TIG

Surface Treatment of Titanium for the Designer and Engineer

Plasma Nitriding and PVD Processes for Titanium Alloys

Rhod Turner TECVAC Ltd

Contents
TECVAC A brief introduction Process Requirements Plasma Nitriding of Titanium Triode Plasma Nitriding PVD Coating Duplex Processes The Future

TECVAC
Part of Wallwork Group 58 Employees Specialists in Vacuum Treatments, Heat Treatment and Coating Job Shop Coatings 24hr operation Design and Manufacture of Vacuum Equipment R+D Product and Applications

Buckingway Business Park Swavesey CAMBRIDGE CB24 4UG

Process Requirements
We need a process to: Improve wear characteristics of Ti alloys Be effective at typical engineering loads and sliding speeds Reduce friction Reduce cold welding and galling Retain or enhance surface finish

Process Requirements 2
Also the process should be: Limited in any detrimental fatigue effects Commercially viable for process time and cost Able to work with real component geometries Reliable, repeatable and specify-able Low environmental impact

Some Plasma Based Processes

Plasma Nitriding Triode Plasma Nitriding PVD Coating Duplex Processes

DC Plasma Nitriding
Typical Process for Titanium Alloys: 800 deg C for 15hrs Gas Ar/N2 or N2/H2 at pressure of 5 mbar Good vacuum required to eliminate any oxygen Diffusion layer of 20 um achieved Compound layer of TiN approx 3um Etching/roughening of surface finish to 2um Ra approx Reduction in fatigue strength depending on temperature

DC Plasma Nitriding
5 mbar

Flow Control
Work piece

N2

Ar

+
Exhaust

1000Vdc
Vacuum Pump

Triode Plasma Nitriding

Typical Process:
650-700 deg C for 4hrs Gas Ar/N2 at pressure of 2x10-2mbar Good vacuum required to eliminate any oxygen Diffusion layer of 20 um achieved Little compound layer formation Little effect on surface finish Slight reduction in fatigue strength due to process temperature

Triode Plasma Nitriding

200Vdc
2.0 x 10-2 mbar
Flow Control Workpiece

N+

N+ Ar+

Ar+

e
N2 Ar

-Ar+

eN+

ee-

50Vac

Exhaust

100Vdc +

Vacuum Pump

PVD
Physical Vapour Deposition Coating deposited from vapour under partial vacuum conditions at low temperatures (<500oC) High adherence and very pure coatings Often produced using a reactive process where metal vapours are reacted with another gas to produce compound (e.g. ceramic) coatings With multiple vapour sources and gas inlets highly complex layered and graded coatings can be made to suit particular application

PVD Coating
400 - 500 deg C for 2hrs Gas Ar/N2 at pressure of 2x10-3mbar Good vacuum required to eliminate any oxygen No diffusion layer produced TiN compound layer 3 to 5um produced No effect on surface finish No reduction in fatigue strength due to process temperature

Reactive Ion Plating

2.0 x 10-3 mbar
Flow Control Workpiece

100Vdc

N+
Metal Vapour

Ti+ Ar+

eN2 Ar
CxHy

eeSource

e-

50Vac

Exhaust

100Vdc +

Vacuum Pump

Duplex Processes (Nitron-O)

650-700 deg C for 5hrs Gas Ar/N2 at pressure of 2x10-2mbar Good vacuum required to eliminate any oxygen Diffusion layer produced approx 20um TiN compound layer 3 to 5um produced Little effect on surface finish Little reduction in fatigue strength due to process temperature

Nitron-O Process
Step 1 Triode Plasma Nitride with 20um diffusion at 700 deg C Grading PVD coat with TiN or CrN with layer thickness 5um
Ti Alloy TiN Coating Layer Diffusion Zone

Step 2 Step 3

Summary
Process
Process Temp (oC) 800 Process Time (h) 15-20 Diffusion Compound Layer (um) Layer (um) 20+ 3 Reduce Fatigue Strength? Yes Surface Finish Rough Gold/Brown Silver/Grey DC Plasma Nitride Triode Plasma Nitride PVD

700

3-5

20

Little

400

2-4

No

Bright Gold

Duplex TPN/PVD

700

5-7

20

Little

Silk Gold

Some Applications
PVD TiN Coated Titanium Alloy Valve Block

PVD TiN Coated Clavicle

Applications
Triode Plasma Nitride Treated Lightweight Bearings

Layered PVD Coating on Ti Alloy Blades for erosion protection

Applications
Duplex TPN/PVD Coated Ti Alloy Race car steering racks

Future Challenges
Better Performance Reliability and Repeatability Understanding the Processes Testing QA and Standards Education and Training

New Coating Structures Carbon and Diamond Duplex and Layering Nano Technology Dry and Low Lubrication Operation

Thank You
www.tecvac.com rhod.turner@tecvac.com