Corrugations and ceramics instead of nickel-phosphorus and diamonds doubles the application temperature of friction shims

Conventional methods for coating ceramics are not capable of producing the required few µm thin layers. This is where aerosol deposition comes into play. "Aerosol deposition enables thin coatings with ceramics such as α-Al2O3 to be produced cost-effectively at room temperature." Explains Ilka Luck, head of Heraeus High Performance Coatings. "This is another reason why we have developed the method further for industrial use in recent years." Other ceramic coating methods require high temperatures and complex pre-processing of the substrate. Neither is required for aerosol deposition. It also features outstanding adhesion and density. This is precisely why it is ideal for applications where high-performance coatings are needed.

Friction shims are very thin discs or foils of steel with a hardened and textured surface that presses into softer opposing surfaces. The resulting increased strength of the connection between two components allows torque to be increased or components to be reduced in size for the same performance. For this reason, they are needed in numerous applications where high-performance but increasingly compact and lightweight designs are required. For example, in propulsion technology, wind turbines, robotics or the automotive industry.

Aerosol Deposition enables the production of thin metal and ceramic coatings at room temperature on all types of materials. Material particles are accelerated to a speed of several hundred meters per second with the aid of a carrier gas. These then hit a surface, the so-called substrate, where they form a closed and dense film. Heraeus High Performance Coatings has optimized the method for industrial-scale production and supports customers from feasibility studies to the introduction of the new process in series production.