Oerlikon Balzers have agreed a worldwide license to use a group of novel processes for titanium alloys, for the motorsports segment. TiPlus, a BALITHERM® service, was developed in a UK university and has been successfully used for some years by a small number of UK companies. Oerlikon Balzers believe they can take the technology to a wider user group through their worldwide organisation.
The processes are thermochemical heat treatments which when used alone, provide a hard, dense and lubricious oxide supported by a diffusion hardened substrate. They can also be used to complement the BALINIT® range of PVD and PACVD coatings by first hardening the titanium alloy substrate supporting the subsequently applied BALINIT® coating. Both these solutions have been used successfully in development projects and Oerlikon Balzers are now providing a service, initially from the UK, for all motorsport customers.
For more information on this technology, please contact spyros.katsikis@oerlikon.com, Product Manager of the Components business segment.