Five Benefits Of Pvd Coating Applied To Parts

Specialised physical vapour deposition (PVD) coatings are widely recognised for the key role they play in improving operational performance and extending the life of parts in manufacturing and industry.

Firstly, one of the main reasons for using PVD coatings is to reduce friction between mating parts to improve performance. This leads to direct energy savings and thus to a reduction in CO2 emissions. The raw materials, metals and energy required to manufacture replacement parts are also saved as these coatings extend the life of parts that need to be replaced frequently.

1. PVD coatings reduce friction between parts

Reducing friction when mating parts come into contact with each other is essential, especially in harsh environments with high loads and high wear. Bearings, gears, rollers and other precision components can suffer from excessive wear, surface fatigue, pitting, abrasion and corrosion, which can also cause failures.

To prevent these problems, specialised PVD coatings, often only a few microns thick, are used to further harden the surface of these parts and reduce the coefficient of friction through mechanisms such as altering the surface chemistry. Less energy is used and fewer emissions are produced.

2. Significant energy savings can be achieved

In large-scale industrial environments, even small percentages of energy savings can really add up. It seems that smaller factors (such as a smoother surface finish) can improve fuel efficiency. For example, in the aerospace and energy sectors, PVD erosion coatings are applied to compressor blades to protect polished surfaces from deterioration over time. This can reduce fuel usage by up to 0.5% while increasing component life. These fuel reductions translate into comparable CO2 emissions.

Stricter environmental regulations and standards worldwide are also driving the industry to focus on reducing its carbon footprint and designing greener products.

3. PVD coatings extend the life of components

The environmental benefits of high performance coatings can also be realised through how they extend the life of parts and tools. If parts last longer, then replacement parts are less frequent, reducing the raw materials, metals and energy required to manufacture them.

In the automotive sector, forming tools are made from tons of automotive negative steel. The forming tools used to make millions of cars degrade over time and need to be reworked. To ensure optimum performance and long life, they require polishing and PVD coating applications. In addition to saving energy by keeping the forming tools in optimum condition, additional energy can be saved by moving equipment of this size and weight infrequently to a separate location where it is to be repaired.

4.Promote the development of green technologies

In addition to improving the efficiency and carbon footprint of existing systems, PVD coatings can also drive the development of new green technologies such as fuel cells and high power energy density batteries.

5. Return on investment

Further down the specialist coatings supply chain, coatings manufacturers themselves have examined their coatings coating processes as it consumes both material and energy.

When comparing the energy consumed to produce a coating with the energy generated by the coating in its application, whether by improving the efficiency and life of an engine or cutting tool, there is an 'energy return' or return on investment.

Speciality coatings play an important role in reducing environmental impact. Energy consumption and carbon emissions from manufacturing and operational processes can be significantly reduced. Therefore, while industry continues to use speciality coatings to enhance its operational performance, the environmental impact is an important added value that cannot be ignored.