 rollers cuts rollers. applying a WC/C coating to the inner
rings yields only a slight extension of
service life because now the uncoated
Wear behaviour with various numbers of rollers coated rollers begin to wear. Only when the
rings and the rollers are coated does a
Total wear [%] significant increase in life come about.
100
100

80 75 Race wear in high-speed spindle

bearings
60 54
Ball bearing Race uncoated

40

18
20
4 1 0.2
0 20 µm
0 1 2 4 8 12 15
WC/C coating Race
Number of WC/C-coated rollers WC/C-coated

Test conditions:
Test stand: FE8 thrust bearing
Bearing: 81212
Speed: 7.5 rpm
Axial thrust: 80 kN 4 µm
Contact pressure: 2,000 MPa
Bearing temperature: 70 °C
Running time: 80 h Bearing type: 7014 P4 spindle bearing
Base material: AISI 52100 / DIN 1.3505 Test duration: 50 h
Source: J. Loos, RWTH Aachen Speed: 19,000 rpm
Speed coefficient: 1.7 · 106
Lubricant: Grease

53
Ball bearings Bearing balls Linear guides for semiconductor
BALINIT ® C effectively protects ball BALINIT ® C is applied not only to inner component assembly
bearings against tribo-oxidation and and outer races and cylinders but also Lubrication is not acceptable in some
brinelling under severe static-vibrating to the balls in ball bearings. The typical industries. In semiconductor manufac-
loads. Electroplated chrome and coating thickness is 0.5-1 µm with a turing, for example, machinery must
Teflon ® (PTFE) coatings had little effect uniformity in the order of ± 0.1 µm operate without lubrication on grounds
against these forms of wear. The WC/C measured over the full circumference. of cleanliness. Drive components must
coating reduces wear and noise, and The slight increase in roughness is none the less operate reliably over long
bearings in such settings as electrical- offset by the good burnishing qualities service lives. This goal is achieved in
discharge machining (EDM) equipment of the coating. linear guides by applying a WC/C coat-
showed a more than doubled service ing to the rollers. WC/C-coated rails
life. with uncoated steel rollers display
markedly longer life than uncoated
rails with ceramic rollers.
Ball bearings under
vibrating load
Service life [cycles]
Time to failure [h]
108
140 107
> 128
120 106

105
100
104
80
64 103
60
102
40
10
20 1
0 uncoated Ceramic rollers WC/C-
coated
lubricated: dry:
rail
electroplated Cr or BALINIT® C (WC/C)
PVD-CrN or PTFE

Load: 20 % of dynamic load coefficient C

Wear reduction with BALINIT ® C (WC/C)-coated Dry
roller bearings in EDM machines. Source: Schneeberger / Roggwil
Source: INA/Balzers

54
Fluid technology

The Montreal Protocol requires that, cation and corrosion issues. The trend Hard coatings have been proposed as
after 2020 chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) toward lighter weights and higher a way of addressing these problems.
are no longer used in automotive and pressures and speeds means that hy- BALINIT ®-coated components experi-
home air conditioners, compressors draulic system components must be ence much less wear and thus extend
and refrigerators. New concepts based able to handle more-severe tribological the life of coolant and air compressors,
on environmentally benign refrigerants, stresses. In fields where water is used hydraulic pumps, and hydraulic and
however, generally involve poorer lubri- as the pressure medium instead of oil, pneumatic valves and fittings. What
cation and wear properties. or where hydraulic components are is more, coating makes it possible to
exposed to more-drastic corrosive and phase out costly materials such as
Makers of hydraulic drives are also abrasive operating conditions, there bronze, carbide and ceramic.
more and more confronted with lubri- are even more requirements that must
be met.

Compressors Vane compressors substances do not harm the ozone

Operation with CFC-free refrigerants layer, they do contribute to the green-
CFCs used as coolants in compres- entails deficient lubrication resulting in house effect. Carbon dioxide (CO2),
sors mix well with lubricants and gen- severe wear. Coating the steel vanes on the other hand, is a very environ-
erally permit the operation of compres- with BALINIT ® CNI or BALINIT ® C mentally safe coolant. It is being tested
sors without wear and other causes markedly reduces wear of the com- for use in vane and piston compres-
of upsets. In contrast, environmentally pressor vanes and rings. sors for household appliances and
benign CFC-free refrigerants are poorly vehicles. In both systems, CrN and
miscible with lubricants, so that refrig- Even non-chlorinated hydrocarbons WC/C coatings combined with glycol
erant and oil phases separate. Lubri- must be regarded as problematical and ester-based lubricants yield very
cation is often inadequate as a result, with an eye to the future. While these good frictional and wear behaviour.
and mechanical components cannot
be protected against wear over the
requisite service life. Vane compressors with CFC-free refrigerants

Air compressors operated without Wear [µm]

lubricant are subject to similar require- 100 Vane
ments, with corrosion even more of a
problem because of humid service 15
10
environments. 5

Manufacturers of air and refrigerant 1 Ring

compressors are increasingly taking

0.1 < 0.1
advantage of PVD coatings, which 0.1
permit reliable compressor operation.
0.01
Ring Vane Ring Vane
uncoated Vane only BALINIT® C-coated

Test conditions
Duration: 1,000 h
Pressure: 3.5 N/mm2
Temperature: 100 °C
Refrigerant: CFC-free
Ring material: Cast iron
Vane material: Steel

