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Meusburger Diamond-like carbon coating – Why it makes sense for mould components

Editor: Rosemarie Stahl

The idea of moving components without hard carbon coating (diamond-like carbon, or DLC for short) is hard to imagine in modern die and mould-making. But what is so good about this coating? Four examples show the advantages and uses of DLC-coated standard components.

Related Vendors

Meusburger Georg GmbH & Co. KG
HASCO Hasenclever GmbH + Co KG
Meusburger's new generation of ejectors for inclined ejection units for demoulding of undercuts.
Meusburger's new generation of ejectors for inclined ejection units for demoulding of undercuts.
(Source: Meusburger)

Particularly in injection moulding, many moving components are DLC-coated. Whether sliding surfaces on guide pillars, slides or ejectors – DLC coating reduces both wear and corrosion, and ensures significantly better dry-running or emergency operating properties. This means a longer service life with less maintenance, and therefore a clear opportunity for increased productivity.

DLC coating consists of an adhesive coat and a carbon coat.
DLC coating consists of an adhesive coat and a carbon coat.
(Source: Meusburger)

Additional Information
Info
Composition and characteristics of DLC coating

The coating is largely made up of the chemical element, carbon. It consists of an adhesive coat and a carbon coat.

  • DLC coating thickness: ~ 2 μm
  • Hardness: ~ 3000 HV
  • Colour: black-grey
  • Operating temperature: max. 350°C
  • Coefficient of friction against steel: 0.1 – 0.15
  • Coating temperature: <180°C

Areas of application for DLC coated Meusburger standard components

Guiding and centring

Guiding elements and particularly centring elements endure high wear through the friction from the opening and closing of the mould. The DLC coating offers the best sliding properties and minimises adhesive wear. This ultimately lengthens the intervals between lubrication and leads to a longer service life for the mould.

Slides

Lubrication close to the cavity often leads to grease residues on the plastic part. Thanks to the best dry-running properties of DLC-coated sliding surfaces, lubrication in these areas can be left out completely.

Ejectors

Targeted lubrication of ejectors can be quite tedious due to the often limited accessibility. This can lead to a lack of lubrication and ultimately to fretting of the ejectors. DLC-coated ejectors are the ideal way to avoid this, thanks to their excellent dry-running properties and high corrosion resistance. These are also optimal prerequisites for use in a cleanroom.

The friction with DLC coating is substantially lower compared with uncoated materials.
The friction with DLC coating is substantially lower compared with uncoated materials.
(Source: Meusburger)

Components for demoulding

In order to meet the high mechanical demands of the switching elements on latch locks, these are DLC-coated. This guarantees an even longer service life.

Thanks to the DLC-coated sliding elements, the maintenance intervals for lubrication for two-stage ejectors are lengthened from 100,000 strokes to 300,000 strokes.

DLC-coated standard components are slightly more expensive, but the investment quickly pays off through higher productivity. rs

(ID:45381575)

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