Overview:
Rather than simply applying a layer of different colorful substances and simple gold plating on the metal instruments, the craftsmen acquired a process that would guarantee long-term resistance after testing various techniques. Finally they chose an effective procedure: PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition), which involves coating the surfaces with a layer of protective metallic vapours (Ionic plating).

How it Works:
The instruments to be treated are placed on supports in an air-tight container, which may hold several hundred parts at a time. The air is pumped out of the container, creating a vacuum equivalent to one billionth of normal atmospheric pressure, in other words close to the pressure that exists in space. A flow of gases, ionized Nitrogen and Argon is introduced into the chamber. These ionized particles are sprayed on to the instruments, which causes their surface to heat up. Deposition material Titanium is flash evaporated and ionized by an electric arc. This generates a plasma within the chamber of ionized atomic Nitrogen, Argon and Titanium. A voltage is applied to the substrates to accelerate the ions in the plasma cloud to the surface of the parts. This positively charged Titanium plasma is attracted to the negatively charged parts to be coated. The Titanium and Nitrogen combine on the surface of the substrate, Ion by Ion, forming a dense, hard coating of Titanium Nitride (TiN). The coating bonds to the surface of the substrate, and even penetrates the surface slightly, to give an outstanding level of adhesion.

For Gold Coating:
For Gold Coating, the layer of titanium nitride is then covered with a layer of 23 carat gold to enhance its beauty.

For Colour Coating:
For Colour Coating, a special desired color formatting substance is applied to create the formation of thin layer of color (Blue, Black, Rainbow etc).

The coating cycle lasts several hours. All process variables are carefully controlled to insure a high quality coating. Each coating batch is tested for quality, thickness, and uniformity before being passed.

In this whole process Titanium Nitrate plays the major role. It is an extremely dense, compact and a highly resistant substrate.

Today, Both manufacturing and designing engineers recognize the benefits of thin-film coated products. By applying a carefully selected 3 ~ 5 micron coating on tools, tool life can be increase, from 50% to 500% longer.

PVD coating on Multiplex Traders tools is a layer of Titanium Nitride embellished with perfection, attained by experience. Our customers will benefit from our experience with the application of thin-film PVD coatings on our tools.

It may also be mentioned that Physical Vapour Deposition is not harmful to the environment since it is a procedure that produces no pollutants, neither directly nor in the form of toxic residues.