Decorative

Decorative

... and other surface finishing techniques, requiring chemicals that often are strong pollutants. Development of new lacquering technologies and materials further extended application of the PVD films onto various plastic subtrates.

Systec  offers two types of decorative coatings:

• Classic metal or carbon-based  decorative PVD coatings;
• Lacquer-PVD-Lacquer  combinations, suitable for providing ‘metal’ look to plastic parts;

Metal-based PVD coatings

Metal-based PVD coatings were the first PVD films that were and offered to the commercial market (outside of semiconductor and  electronic industries). It happened in 1970’s and the first products were Swiss-made watches. Attractive golden tint of TiN coating, coupled with its high hardness and scratch resistance made it a viable alternative to gold plating.  Nowadays PVD coatings can be found in many consumer products – from sanitary/bathroom hardware to elements of mobile phones, car interior/exterior, eyeware and even jewelry.

As the name implies, decorative coatings provide visual , aesthetical aspect to the surface of the parts. Most commonly, colour is the aspect that is in demand. Along with the colour, the coatings typically should provide protection against scratching, corrosion and wear. In addition, the coating should maintain the original surface finish (polishing, texturing etc.) of the parts. In other words, decorative coatings are to provide functionality typical for functional coatings, but this functionality should be accompanied with a certain colour of the parts’ surface. Combining all these properties in  a single layer is a very challenging task for the materials scientists, which requires in depth understanding of the PVD  processing.

Materials coated by the PVD process have a smoother finish and higher reflective qualities than those treated by traditional plating methods.  The coverage of the coating is uniform.  There are no holes, gaps or voids to cause premature coating breakdown during use.  It is truly a maintenance-free finish, whic  h is guaranteed for the life of the item.  The process ensures that an object’s aesthetics will not be affected neither normal ambience, nor by most chemicals.

PVD processing for decorative purposes advanced significantly in last 30 years. As a leading company in the PVD industry, Systec SVS offers modern PVD coatings, which are complex multi-, or even nano-layered structures, combining layers of various composition and structure. Sophisticated processing allows deposition of transparent oxide-based films for producing interference colours. These coatings are a result of years of development and contain extensive know-how.

The color palette of the coatings have also expanded: from traditional gold-copper hues to brown, blue, green champagne and may other colours. Below is a table of the standard colours offered by Systec: