Flexicoat Project PVD technology is accessible to SME’s.

The Flexicoat project is a European joint venture between companies, research institutions and industry associations that aims to deliver PVD coating technology to SME’s.

PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) is a technique that is used to apply thin layers of certain materials to make surfaces by vapor deposition. In a normal pressure the process is similar to the formation of frost in winter: material grows on a substrate by deposition. In practice there are several variants of the process, often in several steps. The technique is also used to create CD’s and DVD’s.

The PVD technique has some limitations. First, the technique does not apply to all materials. Only certain types of higher quality steels such as high speed steel type (HSS), can be protected sufficiently with a single PVD coating. For materials with a lower potential a more complex coating system is needed to prevent corrosion. Second, the technique can not be applied to plastic components because it is running at very high temperatures.

To make the technology more accessible for SME’s, it is necessary to cut costs and produce a machine that operates faster and more flexible (hence the name of the project). Aim of the project is to develop a prototype for a small coating machine that addresses these and other criteria. Prelimanary research showed that costs around 25 cents per coating could be possible.

Van der Meer & van Tilburg designed a roadmap for companies in order to map the (future) market potential.