PVD Technology (Components)

 

Ongoing projects

 

Cluster of Excellence “Internet of Production” - Subproject WS-B1.I „Integrated Computational Materials Engineering”

Short description:

Within the subproject WS-B1.I, a multilayer coating system for precise temperature measurement and control in production processes is being developed. The coating system consists of an actuator coating for heat generation, which is applied by TS, and a sensor coating, produced by PVD.

For this purpose, thin PVD layers will be functionalized in the course of the project. By introducing a sensor function, it is possible to measure the process temperature directly at the interface between the mold and the molten aluminum with spatial and temporal resolution in the aluminum die casting process as the use case. The measurement signal is passed on to the TS heating layer in order to specifically control the process. At the same time, the PVD layer offers properties for wear protection of the applied tools. A digital shadow is used to view and control the coating process in detail in order to specifically set the properties required for the application. Poster Sensorschicht CoE IoP B1 Poster Aktor-Schicht CoE IoP B1

Funding:	German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project number:	EXC 2023/1
Duration:	January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2025

 

Dry lubrication of spur gears - Contour-adapted coating design and tribological evaluation of performance limits

Short description:

The overall aim of this joint research project of the Gear Research Centre (FZG, TU Munich) and Surface Engineering Institute (IOT, RWTH Aachen University) within the DFG priority programme 2074 “Fluid-free lubrication systems at high mechanical loads” is the design of a fluid-free lubricated spur gear that reliably withstands the high mechanical loads. In cooperation with the FZG, three subgoals will be pursued in the first funding period. The focus of the second funding period of SPP 2074 is the transfer of the knowledge gained in the first phase, for example the influence of the layer architecture on the tribological behaviour, on gear wheel contacts. In particular, the coating systems (Cr,Al)N+Mo:S and (Cr,Al)N+Mo:W:S are being considered. First, the coating processes are adjusted in such a way that the points affected with the highest loads have a sufficient coating thickness. In addition, the extent to which the knowledge gained of the provision mechanisms of the solid lubricants at the transfer layer formation can be transferred from the model test rig to gear wheel contacts will be examined. In close cooperation with the FZG, analyses of gears in operation will be carried out in order to draw conclusions about the causes of damage. Finally, the frictional behaviour and the performance limits will be evaluated in order to provide guidelines for the design calculation of fluid-free coated spur gears.

Funding:	German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project number:	BO 1979/66-2
Duration:	July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025

 

CHEPHREN – Chemical-physical friction energy reduction project

Short description:

As part of the IOT sub-project, tribologically effective coatings are being fundamentally researched in the CHEPHREN joint project and further developed to achieve ultra-low and supra-low friction. This work provides the starting point for transferring the findings to the project partners' applications and thus enables the ecological and economic goals to be achieved and implemented in the long term. To this end, components of the project partners – such as gears, chains and bearing components – are coated. The first goal of the IOT sub-project is the adaptation of triboactive (Cr,Al,X)N coatings (X = Mo, Cu), which can lead to the formation of friction- and wear-reducing tribochemical reaction layers under tribological stress with lubricant additives. Parallel to the development of coatings for steel materials, engineering plastics are also considered as substrate materials in order to enable their usage for higher tribological stresses. The second goal of the coating development is the integration of sensor functions. For this purpose, temperature sensor coatings are produced and tested based on existing findings. A knowledge-based approach based on artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of artificial neural networks (ANN) is chosen as a tool for further coating development. In the long term, this leads to the expectation of more targeted and faster coating development compared to iterative approaches, which represent the state of the art in research and technology. Poster CHEPHREN

Funding:	Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
Project number:	03EN4005J, 03EN4029J
Duration:	September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2024

 

Investigation of high speed PVD technology concerning the deposition of
α-Al-O+X and Al-Ti-O+X coatings for die casting of high melting steel alloys II

Short description:

The project BO 1979/42-1 showed that the deposition of thick, oxide based hard coatings is possible by high speed physical vapour deposition (HS-PVD) technology, due to high coating thickness, s_max = 88 µm. In addition to processes for the deposition of amorphous and crystalline (Al,Cr)₂O₃ and Al-Ti-O coatings, a process concerning the deposition of industrially relevant α-like (Al,Cr)₂O₃ was developed. Especially, the achieved structure of the deposited α-like (Al,Cr)₂O₃ coating with high aluminum content and substrate temperatures of T_S = 570 °C still represents a great challenge for conventional PVD technologies today. The overall objective of the project BO1979/42-3 is the detailed investigation and adaption of the α-like (Al,Cr)₂O₃ and Ti-Al-O coatings, which were deposited for the first time by HS-PVD technology in BO1979/42-1. Therefore, processes concerning the deposition of α-(Al,Cr)₂O₃ and Al₂TiO₅ coatings with high aluminum contents will be defined. Moreover, the influence of interlayer thickness and chemical composition on compound adhesion is investigated, in order to increase adhesion between substrate and oxide hard coating. The application-oriented development of the coatings is possible by the results of thermocyclic annealing tests in ambient air, isothermal annealing tests in vacuum and ambient air as well as immersion tests in steel melt. Poster BO 1979/42-3

Funding:	German Research Foundation (DFG)
Project number:	BO1979/42-3
Duration:	June 1, 2021 to November 30, 2023