Injection Molding Success Story
FortiPhy™ High-Performance PVD Tool Surface Treatment from Phygen Helps Builder of Plastic Injection Molds
Bill Stommen is president of Stommen Engineering, Osseo, MN. Stommen Engineering is a builder of close-tolerance plastic injection molds, predominately for the medical industry.
“We have found tool longevity to be the main advantage,” Stommen says. “It feels as if the tool is going to last forever. The Phygen coating has very good wear characteristics compared to the TiN coating. It also has eliminated a lot of extra costs in repair. The TiN coating would wear out and the mold would come back to us for repair work.”
Additionally, Stommen notes that there is no build-up on the corners as there is in chrome plating, and the finish is excellent. Stommen does recommend caution when it comes to heat treating. “Since the Phygen FortiPhy coating is applied at a 950°F temperature, you have to be careful on which metals you put it,” he states. “Different tool steels obviously heat treat at different temperatures and they have to be treated at or above 950°F or else you will get warpage in your parts when they go through this treatment. The draw temperature should be more than 950°F”
David Bell of Phygen Coatings, Inc., and Stommen have been working together to test FortiPhy™ high performance surface coatings with other substrates. “We just ran a test on a silicone mold of ours and it worked well,” Strommen states.
Bell adds that Phygen coating has exhibited “excellent” release properties with silicone. Phygen coatings not only protect surfaces, they reduce friction and wear, which results in better mechanical properties and longer tool life.
The key to FortiPhy’s exceptional toughness, low coefficient of friction, and corrosion resistance is its uniform, nanocrystalline structure. Phygen’s patented plasma acceleration process improves upon traditional PVD methods to produce the most uniform coating deposition layer possible, with exceptionally high adhesion.
Having solved the uniformity problems inherent in the PVD process of the past, Phygen can apply thinner coatings that outperform thicker, less-uniform coatings. In addition, Phygen coatings are applied at much lower temperatures. Low-temperature processing and thinner coatings help keep critical tool dimensions within tolerance, without the costly rework of other processes.
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