Metallization | decoration Fully automated metallization technology is also
available from Italy-headquartered Tapematic. The company, as the name suggests, traces its roots back to the 1970s and to automated machinery for loading tape into audio cassettes but it refocused its efforts with the introduction of the optical disc, developing its own single-cabinet metallizing and lacquering system. It has since developed its expertise in sputtering to include standalone inline metallizing and fully-automated lacquering and metallizing options for three dimen- sional plastic parts. The Tapematic S8++ in-line sputtering unit is
claimed to offer a cycle time of just 6s. It can deposit a range of metallic materials, including aluminium,
IV Microplast is also using a PlastiCoater unit as part of a Lean PVD inline metallization system built around a 300 tonne Engel injection moulding machine equipped with a 6-axis robot for part removal. Managing director Orjan Feldt says the system has been in operation for more than four years and has been used on more than 40 different products since installation, mostly reflec- tors for use in light fittings. Feldt says the company adopted the PlastiCoater
technology as an alternative to traditional batch vacuum chamber metallization. “The key drivers to use PVD technology were production cost, product quality and process leadtime,” he says. The PlastiCoater technology is also being used by
Varioplast at its production plant at Ötisheim in Germany as part of its InstantChrome decorating process. Devel- oped for automotive applications, the first commercial application for the technique can be seen in the dashboard clock used on the latest version of the VW Passat. The InstantChrome process comprises application of
a UV-cured primer followed by a chrome PVD layer then a UV-cured solvent-free top coat, which acts as a decorative and protective layer and allows a variety of gloss levels to be achieved. According to the company, it offers a number of benefits over electroplating, including reduced environmental impact, lower energy consumption and reduced cost. It also allows a broader range of substrate materials to be used, allows features such as snap fits and film hinges to be incorporated into parts, and supports laser etching to create day-night illuminated features. Varioplast CEO Michael Däbritz says the InstantCh-
rome technology provides a direct replacement for plating in many decorative automotive applications. “The InstantChrome inline metal coating process based on PVD technology… is ideally suited to our in-house process chain strategy and in the future shall replace electro chromium plating at our plant,” he says.
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chrome, stainless steel and copper – onto substrates including PE, PP, PA, PC. The standard work chamber can handle parts up to 56mm in diameter and 120mm high. Features of the unit include conveyor-based automatic loading and unloading while a load-lock system is used to maintain the vacuum in the chamber. The S8++ can be supplied as a standalone sputtering
system or as the metallization element in Tapematic’s PST fully automated coating line. This sandwiches the S8++ unit between two of the company’s BT coating stations for application of UV-cured primer and top coat layers to create a fully automated plant for in-house finishing of plastic mouldings. The fully enclosed system also includes air deionisation, dust removal and flame plasma flame treatment capabilities. According to David Hill, managing director of
Tapematic’s UK subsidiary, it is the coating process that is the big challenge for anyone attempting to assemble a fully automatic in-line system. “Our system is unique in that it comprises base coating, metallizing and top coating and because we can manipulate the part and the plasma field in the chamber,” he claims. “I can’t say much about the coating process because it is propri- etary but we can coat a part in less than 150ms.” Aside from the speed of coating, the Tapematic
system technology also reduces coating wastage to less than 20% while its load-lock metallization chamber is far more energy efficient than batch systems, Hill says. These savings, together with the elimination of double handling and transportation between one standalone process stage and the next, can significantly reduce the cost of producing metallized parts. Hill says the company now has more than 20 PST lines in operation worldwide. The machines are finishing a variety of small to medium sized plastic mouldings, including closures for applications such as cosmetics and toiletries. He cites one customer in the drinks industry that has cut the cost of producing a metallized closure from around €0.10 per part to less
June 2015 | INJECTION WORLD 31
Left: Varioplast is using its InstantChrome PVD technology to decorate this clock surround for VW
PHOTO: VOLKSWAGEN
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