Techno Coatings Industry
Shelly Takacs
In Spring 2020, Hauzer is launching its latest batch-coating machine, the Hauzer Flexicoat 1250. This newest machine in the Flexicoat platform was designed to meet some long-term market trends we see in the main Hauzer sectors of decorative, tribological and tool coatings. In this market report, Hauzer is pleased to share our observations on the market trends for tool coatings.
Although many things are getting smaller and smaller, such as electronics, the screws that hold them together and the tools to make them, there is also a trend towards larger tools. Saw blades and moulds, especially. The business case for these tools is very different, however. Saw blades are used until they wear out and are then replaced. Moulds and dies are designed for a specific purpose, used for longer periods of time and often reworked to extend their lifetime. Because of new, cost-efficient production methods, the size of forming tools seems to be increasing.
The Hauzer Flexicoat 1250 can meet both these challenges. The new, larger vacuum chamber can now hold of 810 mm diameter, up from 650 mm. This increased capacity also means that more items can fit at the same time, keeping the cost per coating down.
Bringing down cost per coating is always an interesting prospect, whether you are a coating provider or an OEM coating of your own products. The Hauzer Flexicoat 1250 was designed with your workflows in mind. For instance, the vacuum chamber doors are reversed compared to our other Flexicoat models. This allows operators to place the items into the chamber directly, without first having to move around the doors.
In addition, the Flexicoat 1250 is designed to keep cycle times low. It has 7 cathode positions, increased cathode power, up to 8 positions for cooling panels and an optional, retractable central heating and cooling feature. This cooling capacity makes the machine very well suited for lower-temperature coatings, for products sensitive to heat deformation, and to reduce cooling breaks during coating deposition. Because of its flexible technology configuration, the Flexicoat 1250 can be used for both coating and nitriding, and for a wide range of coatings without needing to reconfigure the machine.
Specialisation is a valid way to distinguish yourself as a tool coating provider. Some examples are the use of rainbow-coloured ta-C coatings and blue top coatings for cutting tools, or a focus on surgical tools and other medical tool applications.
The drive toward sustainability and reduced energy consumption has also had an effect on the tool market. In the automotive and aerospace market, weight reduction is one way to increase fuel efficiency.
This variety of materials and forming technologies, both hot and cold, requires a wide range of physical vapor deposition coatings to be used, with or without plasma nitriding. This may require joint development of new coatings with our customers, something that Hauzer has always invested in. All of our coating systems, including the new Hauzer Flexicoat 1250, will have the capacity and flexibility to deposit these coatings and a range of others.
Tool manufacturing is a complex sector, with many smaller and bigger parties each carving out a niche for themselves. For some, the flexibility to be able to apply a wide range of coatings on a certain machine is key. Others become specialists, who configure their coating machines to do one thing extremely well.
The tool coating market is large and varied. Over the years, Hauzer has become a preferred supplier for many large cutting and forming tool makers, as well as many job coaters worldwide. You can rely on our expertise for high-performance coating technologies, such as CARC+ Flex, and for our cost-effective machine design. Hauzer machines are robust and reliable, regardless of size, and combine a high target efficiency combined with fast deposition technologies to give you the best cost of ownership in tool coatings. Through our subsidiary IHI Bernex AG, we can also assist you with CVD coating solutions with excellent wear and corrosion protection.
As cutting tool manufacturer, you need access to a wide range of coatings to meet the performance requirements for milling, turning, drilling, tapping, hobbing, skiving and sawing. The right coating can make the difference between a good tool and a great one.
One of the trends is the move to using more lightweight materials such as aluminium and titanium, corrosion-resistant materials such as Inconel and stainless steels, and challenging combinations of materials. The second main trend is that processes are continuously optimised for productivity. The speed with which parts are produced is increasing constantly, for instance. That requires different techniques, such as skiving, or higher speeds or feed rates in traditional processes such as milling.