55
Screw compressors Screw compressors with water injection
Conventional screw-type air compres-
sors are designed for synchronised dry Surface wear [%]
running or unsynchronised operation 100
with oil injection. Where safety or en- uncoated
vironmental considerations rule out oil 80
injection, complicated designs with
synchronising gears have had to be 60
used. Tests with BALINIT ®-coated PVD-CrN
rotors have shown that unsynchro- 40

nised equipment can function reliably

20
if water injection is used in place of oil. BALINIT® C (WC/C)
Scuffing occurs in a very short time 5

without the coating. While chromium 0 1,000

nitride (CrN) improves the wear behav- Running time [h]

iour, 1,000 hours’ operation wears
away 60 % of the CrN-coated sur- Test conditions:
faces. With BALINIT ® C, no further Both rotors coated
Sliding speed: 50 m/s
surface wear can be detected after Test duration: 1,000 h
3 % running-in wear. Cooling and lubrication with water
Unsynchronised
Source: University of Dortmund

56
Hydraulic pumps and Radial-piston pumps
hydraulic motors Radial-piston motors
High power density in very compact
High pressure, extreme flow velocities hydraulic motors makes lubrication
and the presence of fine particles difficult, so that frictional losses and
stress water-pump components, often adhesive wear occur. BALINIT ® C cuts
to the point that carbide is no longer static friction between the rollers and
an adequate material solution. The the grey-iron pistons by 40 %; energy
exceptionally hard BALINIT ® DLC and losses on motor starting are lowered
BALINIT ® FUTURA NANO coatings by 18 %; and stick-slip processes do
offer good wear protection, thereby not occur. Furthermore, WC/C coating
opening up further scope for design prevents scuffing and improves the
innovations. performance of bearing rollers so
much that virtually no wear can be
Other severely stressed hydraulic com- detected after 58,000 revolutions. In
ponents are also protected against contrast, an uncoated steel roller dis-
such wear mechanisms as erosion, plays as much as 10 µm of wear.
cavitation, deformation, adhesion and
abrasion when BALINIT ® coatings are
applied. Radial-piston hydraulic motor

The qualities of hard coatings also Wear [µm]

make them suitable for special applica-
tions. For example in mining (danger of Standard bearing
WC/C-coated
fire) or forestry (environmental pollution) 10
mineral oils cannot be employed as
pressure media. Low flammable water-
based hydraulic media (HFA, HFC) are 5

used in these fields. BALINIT ® coatings

can meet the tribological challenges
(e.g. insufficient lubrication) in all such 0

cases.
0 5 10 15 20 25

Total length of bearing rollers [mm]

Wear reduction with WC/C coating of roller bearings in the radial-piston motor
Load: 70 kN
Temperature: 50 °C
Test duration: 58,000 revolutions
Speed: 6 rpm
Lubricant: Shell Tellus 68 S / 4 mg/l ISO MTD
Source: U. Olofsson, H. Sjöström, U. Sjödin / ASME Journal of Tribology

57
 Sliding shoe
Axial piston pumps
Making the sliding-shoe components
from BALINIT ® C-coated steel instead
of bronze improves durability in axial
piston pumps. The system becomes
more resistant to abrasion, mechanical
overload and deformations that typi-
cally affect bronze shoes as a result of Bronze: abrasive wear and deformation
Test conditions:
rising pressures and speeds. The coat- Max. pressure: 350 bar
ing safeguards the sliding function and Max. speed: 2,200 rpm
Test duration: 1,000 hours
increases wear protection, while the
steel prevents deformations. BALINIT ®
C also improves the frictional behav-
iour of the axial pistons, thus prevent-
ing scuffing damage that results from
starved lubrication.

Steel and BALINIT ® C (WC/C): wear < 1 µm

Abrasion properties of optimal combination was determined improvements come about if soft slid-
hydraulic system materials by model measurements of the wear ing materials are replaced by a heat-
A pairing of hard and soft materials of behaviour of various materials, includ- treatable steel (AISI 1045/DIN 1.1191)
construction is often used to minimise ing PVD-coated components. Solid and the hard plate is given a PVD
wear in axial piston pumps; an exam- particles in the flowing medium cause coating at the same time. The entire
ple is nitrided steel against bronze for a measurable increase in the clearance system gains in abrasion resistance.
the cylinder drum and valve plate. The between the discs under test. Marked

Abrasive behaviour of materials for hydraulic components

Increase in clearance Δh [µm]

Soft plate Medium
9
8 soft plate
hard plate
7
Ck 45 = AISI 1045 h
6
GGG 40 = AISI 60-40-18
5
4
3
2
Hard plate Particles
1
0
soft plate: Three-body wear:
Bronze GGG 40 Ck 45 Ck 45 Ck 45 Particle concentration: 2.5 g/l
107 HV 150 HV 440 HV 440 HV 440 HV Particle size: 0-50 µm
Original clearance h: 32 µm
hard plate:
Nitrided steel Nitrided steel Nitrided steel Nitrided steel Nitrided steel Medium: HFA oil-water emulsion
BALINIT® C- BALINIT® D- Source: PhD Thesis, St. Lehner,
coated coated Institute for Fluid Power Drives and Controls,
Aachen University (IFAS, RWTH Aachen)

58
Vane pumps with Service life [h]
additive-free oil 10,000
Bearing steel
AISI 52100
Uncoated vanes in a vane pump (DIN 1.3505)
tested with additive-free hydraulic oil 1,000

scuff after just a few minutes. In prac- 100

tice, vanes coated with BALINIT ® C High-speed steel
AISI M2
show a markedly longer service life 10
(DIN 1.3343)
than uncoated vanes and those coated 1
Bearing steel
with titanium nitride (TiN). AISI 52100
(DIN 1.3505)
0.1

0.01
uncoated TiN BALINIT® C

BALINIT ® C (WC/C)-coated vanes extend pump

service life, especially when hydraulic media with little
wear-protection power are employed.
Hydraulic medium: Additive-free mineral oil

Screw pumps in water service Abrasion-resistant

BALINIT ® C prevents seizure in small high-pressure pump pistons
screw pumps operated in fresh water Even where carbide (Vickers hardness
or in maritime applications. The screw 1,500) is used in high-pressure pumps,
spindles are made of corrosion-resist- grooves can develop and give rise to
ant steels with a slight tendency to- leakage. The BALINIT ® DLC carbon
ward abrasive wear. The WC/C coat- coating, with its high Knoop hardness
ing, which is inert to attack by water, (over 2,000), improves the abrasion
prevents such wear and improves resistance. Expensive materials such
service life. as carbide or ceramic pistons can thus
be replaced by hardened steel provided
surface pressures are not too high.

Internal gear pumps Delivery losses [l/min]

Components (such as the gear shaft 3.5
and gear ring) of internal gear pumps Gear shaft and gear ring
3.0
handling abrasive media are subject uncoated
to such severe wear that unacceptable 2.5
delivery losses occur. A hard, extra- 2.0
thick (approx. 7 µm) TiAlN coating
1.5
greatly reduces wear and thus loss of
capacity. 1.0
Gear shaft and gear ring
0.5
coated
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Pressure [bar]

59
Valves and fittings

Valves and fittings often suffer corrosion coupled with abrasion and erosion by
suspended particles. Abrasion resistance and protection against scuffing and
corrosion are essential requirements in the fabrication of components for high-
pressure systems in particular.

Solution concepts that unite all these properties, however, are virtually impossible
to implement with classical material pairings and without the use of coatings.

Leakage protection for of housings, seats and plunger edges Dry operation of
hydraulic valves even when contaminated media are pneumatic valves
PVD carbon coatings such as BALI- present. The net effect is to prevent BALINIT ® C lowers outage costs by
NIT ® C guard valves against wear and leakage. In a trial with proportional making it possible for pneumatic valves
thus allow them to operate precisely directional control valves and a HFA to operate without lubricant. These
and efficiently without leakage. By vir- hydraulic fluid, wear was cut to a valves perform functions such as pre-
tue of their great hardness, these coat- fraction of that measured on an un- cisely controlling the motion of paper
ings protect the precision geometries coated valve of heat-treatable steel. webs in papermaking machines. They
are usually lubricated with grease, but
they seize up, causing an expensive
Wear behaviour of BALINIT ® C (WC/C)-coated production stoppage, if the lubrication
hydraulic valves is lost. Coating with WC/C reduces
friction to the point that the pneumatic
Increase in clearance Δh [µm] valves can function without any grease
16
at all.
14
14
Ck 45 = AISI 1045
12
10
Valves in air conditioning
8
systems
6
Corrosion and tribo-oxidation threaten
4 the stems of the valves that control the
2
2 admission of outside air in climate-con-
0 trol systems. Applying BALINIT ® C and
Valve housing: Cast iron Cast iron BALINIT ® DLC coatings cuts the coeffi-
Valve plunger: Ck 45 / 650 HV Ck 45 / 650 HV cient of friction and distinctly improves
uncoated WC/C-coated
corrosion protection, so that the valves
can perform their precise control func-
tion far longer.
Flow rate: 50 l/min
Valve housing
Valve type: 4/3 proportional control valve
Medium: HFA oil-water emulsion
Δh Source: PhD Thesis, St. Lehner,
Institute for Fluid Power Drives and Controls,
Aachen University (IFAS, RWTH Aachen)

Medium Particles Valve plunger

60
Other applications

Machinery and systems where long Machine tools adhesion of molten stock to screw
life and/or reliability is needed impose tips, backflow valves, nozzles and
extreme requirements on precision Machine tools have to produce ever shutoff needles.
components, with an increasing risk more quickly and precisely. The conse-
of failure. Coating with BALINIT ® can quences include greater stresses and Threaded cores
significantly boost the performance, hence more wear, which works against Lubricants and mould-release agents
reliability and service life of mechanical machining precision and product qual- must not be employed in the injection
components so that they can meet all ity. BALINIT ® coatings contribute to moulding of caps for pharmaceutical
such specifications. maintaining precision as well as provid- packagings. With BALINIT ®-coated
ing custom-tailored wear protection cores, the maintenance interval for a
Many areas of mechanical engineering for machine-tool components such as 30-cavity mould can be extended from
benefit from the performance-enhanc- gearboxes, clamping systems, lead one week to over eight months. Re-
ing qualities of coatings. Functional re- screws, guide rails and disc cams. liable demoulding and a 10 % shorter
liability is improved, maintenance inter- cycle time result in a 20 % gain in
vals lengthened and operating costs Clamping systems productivity.
lowered. BALINIT ® C and BALINIT ® DLC keep
clamping systems working at a high
Several BALINIT ® coatings are ap- level of precision. Collet chucks suffer
proved for food industry and medtech undesired and precision-impairing
applications by RCC (Registration and wear, particularly where clamping oper-
Consulting Company) and FDA (Food ations are fast, as in mass production,
and Drug Administration). or clamping forces are high. Coating
with BALINIT ® C and BALINIT ® DLC
cuts down on tribo-oxidation and fret-
ting and thus improves the efficiency
of clamping systems. Ejectors for plastics moulds
BALINIT ® C (WC/C) prevents seizing
of ejectors, improving reliability in the
injection moulding.

