The Technical R & D Center for Surface Refinement and High-Performance Toolmaking

Product Information

The Technical R & D Center for Surface Refinement and High-Performance Toolmaking was founded in April 1988 in Neuenbuerg. It was immediately recognized by the federal government as a technology-oriented company (TOU).

The basis of this recognition was the development, optimization and industrialization of the AUDIP CVD method. By means of which nano-hard material systems, which consist of a total thickness of 1-1.5 microns and up to 50 different ceramics produced.

The industrialization of this coating process was in 1991 awarded the Innovation Award of the State Baden-Württemberg/Germany. In other years this method has been further developed and optimized. The result was a new surface finishing process, which has been recognized by the Government with a further innovation award.

Using this method to coat any tools for the machining of ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, pure metals, both pure and with glass as well as carbon fiber reinforced plastics, wood, rubber and other hybrid materials with nano-hard materials.

Thanks to these nano-ceramic systems, for example the life of the injection molding, as compared with the tools were coated with PVD-process by a factor of between 10 and 50 can be increased. The lifetime enhancement factor is dependent on the concentration of the fillers and the pigments in injection molded plastic, their micro-hardness can be between 200 HV and 2700HV.

As an example, here are the manufacture of Xenon car headlights. These lights are on average from about 70% to 75% fiber, 15% to 20% titanium dioxide, and the corresponding polymers of between 10% and 15%. This method allows for the first time, the surface treatment of both external surfaces of the form as well as the inner coating of holes and very complicated openings. Here is an example: molds for the production of car and truck elements, phones, parts for the electronics industry, machine parts, kitchen utensils etc. are provided with a plastic filler content up to 90%, exist.

Different injection nozzles are used in injection molds. They are subject to very rapid wear, which leads to their rapid exchange and thus to a standstill injection of at least one day during the manufacturing process. This fact forced the plastics industry to corresponding high-performance nozzles to search. In the technical R & D center, new materials with an almost 7 times better thermal conductivity and after coating the inside very high abrasion resistance have been developed. Due to the high thermal conductivity of the part injection sequence/time unit could be further increased.

In the technical R & D center also cutting tools for machining of both GRP and CFRP (spadix, X-radius end mills, drills, reamers, step drills, etc.) have been developed, optimized and industrialized. All such tools are refined with appropriate nano-hard material systems. The result is a 6 to 10-fold increase service life. The level of improvement in service life is dependent on the concentration of fillers and pigments in the plastic. These high-performance tools in the processing of car and truck dashboards, load floors, sun roof cassette, hat racks, spare covers, trays MAN, instrument panels, roof panels, etc for all produced cars in Europe, are made in the technical R & D center.

The service life of, for example Planer knives of any size and type, consisting of both high performance fast-work tool steels and steels for hot working, thanks to the hard nano-material systems, depending on the wood species and condition to be increased about 20 times. From the timber industry following result is known: with uncoated planer knives up to 5 up to 8 km boards were planed, in turn coated with a hard material using nano-systems could be about 55 km to 86 km planed pine boards ready. Drilling in oak wood with drill bits from both cold and hot work tool steel is very difficult. The wear of these tools has already begun around 12 through holes in a 14 mm thick board to develop rapidly. After about 17 to 18 holes, the tool is worn. If these drills are refined so with them about 120 to 140 holes can be performed.

The majority of car engine blocks consists of AlMgSi9. Their metal cutting with coated by PVD technology carbide tools prepares relatively great difficulties due to the rapid wear. If these tools (cutters, drills, reamers, taps, etc.), refined with nano-hard materials, their wear resistance increases by a factor of between 2 and 10 times. An even higher increase in service life is reached in the processing of non-ferrous metals and their alloys.

Very high performance also bring with nano hard material systems coated threading tools, reamers, broaches, saw blades, finishing cutters, inserts, special tools, drills, step tools, forming tools, such as dies, stamping, bending strips, bending punches and any cutting blades, in the machining of steels, cast iron gray cast iron and differents hybrid material systems are used.

This method also allows for the service life of tools such as, significantly increasing comb blades, circular knives, S-shaped knives, planer knives and saw toothblades that find their application in the manufacture of tires and achieved the highest currently possible material efficiency.

This procedure was in 2012 awarded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in Berlin with the German raw material efficiency prize.