CERAMIC SUBSTRATES
INTA Technologies’ primary spray metalization service utilizes molybdenum-manganese formulations. The formulas are mixed by staff material scientists at INTA Technologies’ facilities in California.
Many pieces of equipment are used depending on the exact project. Hoods, spray attachments, hoses, compressors, blasters, furnaces, microscopes, XRF and more.
Depending on the exact application, the surface will need to be prepared. The material should be clean and free of debris. INTA inspects material when it arrives under microscopes for cleanliness and debris. Surfaces should not have any grease present. For certain projects, the surface may need to be roughened to improve adhesion. To roughen the surface, often a Comco blaster is employed.
No, prior to application and heat treating the liquid coating has a very high resistance and can be considered electrically non-conductive.
Cleaning is essential to the spray metalization process. Without a clean surface adhesion will be negatively effected.
Yes, ventilation is critical to employee safety and release of VOCs.
Standard top-coats include:
Copper
Nickel
Silver
Gold
Platinum
Rhodium
Tin
Custom top-coats are also available. Custom top-coats are generally most costly and time consuming compared to the standards.
The surface can be very smooth or slightly rough, either way the spray metalization process works very well. There are exceptions, contact INTA for help with your application. 408-748-9955 x113.
Minimum requirements include:
Air compressor
Hose
Nozzles
Furnace
Microscope
Hood or similar
Several staff members are trained to perform this function.
Yes, INTA sells the following custom paints:
HT9
HT10
LT7
These products are available exclusively from INTA Technologies Corp.
Yes.
Both methods are very effective for various applications. Dip is more environmentally friendly but does not work for all applications. Spraying can achieve precise and desired results without much rework. Spray needs quite a bit of cleanup in comparison to dip.
One is not better than the other. The method depends on the drawing and/or specification. For parts with multiple surfaces and/or high volume orders, spray is often effective. For parts needing only selected areas metalized, spraying can be burdensome due to necessary masking.
Screen printing can be performed, and is preferred, on flat or round objects. Screen printing is especially popular for laying down patterns. If you need full coverage on three or more surfaces, screen printing may not be the best option. INTA has many screen printing machines and have a high level of expertise on the subject.
Most types can as long as they can endure temperatures in the range of 600+ deg C.
Adhesion is very good, in the range of 10-20 pounds. Most of the parts INTA sprays are subsequently brazed into hermetic assemblies or used for similar applications.
Yes, INTA sells many types of ceramic including Al-O, Al-N, Be-O and all the ceramics listed on www.ceramics.net
For the best adhesion we strongly recommend a molybdenum manganese (MoMn) base coat followed by nickel. Other options include titanium, silver, palladium, ‘tiger’ and gold.
After the coating is applied to the ceramic substrate, the pieces are dried. Subsequently, the items are loaded into one of multiple INTA furnaces to be fired at a high temperature. At high temperatures the glass phases in the MoMn bonds with the glass phases of the ceramic forming a diffusion layer at the interface.
Thin films such as Ti, W, Si, TiO, Cr, Au, Pt, etc. are very good options to ensure good adhesion in situations where MoMn spray metalization is not possible. In some cases, a thin coating is needed and MoMn would be too thick (300-700u”). In other cases, nickel is not allowed by the designer. If nickel is prohibited, a thin film base coat should be considered. Thin films can also be used on metallic and conductive substrates.
This is a common thin film specification useful for high temperature applications.
All products are tested and inspected thoroughly before shipment. INTA’s quality management system is ISO 9001:2008 certified. George Baltazar is our Quality Manager. He worked for Honeywell and other well-known companies for many years before he joined INTA in 2007. Our rate of returns is very low and our goal is zero customer returns.
There are two alternate spellings of the word. Both are widely used.
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Last revised: 04 DEC 2009
contact@intatech.com