Injection moulding machines

Sliding elements such as ejectors,

gates and cores in injection moulding
machines are effectively protected
against wear and scuffing by BALI-
NIT ® C. The coating is a must when
the end product is not permitted to
come into contact with lubricants and
mouldrelease agents as they contami-
nate it. By virtue of its anti-adhesion
properties, BALINIT ® also reduces the

61
Textile machinery Spinning machines Food processing machinery
CrN coatings have proven their worth
Components of textile machines experi- on opening cylinders of open-end Corrosion in food processing machin-
ence severe abrasive wear from fibres spinning machines as well as on rings ery is often combatted with austenitic
and additives (e.g., titanium oxide) as of ring spinning frames. stainless steels. However, because
well as contaminants (dust). What is these are relatively soft materials, wear
more, increasingly fast motions in the Carbon coatings in ring spinning and scuffing are major problems. Ad-
machines imply high sliding speeds in frames fail prematurely because of the ditional problems arise, for example,
metallic frictional contacts. too high temperatures produced by the when filling plungers run in a closely
extremely high speed of the ring travel- toleranced cavity, the product exerts
Weaving machinery lers. only a slight lubricating action, and
may contain powdered additives that
Weft yarn holders CrN and DLC coatings are applied to increase wear. In many cases lubri-
Borided steel has been used for weft steel and ceramic thread guides. cants and conventional coatings can-
yarn holders in gripper looms. How- not be considered because all ma-
ever, the surface treatment produces terials that come into contact with
a relatively rough surface resulting in foodstuffs have to be inert to them.
poor performance. Coating with BALI- BALINIT ® coatings meet these require-
NIT ® CNI combines high hardness ments and are FDA approved.
(thus wear resistance) with surface
smoothness, so that the yarns can be Metering plungers
reliably held. Coating with BALINIT ® CNI greatly
improves the functioning of metering
plungers used to fill marmalade jars.
Opening cylinder of an open-end spinning frame Corrosion results both from the escape
with BALINIT ® CNI coating of fruit acid and from condensation
when the equipment is not operating.
Also abrasive wear occurs at gaskets
due to deposits of marmalade. With
BALINIT ® CNI coating, filling stations
can run without maintenance for many
months.

The most highly stressed reeds in

weaving looms are coated with TiN,
CrN and DLC. DLC coatings are em-
ployed in texturing machines. TiN, CrN Spinning ring with BALINIT ® CNI coating
or DLC coatings are applied to nozzles
in air-jet looms.

Thread guides with BALINIT ® DLC coating

62
Medical technology Precision mechanics

Cleanliness and lubricant-free opera- Coatings are used in precision me-

tion are essential for the use of medi- chanics to reduce friction and wear
cal apparatus, but these conditions and also for decorative purposes. For
make surgical instruments susceptible example, sliding guides for micro-
to wear. The BALINIT ® C and BALINIT ® scopes and sliding case elements for
DLC carbon coatings have proved ad- mobile telephones are coated with
vantageous in many respects. They WC/C.
prevent scuffing and ensure proper
functioning even under dry conditions, Components for mechanical watches
as in pneumatic components of de- (pinions, shafts, bearings, springs,
vices for the implantation and extrac- spring housings) are coated with BALI-
tion of bone-marrow needles or in NIT ® C and BALINIT ® DLC in order to
surgical bone saws. At the same time, lengthen service intervals and permit
they safeguard components and de- oil-free operation. In addition, carbon
vices against corrosion during sterili- and nitride coatings are applied to lend
sation. an attractive colour and appearance
to these articles. Elements made of
steel, nickel-plated brass and silicon
are coated.

The gold-yellow colour of BALINIT ® A

(TiN) serves to distinguish coated from
uncoated instruments for ophthalmic
surgery. What is more, the coating is
valued for its aesthetic effects.

63
64
Partners in your success

Since the BALINIT ® rollout in 1980, Balzers PVD technology has been used to Applications support Logistics
Product Pretreatment
coat many hundreds of millions of components for renowned automotive manu- development
facturers and their suppliers as well as for the mechanical engineering industry.
The processes have found use in both low and high volume production. Balzers BALINIT®
has gained a position of world leadership in the field, pursuing a strategy that
begins with research and development and culminates in a high standard of
quality implemented in a global network of coating and application centres. Coating of
precision components Quality assurance

Balzers expertise and services: competence for

This strategy meets the requirements Research and development component and system

that govern a successful component

coating business today: The solid know-how that Balzers has
acquired in coating processes is based
- Focus on custom coating solutions on our world-wide business experience
and our close contacts with industry as
- Efficient manufacturing structure and well as many industrial engineering and Analysis and quality assurance
customer-oriented project manage- design institutions. Along with standardised quality assur-
ment ance methods, Balzers can provide
Development of coatings, detailed services such as tribological
- Integration of specific know-how on applications and equipment problem work-ups and metallographic
typical tribosystems leading to a flair In the Balzers R&D centre at the Liech- examinations and assessments. Ad-
for picking the right coating and tenstein headquarters, laboratory staff vanced measurement techniques for
process carry out applications studies for cus- coatings in the order of 1 µm thick are
tomers and do basic research on PVD also offered.
In this way Balzers can achieve the and PACVD processes that hold prom-
goal it has set itself: to be a partner ise for mass production. New coatings Partnership for development
and advisor in development, with are tested at loads far greater than Balzers works with independent labora-
competence in not just coatings but those met with in component service tories and research institutes for es-
also components and systems. in order to push the envelope of coat- pecially difficult tasks calling for highly
ing performance and systematically specialised test methods. What is
eliminate defects. The BALINIT ® pro- more, in an effort to continuously im-
duct family and the range of coating prove its coatings, Balzers cooperates
solutions are thus more and more opti- closely with respected practitioners of
mised in terms of desired product special measurement techniques in
specifications. Plant and manufacturing order to develop metrological systems
techniques are also in steady develop- for quality assurance and testing of
ment, as are technical quality systems coated components.
for production. The development of
new coatings is carried on at manu-
facturing plants in order to ensure a
rapid transfer to mass production.

65
Test methods for quality assurance

Reliable methods of measurement To this end, Balzers employs methods

(standard test conditions, reference that comply with VDI (German Engineer-
substrates, ambient conditions) are ing Society) Guidelines 3824 (Sheet 4)
essential if the properties of PVD and and 3198.
PACVD coatings are to be determined
and assessed. Judging the quality of
a coated component that has been
mass produced requires making a
binding statement regarding the speci-
fications submitted by the customer.

