PVD
About PVD?
Bench Mark
PVD, which stands for Physical Vapor Deposition, is an environmentally friendly coating process that will protect and prolong the life span of each writing instrument to which it is applied. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Traditional electroplating operations can produce emissions of toxic air pollutants, including heavy metals and cyanide. Degreasing and cleaning solutions can release toxic air pollutants and volatile organic compounds into the environment. The process of creating PVD coatings is far more environmentally friendly, as it greatly reduces the number of toxic substances used and disposed of compared to other processes that involve fluid precursors and chemical reactions, all while adding a more durable and long-lasting coating. The PVD coating process sounds like something out of science fiction in comparison to old-school plating techniques, but the results have proven effective in the highest technology applications. Because PVD coatings are applied at the atomic level the process offers control of the structure, density, and stoichiometry of the films. Due to that, PVD coatings are seen as a benchmark for durability, can reduce friction, and serve as a barrier against any potential damage caused by the external environment and usage of the product. Moreover, PVD coating is highly resistant to tarnishing and corrosion, which makes it perfectly suitable for decorative finishes with colors that do not fade. Also, a PVD gold or platinum coating produces highly durable, scratch and scrape-resistant finishes that make writing instruments imperishable. Not only PVD coating can withstand the test of time but also can provide a solution to unique applications that requires it to be extremely thin, pure, durable, or clean. Since PVD coating is famous for its superior durability, heat resistance, protection against overtime wear, hardness, and flexibility in its density when applied; it is used in eclectic industries such as microchip manufacture, semiconductor device production, durable protective film, optical lenses, solar panels, and varied medical devices. PVD is also used in the surgical and medical implant industry because it can produce extremely pure, clean, and durable coatings. How does the process work? (Nerd alert) PVD uses diverse thin film deposition techniques that focus on vaporizing a solid material in a vacuum environment, resulting in deposition onto the surface as a pure material coating. The two most common processes of Physical Vapor Deposition are Sputtering and Thermal Evaporation. Sputtering applies the process of bombardment of the coating material with a high energy electrical charges that produce “sputter” off atoms or molecules that are deposited on the surface of a product. Thermal Evaporation elevates a coating material to the boiling point while in a high vacuum environment producing a vapor stream that rises in the vacuum chamber and then condenses on the surface of the product. Both processes are fundamentally high vacuum techniques and take place in a high vacuum chamber with a pressure that can be compared to outer space 10-2 to 10-6 Torr (102 to 104 millibar), and typically falls between 50 and 500 degrees C. In order to apply the coating to the writing instrument’s body, the open is secured in a fixture and then moved to the vacuum deposition chamber. Next, depending on the material that the pen is made of, the chamber is pumped down to a suitable pressure, then often the pen can be preheated and plasma cleaned if the material requires it. Since, during the Physical Vapor Deposition process, the coating material is transferred as a single atom or on a molecular level, it engenders pure and high-performance coating. PVD coatings are denser than the base materials they are used on, and they are also inert, which means they do not produce reactions with materials they come into contact with. These peculiar aspects of PVD make it appealing for producing long-lasting products. Not only does PVD coating bring a beautiful, lustrous finish to the product, it also applies numerous benefits such as long-lasting durability and resistance to wear for a lifetime of enjoyment.
