Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWSFraunhofer Project Group at the Dortmunder OberflächenCentrum DOC®
The Dortmunder OberflächenCentrum DOC® develops tailored coatings using continuous processing of steel band. Development goals include the further development of functions such as corrosion resistance, scratch resistance, electric conductivity and cleaning properties.
The Fraunhofer IWS is a partner at the DOC® and has a project group operating on site. This group develops coating processes based on PVD, PACVD and spraying techniques as well as focuses on laser materials processing.
Research Results
Novel zinc alloy coatings (ZE-Mg) present an outstanding result of this collaboration. At half the thickness of convention zinc coatings these new coatings offer the same corrosion protection combined with significantly improved laser weldability. Hybrid and combination processes were developed and in particular the hybrid welding of high strength steel components. It is also possible to combine cleaning and welding or welding and post galvanizing processes.
Surface Finishing
In its 1100 m2 facility the Fraunhofer group offers a number of complementary process for surface refinement. State-of-theart equipment is used to generate nearly pore free and extremely adhering plasma spray coatings. Highly stressed areas of parts and tools are protected with millimeter thick wear protective cladding using laser buildup welding. The vacuum coating capabilities include machines that handle meter sized and ton heavy parts, which are coated with nanoand micrometer thick high performance coatings such as Diamor®. These coatings provide outstanding hardness and excellent sliding properties. Coating materials are under development offering additional corrosion protection capability.
Solutions for the Industry
It is frequently possible to combine these various state-of-theart processes. The resulting broad technology spectrum in combination with the Fraunhofer IWS know-how provides confidence to TKS or other customers that they will receive a technically and economically optimal solution. Compact and mobile new solid-state lasers of high beam quality and up to 8 kW laser power are used for process development but can also be deployed for trouble shooting missions directly at the customer’s plant.
