Overview
 Crown and Pinion Gear Set Coated with Wear-SP3EC |
Diamond coatings over the past few decades have gained a respectable amount of attention, due to their exotic mechanical, electrical, and optical properties. Typical benefits include:
- Maximum surface hardness
- Extremely low coefficient of friction (CoF)
- Exceptional wear properties
- Excellent dielectric material
- High thermal conductivity
- Optically transparent in IR wavelengths
- many more…
Depending on the application, diamond coatings can offer the best solution for wide-variety of surface performance issues. Typical application enhancements include:
- Optical sensor protection
- Increased transmission in the infrared spectra
- Adjacent surface wear protection
- Abrasion protection
- Decreased coefficient of friction, leading to increased performance of gear systems
- Galvanic corrosion and oxidation protection
- many more…
What is SP3EC and how is it different from other diamond coatings on the market?
Over the past 7 years, United Protective Technologies (UPT), the sister company of Diarkis, has been developing a nano-crystalline thin-film diamond coating in conjuction with various branches of the United States Military. The coating has been come to be known as, SP3EC or Surface Performance Enhancement Coating. Originally discovered at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC), SP3EC is a cutting edge coating that has proven to be one of the most advanced diamond coatings on the market today. The name explains precisely what SP3EC has been engineered to do. Unlike other coatings in its class SP3EC, is capable of being deposited at room temperature on an array of substrates, ranging from polymers to metals. Allowing the SP3EC coating process to not disrupt any of properties of the substrate that is to be coated. Also, another very unique quality of the SP3EC coating family is the ability for the coating to be deposited on a wide-range of substrates using no inter facial layer. Many coatings currently on the market, are forced to use a non-carbon inter facial layer in order to adhere the coating to a substrate. This inter facial layer allows for a much greater chance of coating failure and permanently changes the outer surface of the component and making nearly impossible to completely remove the coating if needed. Diarkis engineers have developed proprietary methods for achieving excellent film adhesion without the use of any doping agents or non-carbon layers. SP3EC coatings can be easily removed from any and all substrates coated, creating one of the most advanced diamond coatings on the market today.
SP3EC coatings have been proven to be an excellent solution for surface protection and increased performance in a wide range of applications. During the development of SP3EC, several sub-species of the coating have been developed specifically for individual applications. Primary SP3EC include:
- Optical Sensor Protection and Performance Enhancement Applications
- Wear/Friction Reduction Applications
- Galvanic Corrosion and Oxidation Protection Applications