A coating process in which the coating material is applied to the substrate in a vacuum chamber. Generally, the coating material is vaporized, transported across the chamber, and then condensed on the substrate parts.

The absence of matter such as air. A perfect vacuum is a condition that does not exist. High-vacuum coating chambers pump down from an atmospheric pressure of 760 Torr to a pressure of 1 x 10-5 Torr. This means that for every 100,000,000 molecules of air in the chamber before pumpdown, only about 1 remains […]

The science and technology concerned with interacting surfaces in relative motion, including friction, lubrication, wear and erosion. (–ASTM Committee G-2 on Wear and Erosion)

A coating layer that is so thin that only it’s surface properties are used. That is, no bulk material properties can be observed. The material behaves as a 2-dimensional rather than a 3-dimensional object.

Thermal Spray is a process where coating material is deposited to a substrate by heating it and accelerating it to very high velocities and temperatures. The coating material is usually in a fine powder form and forms a coating as it impinges onto the substrate.

A coating adhesion test where a specific certified tape is applied to the coated part and then removed. Any loose coating that comes off with the tape is cause for rejection. In general, this test is not adequate for testing PVD coatings because the tape adhesive force is much lower than the coating adhesion. However, […]

A coating adhesion test that uses a small stud whose head has a specific surface area and which is epoxy-glued to the coated surface. A machine then pulls the stud with increasing force until the stud pulls off. The measured force divided by the surface area then gives the coating adhesion. This technique is successful […]

Strength is the ability of a part to resist bending (stiffness) or pulling (tensile strength). Strength is generally a bulk material property. Coatings improve surface properties, not bulk properties. Coatings generally do not make parts stronger.

A coating adhesion test that uses a stylus (usually diamond) applied to the coating surface at an applied load and moving relative to the coating at a specified velocity. The observed damage to the coated surface is observed and recorded. Commonly, the reported value is the critical load where the coating is fully removed from […]

The material or product that is to be coated. BryCoat is a coating service that applies a range of coatings to customer supplied substrates.