Oerlikon Balzers launches new line of diamond coatings

Oerlikon Balzers (Balzers, Liechtenstein), a provider of surface solutions, has introduced its new Baldia portfolio of diamond coatings. Baldia is said to be extremely wear-resistant, provides excellent hardness and offers thermal conductivity and is chemically inert, making it suitable for highly abrasive materials. The new diamond coating portfolio covers the spectrum of demanding machining applications and is divided into two groups of different base materials. The first contains coatings for machining highly abrasive compacted and sintered powders like graphite for molds and dies, as well as ceramics for dental applications. For these applications, the Baldia Compact and Baldia Compact DC coatings produce the best possible machining performance. The second group of base materials are fiber-reinforced plastics, stacked materials and highly abrasive aluminium alloys used in the aerospace and automotive industries. For this group, Baldia Nano and Baldia Composite DC are the right choice. In both groups the DC connotes maximum coating quality with consistently strong tool performance and the tightest possible tolerances for tool diameter and coating thickness. Oerlikon Balzers operates competence centers for diamond coatings on all continents where the company has production facilities: Niedercorn, Luxembourg; Erkelenz, Germany (formerly D- Coat); Lake Orion, Mich., U.S.; Busan, South Korea.