Saw bands

The biggest challenge in the handling as well as coating of saw bands is their size, as saw bands are wound on a tool carrier, the coil. Due to the circumferential speed, the layer growth can result in different coating thicknesses.

Our Custom Coating Solution masters these challenges

To improve the handling, the coating chamber door opens sideways; the opened chamber door can be swiveled 90° allowing the loading and unloading to take place from the left-hand side
The coil is arranged at a certain angle to the deposition technology to ensure a constant coating thickness distribution
The LGD® (Lateral Glow Discharge) process is used for etching and improved coating adhesion

To guarantee a uniform coating, the teeth and the back of the saw band are coated with different cathode types
The coating process takes place at a maximum temperature of 500°C to ensure that the physical and chemical properties of the saw band remain unchanged
Coating increases the lifespan of saw bands and improves the cutting performance during sawing; the development of tool wear is reduced

Example Custom Coating Solution Pi603 for WIKUS

In order to meet the product-specific requirements of WIKUS, we designed a turnkey system with a PVD coating unit operating in a high vacuum as well as a tailor-made single-chamber cleaning system. The saw bands are wound as a coil and are both cleaned and coated with the same product carrier to avoid an additional effort.

The Pi603 is the first PVD coating unit for WIKUS. It was built in 2006 and is still working perfectly today. Our design proved to be very user-friendly. Customers who are not experienced with such technologies, can also operate this unit with ease. Pursuant to the open source principle, we transferred our knowledge to WIKUS. This enables WIKUS to benefit from the advantages of LARC® cathodes and flexibly combine as well as develop its own coatings.

Technologies applied:

3 x LARC® cathodes with ARC technology
1 x Planar ARC cathode for uniform coating of the back of a saw blade

Etching technologies applied:

LGD®
Plasma etching with argon, glow discharge
Metal ion etching (Ti, Cr)

Load and cycle times:

2 batches/day with batch time of 8.5 - 10h
Saw band diameter up to: 1360mm
Inner packing diameter: 560mm
Saw band height up to: 100mm
Saw band weight incl. carrier up to: 600kg

Software:

Simple use and maintenance
PLATIT’s SmartSoftware (PC and PLC system)
Modern control system with touch screen
Data recording and real-time display of process parameters and flow
Manual and automatic process control
Remote diagnostics and maintenance

Machine dimensions:

Footprint [mm]: D6450 x W5900 x H3100