International Knife and Saw is now offering our customers a unique proprietary coating developed by UCT Coatings, Inc. to enhance the operating performance of our log saw blades. The coating delivers increased surface hardness, excellent thermal management, low coefficient of friction and amazing lubricity to the steel. Cutting applications where blade edge wear is being caused by extreme heat due to friction can benefit greatly from this truly remarkable coating.
Marketed under the name Exo Technology™, this product application in comparison to other coatings will not wear or peel off the blade, distort the blade concentricity, load up or clog grinding wheels.
Exo Technology™ is a patented metal finishing technology that deposits a high performance coating on a variety of metal substrates. The product is food grade compliant.
Product deliverables:
- Increased amount of cuts per blade
- Reduced operational downtime for blade changes
- Improved cut quality
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
UCT Coatings' technology applies a nickel-boron (Ni-B) family of coatings to metal alloy surfaces. The properties of these coatings make them suitable for applications requiring high wear resistance, friction reduction, uniformity of dimensions on complex geometry, strong adhesion to substrates, and inherent solid lubrication. Corrosion inhibition is an added feature. Benefits include increased life cycle and decreased maintenance costs. The application process is non-line-of-sight, low temperature, industrially attractive, scalable, transferable, repeatable, and available now.
The surface finishing techniques developed by UCT Coatings utilize an autocatalytic deposition process by submersion of the part in a liquid bath. No specialized or hard-to-obtain equipment are required. The processing parameters and chemistry used by UCT Coatings are proprietary and patented, but available through UCT directly or one of its globally situated licensees. UCT Coatings processes are able to achieve optimized levels of boron, between 5-6 weight %, in the coating. This fact, combined with a much improved microstructure compared to other Ni-B coatings, sets UCT apart from its competitors, including all other Ni-B coating suppliers.
Plating of UCT coatings is not a line-of-sight technology, compared to many other plating technologies. All surfaces exposed to the plating bath are coated with an even thickness including inside and outside corners and blind holes, ensuring uniformity of properties on all surfaces. The rate of plating deposition is well-known (0.0008 in/hr, 20 microns/hr) and well-controlled, providing a high production throughput rate. The entire coating process can be scaled and automated as needed to accommodate most sized part. Post-plating processes may include a variety of surface finishing techniques. A low temperature precipitation hardening cycle (425-725 degrees F) transforms the as-plated amorphous nickel-boron plating to crystalline nickel boride (Ni3B) resulting in an increase in hardness from about 1000 Knoop to 1400 Knoop (25g, 10 sec dwell), respectively. The choice to use the coating in the amorphous or crystalline state is driven by the criteria of the application. Additions to the Ni3B coating can alter and enhance properties in severe and very demanding applications. The application development process, which is always performed in close collaboration between the customer and UCT engineers, defines the criteria for success and the specific plating process for a component.
Most metal alloy substrates can be coate with this technology. The following is a list of some alloy families that can be coated, representing the vast majority of important engineering alloys.
Ferrous alloys
Carbon steel
High strength alloy steel
Cast iron
Stainless steel
Non-Ferrous alloys
Aluminum alloys (cast and wrought)
Copper alloys (brass and bronze)
Titanium alloys
Nickel alloys
Specialty alloys
Powdered metal alloys
Exotic alloys
Components coated with UCT Coatings surface finishing technologies can be stripped and re-coated to restore critical dimensions and functionality, saving components that are expensive and/or difficult to fabricate. Similarly, designs that incorporate other coatings can usually be stripped of those coatings and UCT Coatings Ni-B surface finishing applied to boost performance.
Expensive base metal alloys that exhibited desirable surface properties through their thickness are currently in wide use. In this age of weight and price reduction it is advantageous to develop localized properties. Why put expensive properties where they are not needed? UCT coatings provide the properties needed in the areas they are needed. In many cases this value-added benefit allows OEMs to choose lighter and/or cheaper base alloys while retaining or enhancing surface performance characteristics.
Contact our team of Materials Scientists, Mechanical Engineers, and Application Specialists to discuss solutions to your metal alloy surface opportunities.
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