Whether you are a tool manufacturer looking to distinguish yourself in the market or a coating service provider building a solid portfolio of high-quality standard coatings, Hauzer can offer the right coating solution. Together, we look at your coating and application needs, and determine the right machine configuration and any other equipment needs.
IHI hereby announces the following resulting from the execution in Germany of an agreement concerning the acquisition of all outstanding shares of Hauzer Techno Coating B.V. ("Hauzer") as of February 12, 2008 (German time).
1.Purpose of Acquisition
IHI is a general engineering enterprise that develops and manufactures key components and is making efforts to transform itself into a high margin company by concentrating its resources on profitable businesses. As part of such efforts, IHI has decided to acquire Hauzer, which is a major global player in membrane surface processing technology. IHI anticipates that demand for Hauzer's products will increase by entering new business areas including automobile parts, amongst others, as well as globally, in order to expand and enhance IHI's industrial furnaces related business (vacuum heat treating furnaces, new material furnaces and gas carburizing furnaces), which is one of the businesses IHI is strengthening.
Hauzer is a company with international cutting-age technology specialized in PVD systems(*) for the worldwide market and since its establishment 25 years ago, has been highly recognized as a market leader in the global coating industry.
As IHI's subsidiary, it is also expected that Hauzer may expand and develop its businesses further by synergy effects with IHI's existing businesses and sales networks.
(*) PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) systems are equipment to coat products with a metal and ceramic layer for wear resistance, low friction and decoration, and are used for a wide range of industries including industrial cutting tools and automobile parts.
2.Outline of Subsidiary to be Transferred (Hauzer Techno Coating B.V.)
Scaling up the hydrogen production from currently is a mandatory piece of the puzzle, and therefore gigawatt-scale electrolysers are needed within the EU. The global need for electrolyser manufacturing is expected to grow by a factor of 25 within the next 10 years. We can already observe a strong acceleration in the development of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind parks, and in the running projects at European industrial companies.
Fuel cells and electrolysers have a similar design. They consist of an anode and a cathode separated by an electrolyte. There are several different types of electrolysers, mainly due to the different types of electrolyte material involved and the ionic species it conducts. The most common Electrolysers are polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM), alkaline and solid oxide electrolysers.
Among the important components of a fuel cell are its bipolar plates (BPPs). A single fuel cell stack usually contains more than 400 bipolar plates. They provide the physical and electrically conductive connection between the anode and cathode of the individual cells and transport the oxygen and hydrogen gas and resulting water. All of these plates need to have a stable operation during the lifetime of the fuel cell, leading to the requirement of electrically conductive and corrosion protective coatings.
Hauzer has invested in high-productivity solutions for the hydrogen technology sector for years now. For both fuel cell BPPs and electrolyser components, electrically conductive and corrosion-protective coatings are needed to give them the lifetime and performance the applications require. To satisfy the market needs, millions of BPPs will need to be protected by carbon-based physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings.
In addition to carbon-based physical vapor deposition coatings, Flexliner systems can also be equipped with plasma source etching, plasma activation and plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) technology. In the PVD coating industry, Hauzer is known for market support that goes beyond providing high-tech coating solutions. We focus on customer satisfaction, outstanding performance and long equipment lifetime.
Hauzer is currently building a pilot Flexliner system at our facility in Venlo. This pilot inline production system allows sampling, technology validation, technology roadmapping and a fairly high throughput. We also offer a Flexliner version that can handle extensive volumes in the range of 10 million bipolar plates per year. Other Hauzer systems, specially configured for BPP coating and BPP coating research, have already been delivered in the market.
Would you like to work with Hauzer to configure a system to your coating and productivity requirements? Our standard BPP coatings are the basis. Our engineering team can then finetune and customise a coating for you, until your coating performance requirements have been reached. For in-depth information on high-volume manufacturing cost models, please contact Thorsten Karla, Sales Manager New Business at +31 77 355 97 59 or [email protected]. Also feel free to look at our hydrogen technology theme page.
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