Test methods for quality assurance

Method Attribute Constraints Precision Destructive for Destructive for

Coating Substrate

Spherical abrasion Coating thickness Geometry 0.3 - 0.5 µm yes yes

Roughness
X-ray fluorescence (XRF) Coating thickness Geometry 0.3 - 0.5 µm no no
Composition (element)
FTIR Infrared spectroscopy Coating thickness DLC-coating > 0.5 µm 0.1 µm no no

Rockwell hardness (HRC) Substrate hardness Substrate hardness ± 1 HRC yes yes
Geometry
Rockwell test Coating adhesion Substrate hardness ± 0.5 HF-Class yes yes
Geometry
Stylus profilometer Roughness Geometry * no no

* Function of test conditions

Abrading ball
Determination of coating v r
D Coating
thickness by calo grinding
In this method, a spherical cup is Substrate

ground with a steel ball. The spherical A

calotte is measured and the coating
thickness is calculated. B

BALINIT® coating
with abraded
spherical indentation
(top view)

Spherical abrasion test:

The coating thickness D is calculated from the
measurements A and B and the ball radius r.

66
Coating thickness measurement ences before the measurement is Coating thickness measurement
by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) performed. The instrument then com- by infrared spectroscopy
Coating thickness is measured by putes the coating thickness from the A special infrared (IR) procedure has
irradiating the surface under test with observed intensities for the coating been devised for BALINIT ® DLC. Infra-
broad-band x-rays. The intensities of and substrate material. red light directed at the IR-transparent
those x-ray fluorescence lines, which DLC coating is partly transmitted and
are characteristic of the coating, are X-ray excitation Ti intensity W-intensity partly reflected; the coating thickness
used as a measure of coating thick- is determined from the interference
ness. Calibrated spectra for the coat- TiN coating effect.
ing and substrate materials under
study are stored in the instrument. The WC grains

substrate and coating material of a Co binder

specimen must be known; the corre-
sponding values are input as refer-

Adhesion test Rockwell diamond indenter

by Rockwell method Coating
FF
A conventional Rockwell hardness test A A Substrate

(DIN 50103) is performed, and then

the network of cracks and coating
flakings at the periphery of the inden-
tation is examined under the optical BALINIT® coating with
microscope. The adhesion is rated in HRC indentation (top view)

six adhesion classes as set forth in

VDI Guideline 3198.

Use of Rockwell indentation to measure adhesion:

Coating adhesion is determined by comparing the damage in region A
of the Rockwell indentation to a series of standard images.

Stylus profilometer Visual inspection with

Many critical precision parts today are the optical microscope
manufactured to micrometer toler- Surface defects can have a detrimen- m
5µ
ances and must display the specified tal effect on the tribological properties. 9.0
38
geometry after coating as well. Char- Visual inspection to assess surface
acteristics such as diameter, planarity quality is performed with the optical
and concentricity therefore have to be microscope or illuminated magnifier;
tested and documented after coating. in large-scale production, totally auto-
mated camera systems are employed.
Standardised defect catalogues used
as references describe the typical
features of ground and coated parts. 237.14 µm

67
Methods used for specification and analysis

Method Attribute Prerequisites Precision Destructive for Destructive for

Coating Substrate

Cross section grinding/fracture Coating thickness none 0.1 - 0.5 µm yes yes
SEM, microscope Coating structure
EDX / SEM Coating composition Detectable element: * no no
Energy-dispersive X-ray boron or higher
spectroscopy
Nano-/microhardness Coating hardness Geometry, roughness, ± 20 % yes no
coating thickness > 1µm
Scratch test Coating adhesion Substrate hardness * yes yes
Geometry
Calowear test Coefficient of wear Planar surface * yes no
Roughness
Tribometer Coefficient of friction Geometry * yes yes
Rotation, Oscillation Lifetime test
Surface scanner Surface topography Geometry * no no

Coating structure Depth profile analysis Geometry ±2% yes yes

XRD structure analysis Crystal structure Geometry * yes yes

* Function of test conditions

While the methods used in the factory Balzers employs the following instru-
support economical, standardised ments: 1 µm
quality assurance in mass production,
more profound analytical methods are Scanning electron microscopes
available for development purposes. (SEM) with EDX
Some of these, however, are quite These microscopes yield high-resolu-
expensive and therefore do not often tion images of the surface. They use
find use in quality assurance. EDX (energy-dispersive x-ray spectros-
copy) systems to analyse the coating
composition and identify the elements Coating fatigue in a severely loaded DLC-coated
present. The SEM is also used to valve-train component.
Scanning electron micrograph, 8,000x
analyse the wear mechanism at work
in a tribosystem. The photomicrograph
at right shows fatigue wear on a criti-
cally stressed valve-train component
coated with DLC.

Scratch test
A Rockwell C diamond is drawn over
the coated surface under an increas- F
Scratch diamond

ing load. The coating adhesion is as- S

Coating

sessed by examination under the Substrate material

optical microscope to determine the v
nature and extent of coating damage
versus load.

Scratch in BALINIT®-coated
surface, top view

68
Abrasive wear test (Calowear) ing, not right through. The test involves
The coating is abraded with a steel standardised parameters such as
ball and an abrasive paste, and its configuration, sphere size, speed and
coefficient of wear is determined from diamond slurry. The wear volume is
the results. In contrast to the case of then compared with a reference ma-
thickness measurement, the grinding terial, most commonly a standard
proceeds only partway into the coat- DLC coating.

