In a recent press release, Balzers announced that it is inaugurating a research laboratory in Innsbruck, Austria, together with three co-operation partners: Plansee AG, the Montan University Leoben, and the University of Innsbruck, all located in Austria. The focus in research there is on the development and characterization of innovative, thin hard coatings for tools.
Scientists at the new Christian Doppler Laboratory for Advanced Hard Coatings–named after the Austrian physicist and mathematician Christian Andreas Doppler–will develop customized coatings for specific manufacturing processes. They will analyze the composition and structure of the coating materials, coating growth, and induced coating structures, as well as the associated coating properties and real-world application behavior.
Balzers is convinced that the potential of PVD coatings and their fields of application are far from exploited. "We are active in a domain where the possibilities seem to be endless. We have many ideas as to where we can explore new avenues for PVD coatings and are now developing the fundamentals for this journey with respected experts as research partners," says Dr. Wolfgang Kalss, head of Research & Development in Tool Coatings at Balzers. "For this reason, we decided to join forces with the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Advanced Hard Coatings."
Balzers is the leading global supplier of PVD coatings which decisively improve the performance and service lives of precision components as well as metalworking and plastics processing tools. These proprietary coatings developed by Balzers and marketed under the BALINITÆ brand are extremely thin and very hard. They significantly reduce wear and friction. Balzers also develops coating processes, manufactures and markets coating systems and turnkey production lines, and offers contract coating services through its dynamically growing network of currently 57 coating centers in Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
For more information contact Emily A. Scherer at (716) 564-8557. Visit online at [www.balzers.com].
