A quarter of a century has passed since Balzers launched its revolutionary tool coating technology: revolutionary because very hard, adherent coatings could be applied at temperatures below 900 degrees F, which is suitable for high speed and common tool steels. Today, Balzers is a global market leader, serving its customers in a fast growing network of more than 50 coating centers in 19 countries including Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
From the beginning, Balzers developed not only coatings, but the full range of technology needed for production including coating systems, pre- and post-treatment processes, and quality assurance practices.
BALINIT® brand coatings, marketed all over the world, are only a few thousandths of a millimeter thick, but exhibit great hardness. They protect tools and precision components against wear while reducing friction, greatly extending service lives, and significantly enhancing the performance of coated parts.
In the past 25 years, BALINIT® PVD (physical vapor deposition) hard coatings have played a key role in economically significant manufacturing advances as well as in automotive and machinery design. Coating applications include tools for high-speed or dry machining, and components for state-of-the-art diesel fuel-injection systems–like the one used in the world’s first three-liter production automobile.
At first, a few all-purpose coatings (chiefly titanium nitride) led to performance breakthroughs in a wide variety of fields. In contrast, today’s market requires custom coating systems created and optimized for specific applications.
Coatings must, for example, permit efficient machining of nonferrous metals (aluminum and its alloys) and difficult-to-machine materials such as Inconel and titanium alloys, while offering the option of carrying out these demanding operations either dry or with minimal lubrication.
In vehicles and machinery, the advantages of BALINIT® coatings for precision components are already weighed in the design phase. Coated precision components increase performance and open up the scope for freedom in design.
These successes have been, and still are, achieved only through a close peer partnership between customers and coating supplier. Optimal results in practice can only be attained when tool or component and coating are perfectly matched.
Tens of thousands of customers all over the world are taking advantage of BALINIT® coated tools and precision components. Balzers offers support, instruments, and expertise, such as the Balzers Coating Guide, to help choose optimal coatings for specific applications.
Balzers now supplies the market through a network of more than 50 certified coating centers located in 19 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The network is steadily being expanded. Balzers can operate an in-house coating center at a customer’s plant and integrate it into the manufacturing cycle. Customers can also purchase equipment and technology and handle the coating operations at their facilities.
The use of PVD coated tools and precision components have a number of environmental advantages. Metals can be machined with little or no coolant, which in combination with higher cutting speeds can reduce cost per piece. Longer tool lives and higher production quality means a lower reject rate, and hence reduced consumption of valuable raw materials. Engines will consume less fuel and generate less emissions when they include BALINIT® coated components; what is more, CFC-free refrigerants can be used in fluidics systems, and water can replace oil as a hydraulic fluid.
Even a quarter of a century hasn’t nearly exhausted the list of potential applications for PVD coatings. Further advances will be found and cultivated. For Balzers, this is a commitment to sustaining a high level of investment in the development of coatings and coating technology and in the growth of the company’s service network.
For more information contact Torsten Doering, marketing director, at (716) 564-8557 ext. 1110, or sent e-mail to torsten.doering@balzers.com. The company’s Web site is [www.balzers.com].
