At Kesu Hardware, we provide professional surface treatment for the parts we machined. Such as Titanium coating, or PVD Coating services. Kesu Hardware specialize in one-stop manufacturing service for CNC machining and surface finishes. 

Principle of Titanium Coating

This titanium coating belongs to Titanium Nitride (TiN) PVD Coating.

The titanium coating is the process which forms an ionic film layer of titanium compounds on the surface of stainless steel by using the physical vapor deposition.

Titanium Coating

PVD coating

PVD coating is physical vapor deposition, which is stainless steel coating, also called stainless steel titanium/zirconium coating.  In this process, the ionic film layer of titanium or zirconium will be formed on the surface of stainless steel in the vacuum container, and the film layer can resist from fade for many years in the outdoor environment.

Working principle of PVD coating

On the inside of the vacuum titanium furnace with high temperature, the titanium and zirconium will be discharged by using the glow of inert gas, and ionize the metal or alloy vapor. Then the ions will be accelerated by the electric field and deposited on the negatively charged stainless steel plate, so as to forming a rich color metal film.

Tapper with Titanium Coating

Technical features:

PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) can be coated on the metal surface with high-hardness, high wear resistance cermet decorative coating.

Process flow:

Cleaning before PVD → vacuuming in the furnace → cleaning target and ion cleaning → coating → coating finished, cooling and take out of the furnace → post-processing (polishing, AFP)

Titanium Coating Chamber

Q1: What is PVD?

A1: PVD is the abbreviation of Physical Vapor Deposition in English. It refers to a thin film preparation technology that uses a physical method to deposit materials on the workpiece  under vacuum conditions.

Q2: What is PVD coating? What is a PVD coating machine?

A2: PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) technology is mainly divided into three categories, vacuum evaporation coating, vacuum sputtering coating and vacuum ion coating. According to the three categories of PVD technology, the corresponding vacuum coating equipment includes vacuum evaporation coating machine, vacuum sputtering coating machine and vacuum ion coating machine.

In the past ten years, the development of vacuum ion plating technology has been the fastest, and it has become one of the most advanced surface treatment methods in the contemporary era. What we usually call PVD coating refers to vacuum ion coating; the commonly mentioned PVD coating machine refers to vacuum ion coating machine.

Q3: What is the specific principle of PVD coating?

A3: Ion coating (PVD coating) technology, which principle is to use low-voltage, high-current arc discharge technology under vacuum conditions, and use gas discharge to evaporate the target material and ionize the evaporated substance. With the action of the electric field, it will make the evaporated substance or its reaction product is deposited on the workpiece.

Q4: What are the advantages of PVD coating compared with traditional chemical plating (water plating)?

A4: The similarity between PVD coating and traditional chemical plating is that both belong to the category of surface treatment, and both cover the surface of one material on the other material in a certain way.

The difference of two finishes : PVD coating has greater bonding force with the surface of the workpiece, the hardness of the coating is higher, wear resistance and corrosion resistance are better, and the performance of the coating is more stable; The types of PVD  coatings are more extensive, which also have more colors and more beautiful; PVD coating will not produce toxic or polluting substances.

Q5: Can PVD coating replace chemical plating?

A5: At this stage, PVD coating cannot replace chemical electroplating. 

PVD coating can be processed on the surface of stainless steel directly. But many other materials need be chrome plated before PVD coating. Such as zinc alloy, copper, iron etc.

PVD coating is mainly applied to some relatively high-end hardware products. For those hardware products with lower prices, chemical plating will be fine, instead of PVD coating.

Q6: What are the characteristics of the film deposited by PVD coating technology?

A6: The film layer plated by PVD coating technology has many characteristics. Such as  high hardness, high wear resistance (low friction coefficient), good corrosion resistance and chemical stability, and the film has a longer life; At the same time, the film can significantly improve the appearance and decoration performance of the workpiece.

Q7: What kind of substrate can PVD be plated on?

A7: PVD film can be directly plated on stainless steel and cemented carbide. For zinc alloy, copper, iron and other die castings, electroless chromium plating should be carried out before PVD plating.

Q8: What are the types of coatings that can be coated with PVD coating?

A8: PVD coating technology is an environmentally friendly surface treatment method, which can truly obtain micron-level coatings without pollution. It can prepare various single metal films (such as aluminum, titanium, zirconium, chromium, etc.), nitride films (TiN, ZrN , CrN, TiAlN) and carbide films (TiC, TiCN), and oxide films (TiO).

Q9: What is the thickness of the PVD coating film?

A9: The thickness of the PVD coating film is micron level, and the thickness is relatively thin, generally 0.1μm～5μm. Generally, the thickness of the decorative coating film is 0.1μm~1μm. So the various physical and chemical properties of the surface of the workpiece  can be improved without affecting the original size of the workpiece.  It can maintain the size of the workpiece basically unchanged, and no further processing is required after plating.

Q10: What are the colors of the film that can be deposited by PVD coating?

A10: The colors of the film that we can make are dark golden yellow, light golden yellow, brown, bronze, gray, black, gray-black, seven colors, etc. The plated color can be controlled by controlling the relevant parameters in the coating process. When the coating is completed, the color value can be measured with related instruments, which will quantify the color and check whether the plated color meets the requirements.

Q11: Which industries are PVD coating technology mainly used in?

A11: The application of PVD coating technology is mainly divided into two categories: decorative plating and tool plating. The purpose of decorative plating is mainly to improve the appearance and decoration performance of the workpiece, as well as  colors. At the same time, the decorative plating will make the workpiece more wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant, and extend its service life. This decorative plating is  used in various fields of the hardware industry mainly, such as door and window hardware, locks, bathroom hardware and other industries. The purpose of tool plating is to improve the surface hardness and wear resistance of the workpiece, to reduce the friction coefficient of the surface, and increase the service life of the workpiece. This tool plating is  used in various cutting tools, turning tools (such as turning tools, planers, milling cutters) , Drill bits, etc.) and other products.

Q12: Is the cost of PVD coating very high?

A12: Although the use of PVD coating technology can produce high-quality coatings, the cost of the PVD coating process is actually not high. It is a very cost-effective surface treatment method, so the PVD coating technology has developed very fast in recent years. PVD coating has become the development direction of surface treatment in the hardware industry.

Q13: What are the main components of PVD coating equipment?

A13: The main equipment of PVD coating is composed of vacuum chamber, vacuum pumping unit, water cooling system, power supply system, control system, etc.

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