Polishing ball
v r
Grinding slurry
Coating
Substrate material

Tribometer
The tribometer is used to measure the
coefficient of friction µ or the wear be-
haviour of surfaces. The specimens for
test can be set in rotation or oscillation
during the measurement, and lubricant
may be added depending on the pur-
pose of the measurement.

Tribometer with oscillating motion Tribometer for sliding wear test

Load Uncoated, clamped Normal force FN

oscillating steel ball

Cylinder, coated Rigidly clamped

steel ball, uncoated
Specimen, coated

Frictional trace on cylinder

Wear trace in
WC/C coating

69
 F
Surface scanner Structure analysis by
This laser scanner operates without x-ray diffraction
touching the specimen and produces XRD analysis uses x-ray diffraction to
a three-dimensional scan record used identify the crystalline phases of hard A
to verify the quality and roughness of coatings. The instrument holds all Under load:
coated component surfaces. possible phases of such coatings in elastic and
plastic
memory and compares them with the deformation
specimen.

Nanohardness and
After unloading:
microhardness plastic deformation
Because of the relatively large test only

loads used in the classical Vickers and

Knoop methods of hardness measure-
ment, all that is determined is the plas-
tic deformation of the indentations. The Load [mN]
diamond used to measure thin films 50
must not penetrate to more than 10 %
of the coating thickness. Very light test 40
loads (10-50 mN) are needed as a
consequence. Given the shallowness 30
of penetration, the elastic deformation Loading curve
contribution must also be taken into 20

account, and so dynamic methods Unloading curve

10
are employed. Loading and unloading
curves are recorded for use in deter- 0
mining the coating hardness; the re- 0 0.5

sults are then converted to conven- Depth of penetration [µm]

tional Knoop and Vickers hardnesses.
Simple Knoop measurements are
performed on the less-elastic nitride
coatings, but dynamic penetration
measurements are essential for highly
elastic DLC coatings.

70
Applications support

Balzers places worldwide applications

support at your fingertips:

Tribology and materials

consulting
Years of research and experience with
PVD coating processes point to tribo-
logical solution concepts that can mini-
mise wear and friction in a wide range
of applications.

Early collaboration in product

development
One way of fully realising the technical
and economic potential of coatings at
a reasonable cost in time and money
is to involve a team of specialists - sur-
face engineers, manufacturing engi-
neers, tribologists and designers - at
an early point in the development of
components that will be coated. Bal-
zers can serve as a design partner,
casting an expert eye on the system,
bringing its long experience to bear on Custom services Depending on customer requirements
high volume production, and offering regarding technology, flexibility and
advice on component design for coat- Balzers has made it a goal to put total readiness to invest, Balzers along with
ing. technological competence behind the its coating service offers access to a
services it offers throughout the value- number of PVD business models.
Convenient applications creation chain of production tech-
support centres niques and processes. Coating equip-
A global network of applications sup- ment and processes are devised and
port centres enables customers to get improved at Balzers and their use is
quick service on-site and gives them oriented to minimising costs. Contrib-
early access to Balzers’ technological uting factors include:
innovations. Balzers has representa-
tives in all major industrial regions of - Flexible employment and optimal
Europe, the Americas and Asia. Every utilisation of plant capacity with
site provides the same consistently modular coating systems
high standard of quality in all areas of - Short turnaround times
competence, procedures and technical - Minimal use of consumables
capabilities. The development of novel, - Integration of PVD coating equip-
one-off coating solutions is the most ment into automated production
intensive form of applications support - Upgrading of automated production
for Balzers customers. cycles in collaboration with cus-
tomers with the aim of improving
quality and productivity

71
Customer-oriented products and services

Sales of equipment and Job coating In-house coating

production lines From incoming inspection of compo- For high volume production, Balzers
When a customer wants to integrate nents to coating and reshipping, Bal- can locate where the customer
coating into the production process zers offers the entire production pro- chooses, thus providing short routes
and take responsibility for this function, cess on a job basis. This means big and long-term advantages. This means
Balzers sells single systems or turn-key cost and quality advantages for the that Balzers performs component
production lines. Here the customer customer, as well as savings on know- coating on site in a way that can be
acquires a well-defined coating pro- how acquisition, staff training and integrated into the customer’s pro-
cess with an assurance of equipment practical operations. The global net- duction cycles. Furthermore, Balzers
functioning and coating quality. What is work of Balzers coating centres is takes full responsibility for this service.
more, Balzers offers support, whether continually expanding. Because pro-
in the form of staff training and qualifi- duction cycles in the centres are close-
cation, service agreements, or retrofits ly tied to delivery deadlines, Balzers
to equipment and processes. also offers comprehensive logistics
that can be integrated seamlessly into
customer process chains and adapted
to the needs of the industry.

World-wide coating service

All the centres employ the same equipment and the same know-how. The setup guarantees a high,
reproducible standard of quality (ISO 9001, ISO/TS 16949).

72
Production process and process engineering

The path that leads from incoming inspection of precision components for coat- Balzers’ coating know-how becomes
ing to shipment back to the customer is a specialised production process. Its apparent at the transition from the
many steps can be tailored to the coating that is required and its special qualities. etching to the coating phase. Optimal
adhesion of the functional coating is
ensured by precisely controlled appli-
cation of suitable intermediate films
by monolayer or multilayer processes.
Control of the plasma parameters de-
termines the coating properties, while
the tested hardware provides the
needed process reliability.

Incoming inspection Pretreatment

The components for coating are If further treatments are needed, Bal-
checked to verify number of pieces, zers employs appropriate technologies.
material and surface condition. The Heating in vacuum furnaces, for ex-
steps in carrying out the job are then ample, serves to remove material resi-
determined on the basis of the cus- dues from tight holes, while micro-
tomer’s specifications. blasting takes off porous surface layers.

