Choose your surface!

We get many inquiries regarding our coating technology.  Hydrophilic, hydrophobic, insulative, protection from the elements; you name it, there is someone out there that is looking for the tailored properties I’ve mentioned and more.  All mentioned are possible with our technology, however not in all scenarios and material combinations.  Is a series of blogs I will attempt to address the typical end goals of customers and where we can help the most.

Hydrophilicity is the most common request, and we can satisfy it via a few methods.  It is a measurement of how easily water wets out across a surface which is also a measurement of how functional (receptive to bonding) that surface is.  Our standard atmospheric plasma will typically elevate the surface energy of a material to a point well in excess of 72 dynes, which is where water wets out across a surface.  Similarly, we can deposit a glass-like nano-layer and elevate it’s surface energy to above 72 dynes as well.  The reason to use this coating rather than activate the material directly is that not all materials have strong longevity of treatment or are chemically receptive to all material combinations. Softer materials or those with many additives may only hold treatment for a few minutes before observing a drop. However if you properly adhere the coating to the surface while it is freshly activated the coating will be permanently adhered.  This layer can in turn be activated and will exhibit great longevity of treatment and can provide a necessary link between dissimilar materials.

The surfaces will only stay active/clean if you keep them that way.  A highly functional surface with oil smeared on it is now an oil surface. Additionally, that oil has likely rendered the plasma treatment neutral, requiring another cleaning and functionalization (whether by coating or just standard plasma). Luckily, with plasma there is little concern with treating a part again and you can regain the desired properties with ease.

By coating the work piece you have chosen the surface you want rather than having that be dictated by your material choice.  This opens up the design process as ‘design for assembly’ often means choosing materials that are easily bonded and now that can be almost any material with a PlasmaPlus coating!