Coating expert CemeCon has adapted its internal workflows to the processing of tools that are only a few millimetres or tenths of a millimetre thin.Because when tolerances in the micrometre range have to be adhered to, there are high demands on process reliability, service life and precision. "We have developed coordinated workflows, processes and devices for handling the delicate micro tools in order to enable employees to work reliably," explains Manfred Weigand, Product Manager Round Tools at CemeCon.
HiPIMS and diamond
Ultra-thin and smooth HiPIMS and diamond coatings ensure that micro tools achieve the required performance in everyday machining. CemeCon offers special holders for charging the micro tools. Gentle cleaning of the micro-tools during pre-treatment ensures a good coating result. In CemeCon's diamond coating department, the tools are processed in a clean room. CemeCon's Production Engineering department built the cleaning system for evaporating cooling channels itself in order to better guarantee the quality of the micro instruments. To avoid direct contact with fingers, employees also use tweezers and wear gloves during handling.
Coordinated coatings for micro tools
"Defects in the coating - so-called droplets - are particularly fatal for micro-tools, as they have a much more extreme effect in these tiny dimensions than with larger tools," says Ramesh Agarwalla, Director at CTC Praezision Tools, India, and an expert in micro-tools for PCB manufacturing and micro-cutting tools for dental and medical technology. The ultra-thin HiPIMS coatings are suitable for these tools. The process reproduces complex tool geometries one-to-one. Production using the hot filament process ensures thin coatings with a homogeneous coating thickness distribution within narrow tolerances - even with complex, intricate geometries. "To ensure that the high accuracy of the tools is also guaranteed after coating, we coat precision tools to the desired final dimensions on request - and this can be reproduced at any time, including documentation," adds Manfred Weigand.