Cleaning Loading a batch

This step involves several treatments Before coating, the components are
in an ultrasonic cleaning line using loaded on an interchangeable turntable
aqueous alkaline solvents with no pol- and placed in the coating system. This
luting additives. operation is mostly automated in the
case of high volume production. The Final inspection
Clean surfaces are essential for coating customized configuration and fixturing The last stage of inspection involves
adhesion, so Balzers lays great stress of the components ensures repro- checking properties such as hardness,
on surface preparation for PVD coat- ducible precision. coating thickness and adhesion and
ing. The last steps in treatment and performing a visual examination. In
conservation preceding application of Coating high volume production, an agreed
the coating are defined in consultation The coating step consists of a series number of test pieces are removed
with the customer and adapted as of automatically controlled and docu- and agreed test parameters are used
necessary to the requirements of PVD mented processes. The special Balzers for statistical process control. Inspec-
coating. coating technology involves the follow- tion of mass-produced components is
ing operations: automated whenever economically
The cleaning of components for high - Pump-down of the coating system to feasible.
volume production is simplified by a base pressure of around 10-6 mbar
shipment in special baskets and by - Equipment and safety check
automatic loading of the cleaning line. - Heating of components to the proper
temperature
- Ion etching to get atomically clean
component surfaces
- Coating by a PVD/PACVD process
- Cooling down
- Equipment check and process check 73
 Quality management

Post-processing and conservation Quality management does not start facilities supplying the automotive
In many cases Balzers carries out post- when the goods are received. An industry are additionally certified under
processing, for example when the understanding of what quality means ISO/TS 16949. Currently the coating
coated components must be demag- and an active partnership with the cus- centres in Lagny-sur-Marne/FR, Milton
netised or conserved. tomer impel Balzers to provide support Keynes/UK and Luxembourg/LU are
throughout the course of a project. accredited to NADCAP quality stand-
Mechanical finishing of coatings is This effort includes customised solution ard for the aerospace industry.
becoming more and more important. proposals that range from the choice
Even though coating increases the of coating to (for example) how a pro- To Balzers, quality means meeting the
surface roughness only slightly, the re- duct can be optimally packaged and customer’s requirements; this is the
moval of tiny metal droplets or growth conserved for shipment in order to key to customer satisfaction. Control
errors can further increase the tribo- create the best conditions for the coat- of the coating process, modern testing
logical performance of coated parts. ing process. laboratory management, availability of
test instruments, and the use of statis-
“Zero defects” tical process control (SPC) are there-
The Balzers quality objective is “zero de- fore the day-to-day components of
fects.” This level of quality is achieved Balzers technical quality control, which
with certified, process-based quality is based on many years’ experience
management. All Balzers coating in high volume production.
centres world-wide have ISO 9001
certification. Furthermore, Balzers was Quality management is not something
the first coating company to receive a static but a process that is a way of
10 µm
QS-9000 certificate for coating centres life and an area of continuous improve-
Surface of a PVD arc coating with droplets, that have specialised in the coating of ment for Balzers.
without finishing precision components. All production

10 µm

Surface of a PVD arc coating after finishing

Packaging and shipping

Coated components are usually re-
shipped in the same containers in
which they were received. Savings can
be realised if the components arrive
already packed in suitable cleaning
baskets.

Certified quality management

All Balzers coating centres throughout the world are certified under ISO 9001.
Centres specialising in coating parts for the automotive industry are also certified to ISO/TS 16949.

74
Glossary

Abrasion Cavities DLC coating

Abrasive wear Tight or narrow depressions (holes, (diamond-like carbon)
Removal of material from surfaces grooves) in a surface, making the A hard coating applied by PACVD.
by hard or sharp-edged surfaces or material difficult to coat by PVD or
particles and by contaminants in the PACVD. Eggshell effect
medium between surfaces. A failure of hard coatings under heavy
Chemical plating load due to inadequate support by the
Adhesion (chemical nickel) substrate. The initial damage has a
Adhesive wear Electro less deposition of metal coat- cracked eggshell-like appearance.
Formation of adhered material at the ings from salt solutions with a reducing
interface between two sliding solids, agent, coatings contain phosphorous Electroplating
which when broken can result in trans- or boron. (electroplated chrome, nickel)
fer of material. The extent of this trans- Electrochemical deposition of metal
fer is greater the more intimate the Coefficient of friction coatings on electrically conductive
contact and the smaller the amount of The coefficient of friction µ is the ratio surfaces from salt solutions.
foreign substances present between of frictional force to normal force be-
the surfaces. tween two bodies in relative motion Erosion
(µ = FR/FN). The coefficient of dry fric- Damage to a solid surface in contact
Anti-wear coatings tion is the value measured in a system with a flowing liquid, caused by me-
See Hard coatings. with no lubrication. chanical action of hard particles in the
liquid.
Arc evaporation Cold welding
A vacuum coating process in which Solid bonding between two sliding sur- Fretting
the coating material is evaporated by faces due to metal-to-metal contact A form of wear occurring when two
an electric arc. under high pressure or with insufficient frictional partners move tangentially to
separation by lubrication (see also each other in small oscillating motions.
BALINIT ® Adhesion). See also Adhesion.
Trademark for hard coatings made and
marketed by Balzers. Corrosion Fretting corrosion
Damage to a metal, beginning at the See Tribo-oxidation.
Batch surface, due to chemical or electro-
Products placed in coating equipment chemical reactions with partners in the Friction
for processing in a single operation. ambient medium. The mechanical resistance observed
when bodies in contact move relative
Brinelling CrN coating to one another. Friction manifests itself
Permanent deformation of a material (chromium nitride) as a force or as energy.
due to vibrating and oscillating loads A hard coating applied by PVD.
(e.g., in ball bearings). Friction
CVD (type or mode)
Carousel (chemical vapour deposition) Friction is described as sliding, rolling
A rotating fixture that holds compo- A thermally activated chemical process or combined sliding and rolling, ac-
nents on special mounts. for depositing a coating from the gas cording to the way in which the fric-
phase under vacuum. tional partners move.
Cavitation erosion
Damage to a solid surface in contact Degassing Frictional state
with a flowing liquid due to pressure Thermal treatment in a vacuum system Friction is described as dry, boundary,
waves generated by collapsing to allow through and blind holes and mixed, fluid or gas friction, according
(imploding) vapour bubbles. surfaces to outgas (see also outgas- to the state of the contact between
sing). the frictional partners.

