Oerlikon Balzers expands diamond coating to meet growing demand

Oerlikon Balzers has increased production capacity for its technology-leading diamond coatings to meet growing demand from the aircraft and automotive industries. “The success of diamond coatings is just the latest example of how we are achieving growth through innovative product development in the surface solutions sector,” says Dr Hans Brändle, CEO of the Oerlikon Coating Segment.

The expansion follows the company’s recent announcement to acquire the thermal spray-coating business Sulzer Metco, making the Oerlikon Segment the global technology leader in surface solutions.

The extra capacity will be created at Niederkorn Coating Center in Luxembourg, which is the company’s global competence center for high-performance carbon coating for cutting tools. In addition to increasing production floor space by more than 50%, the center will further improve the technology and quality of its diamond-coating processes to the highest possible standard.

Oerlikon Balzers’ customers for the most recent diamond coating BALINIT DIAMOND PLUS are the aircraft and automotive industries. Companies within these sectors are increasingly using carbon-fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP), which are highly valued for their lightweight and robust characteristics. Processing CFRP requires extremely wear-resistant, sharp and smooth cutting tools.

Diamonds are the toughest naturally occurring material but are not an affordable option. Thus, Oerlikon Balzers’ diamond coatings – BALINIT DIAMOND and BALINIT DIAMOND PLUS - are the best alternative, significantly enhancing the performance of cutting tools by a factor of up to 10 compared to non-coated tools.

The Niederkorn Coating Center is one of four Oerlikon Balzers centers serving the high-tech requirements of the aircraft industry. It holds the Nadcap (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) Certificate.