Diamond-Like Coated Locating Pins
Freer Tool and Supply is a licensed distributor for IBC DLC. We offer competitive pricing and lead times for all Diamond Coated Pin service.
Contact Us To Get A Quote
586-463-3200
About IBC
IBC Coatings Technologies, Inc. is a privately owned company that was founded in July of 1996 as a research and development project. Since then, the company has grown to over 70 employees and 80,000 square feet of operating space. In addition to its headquarters in Lebanon, IN, IBC offers many services through a joint venture located in Ontario, Canada.
IBC’s expertise is in surface engineering. Its employees take pride in solving the most complex of problems related to wear, corrosion, and fatigue of tools and components.
IBC serves a variety of industries, including oil and gas, aerospace, defense, automotive, metal forming, die casting, forging, and molding. Our company proudly employs many veterans of the United States Armed Forces.
What is Diamond-like Carbon Coating Pins (DLC)?
DLC stands for diamond-like carbon coating and is a nanocomposite coating that has unique properties of natural diamond low friction, high hardness, and high corrosion resistance.
DLC can have different structures and properties that rely on the ratio of SP3 (diamond) and SP2 (carbon) or other fillers like hydrogen, silicon, and metal in the layer.
- High hardness
- Low coefficient of friction (0.02 - 0.15)
- High corrosion resistance
- Great adhesion to a substrate material
- Fretting resistance
- Adhesive wear resistance
- Self-lubrication in dry wear conditions
- Excellent release properties
- Electrical insulation
Properties Unique to CeraTough™-D:
- Capable of achieving high thickness (up to 30µm)
- By comparison, typical DLC coatings have a thickness of 1-2 microns, making them poor as an application against heavy abrasion or corrosion
- Non-line-of-sight PACVD technology allows us to DLC coat internal surfaces and complicated shapes with very high accuracy without manipulating the parts
- The capability of duplex coatings: Ion Plasma Nitriding and DLC can be combined into one cycle
- Excellent surface finish will mirror that of the substrate
How Does IBC Diamond-like Carbon Coating Pins Compare?
IBC is equipped with state-of-the-art tribological testing capabilities. This includes on-site equipment such as the latest wear tester (Bruker UMT TriboLab) and profilometer (ContourG-TK 3D). Using this equipment, Wear Testing per ASTM G133 (Linearly Reciprocating Ball-on-Flat), Metallurgical, and 3D Non-Contact Profilometry Analyses were performed to select the best material/coating composition for the locator and welding pins. Wear testing provided coefficient of friction, as well as wear rates of surfaces for both types of IBC pins.
The standard unlubricated testing parameters per the ASTM G133 specification were as follows:
- Ball Diameter: 3/8 in.
- Normal Force: 25 N
- Stroke Length: 10 mm
- Frequency: 5 Hz
- Time: 1000 sec (sliding distance of 100 m)
- Temperature: 22+/-3 ℃
- Relative Humidity: 40-60%
The tool steels used for CeraTough™ pins include H13 and M2, among others. The analysis below shows the comparison of uncoated hardened M2 pin against 52100 steel with CeraTough™-D and CeraTough™-D Rainbow coatings.
100x Optical image of the wear zone with severe galling (Hardened M2 pin) The same test was repeated using samples of CeraTough-D™ and CeraTough-D™ Rainbow, the results are shown below for comparison.
CeraTough™-D
|
CoF (52100 Steel) |
0.05 |
|
Wear Rate (mm3/Nm) |
20.2x10-8 |
|
Hardness (HV) |
1100-1300 |
|
Elastic Modulus (GPa) |
70 |
|
Coating Thickness (um) |
15-20 |
Wear testing of CeraToughTM-D coated M2 pin against 52100 steel. 500x optical image of the wear zone shows no galling.
CeraTough™-D Rainbow
|
CoF (52100 Steel) |
0.05 |
|
Wear Rate (mm3/Nm) |
6.82x10-8 |
|
Hardness (HV) |
5000 |
|
Elastic Modulus (GPa) |
175 |
|
Coating Thickness (um) |
0.5 |
Wear testing of CeraToughTM–D Rainbow coated M2 pin against 52100 steel. 500x optical image of the wear zone shows no galling.
How does IBC Ceratough-D Rainbow Compare to others?
Competitors Diamond-like Coating comes with 2500-3000 Hardness and Max Temp Usage of 750(F) against IBC Ceratough-D RainBow which comes with 5000-7000 Hardness and Max Temp of 1100(F). CeraTough™-D Rainbow for locator pins that do not require electrical insulation and welding splutter resistance.
|
Property |
Competitors (DLC) |
CeraTough™–D Rainbow |
|
High hardness |
1100-1300 HV |
5000-7000 HV |
|
Low coefficient of friction |
0.01 |
0.05 |
|
High wear resistance |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Electrical insulation |
No |
No |
|
Weld spatter resistant |
No |
Yes |
|
Working temperature |
Up to 750°F |
Up to 1100°F |
CeraTough™ locating and welding pins’ performance is superior to the best on the market and comparable to ceramic pins but without the inherited brittleness of ceramic.
How does IBC Compare to Black Oxide?
Black Oxide finish can rub off over time, the look can deteriorate over time very quickly through hot environments without oil application and durability is nowhere close to IBC diamond-like coating. IBC provides the industry-leading durability and making them one the preferred customer choice. Customers who use IBC reported over 10x of life improvement resulting in lower operating cost and reduced downtime. IBC also provides coatings have outstanding corrosion resistance tested in accordance with ASTM G85 Annex 4 (5% salt spray plus SO2 gas) can withstand up to 400 hours of exposure, or 1000+ hours of ASTM B117. Also, IBC provides reliably demonstrated a life improvement of up to 14 times that of the replaced locating and welding pins in extreme applications.
The chart below presents a comparison of different coatings for locator pins along with their respective hardness, wear rate, and relative life.
|
Property |
CeraTough™–D |
CeraTough™–D Rainbow |
|
High hardness |
1100-1300 HV |
5000-7000 HV |
|
Low coefficient of friction |
0.05 |
0.05 |
|
High wear resistance |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Electrical insulation |
Up to 195 MΩ |
No |
|
Weld spatter resistant |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Working temperature |
Up to 1100°F |
Up to 1100°F |
The chart below presents a comparison of different coatings for locator pins along with their respective hardness, wear rate, and relative life.
We Offer The Best Prices And Service On Diamond-like Carbon Coated Pins
Freer Tool and Supply is a licensed distributor for IBC DLC. We offer competitive pricing and lead times for all Diamond Coated Pin service.
- CeraTough™-D for locator and welding pins that require electrical insulation and weld spatter resistance.
- CeraTough™-D Rainbow for locator pins that do not require electrical insulation and welding spatter resistance.
CeraTough™ Locator and welding pins are manufactured per NAAMS standards, and per individual customer drawings. Pins are in use across the world by major automobile manufacturers, where they have reliably demonstrated a life improvement of up to 10 times that of the replaced locating and welding pins in extreme applications. CeraTough™ locating and welding pins performance is superior to the best on the market and comparable to ceramic pins but without the inherited brittleness or cost of ceramic.
Contact Us To Get A Quote
- 586-463-3200
- Sales@Freertool.com