75
Galling Microblasting Phosphating
A more severe form of adhesive wear Bombardment of a surface with very A chemical treatment of ferrous ma-
associated with gross surface damage, fine abrasive (e.g., corundum with a terials with a dilute phosphoric acid,
chipping and transfer or displacement grain size of 10-20 µm) in order to by which the surface is converted to
of large material fragments. remove contaminants or impart struc- an integral, mildly protective layer of
ture or texture. insoluble phosphate.
Hard coatings
Coatings of very hard materials (com- Micropitting Pitting
monly metal carbides or nitrides, (grey staining) See Surface fatigue.
sometimes silicides, or diamond-like A form of surface degradation found in
carbon) applied to surfaces in order to gears, thought to be related to surface Plasma
impart greater resistance to wear and fatigue. A gas-like state often called the “fourth
lower the coefficient of friction. state of matter”, comprising electrically
Monolayer coating charged species (ions, electrons, ex-
Heat-treatment A hard coating applied in the form of cited and neutral particles).
The temperature of the final heat treat- a single homogeneous layer.
ment (tempering, precipitation harden- Plasma polymer
ing, annealing) must not be exceeded Multilayer coating A coating made up of a polymer de-
during coating because structural A “stack” of hard coating layers varying posited from the gas phase by plasma
changes in the part may occur other- in their properties. action.
wise.
Nitriding Plasma-assisted coating
Hertzian pressure (including plasma nitriding) processes
Effective pressure at the surface of A thermochemical treatment for up- See Vacuum coating processes.
contact between two arbitrarily curved grading (hardening, passivating) sur-
solids. face regions of ferrous materials by PVD
allowing nitrogen from solutions or (physical vapour deposition)
Ion etching gases to diffuse into the material. A vacuum coating process in which
Removal of material from a surface by Called “plasma nitriding” if performed the coating material is physically de-
ion bombardment. with the aid of a plasma. posited from the vapour phase. Pro-
cesses include ion plating, thermal/arc
Ion plating Outgassing evaporation and sputtering.
A vacuum coating process in which Thermal evaporation of organic resi-
the coating material is evaporated by dues and trapped gases. Residual stress
an electron beam. Elastic stresses in a coating, existing
PACVD when no external forces and moments
Ionisation (plasma-assisted chemical vapour are applied and mechanical equilibrium
Degree of ionisation deposition) holds. Residual stresses affect such
Production of electrically charged par- A vacuum process for depositing a properties as coating adhesion.
ticles (ions and electrons) in a gas by coating from the gas phase by a
various kinds of excitation (e.g., tem- chemical reaction aided by a plasma. Scuffing
perature, electric arc, high-frequency Localised surface damage in between
waves). The strength or extent of Passivating layer sliding surfaces due to adhesive wear,
ionisation is measured by the degree A layer that renders a surface less associated with cold welding and the
of ionisation. susceptible to chemical attack. breakdown of lubrication at high loads
and/or sliding speeds.

76
Seizing Tribo-oxidation Wear resistance
The most severe form of adhesive The oxidation of surfaces caused by Coefficient of wear
wear: cold welding due to high friction frictional contacts in the tribosystem The ability of a solid body to prevent
between the mating parts. (e.g., fretting corrosion). progressive loss of material from its
surface due to mechanical loading.
Sputtering Tribosystem The coefficient of wear is determined
Enhanced sputtering Tribological system by system-specific measurements.
A vacuum coating process in which The tribosystem consists of the struc-
the coating material is atomised by ion ture and the input and output condi- Wear-protection coatings
bombardment. tions. The structure includes the ma- See Hard coatings.
terial elements (frictional partners,
Stick-slip lubricant, contaminants), their prop-
The discontinuous or jerky motion erties and interactions. As the input
of two frictional partners. Static and conditions (forces, motion, tempera-
sliding friction alternate. ture) act upon the structure, they are
transformed into useful quantities
Substrate (work performed) and loss quantities
The component or the parent material (friction, wear).
to be coated.
Ultrasonic cleaning
Surface engineering The cleaning of solid surfaces in
Design and treatment of surfaces to liquids (aqueous detergent solutions
achieve optimum wear properties. or organic solvents) with the aid of
ultrasound.
Surface fatigue
Damage to a surface due to dynamic Vacuum coating processes
loading. Surface fatigue results in the Processes for the application of
formation of cracks and the removal of homogeneous coatings to material
material in particle form (pitting, micro- surfaces using chemical and physical
pitting). processes carried out under high
vacuum. Vacuum coating processes
TiN coating include PVD, CVD and PACVD.
(titanium nitride)
A hard coating applied by PVD. WC/C coating
(tungsten carbide/carbon)
Tribology A hard coating applied by PVD.
The science and technology of inter-
acting surfaces in motion relative to Wear
one another. Tribology deals with Progressive loss of material from
processes such as wear, friction and the surface of a solid body due to
lubrication. tribological action.

Wear mechanisms
The physical and chemical processes
that cause the damage or wear.
Wear mechanisms include adhesion,
abrasion, surface fatigue and tribo-
oxidation.

77
78
HQ040EN (1011)