Bulk treatment of small parts: an alternative to electroplating

Materia Nova develops plasma-based surface treatment solutions for small-sized parts, offering an alternative to conventional wet electroplating processes.

This process can be applied to all material families, including electrically insulating and thermally sensitive substrates, without any immersion bath steps or the use of toxic chemicals.

Several bulk-treatment configurations are available, each designed to address specific requirements in terms of part size, mass, and targeted functionality:

• Vibratory conveyor: continuous-flow treatment of small, lightweight parts, ensuring constant renewal of the exposed surface;
• Rotating barrel: treatment of bulk parts, with rotation ensuring coating uniformity through mechanical mixing;
• Roll-to-roll or substrate-holder processing (under development): intended for more targeted production runs or parts requiring specific positioning and orientation relative to the plasma source.

These configurations enable the coating of very small components, typically ranging from 100 µm to a few centimetres, including screws, decorative nails, diamonds, gears, and other micro-components, for which individual treatment, rack mounting, or conventional electroplating would be unsuitable or excessively costly.

The most appropriate configuration is selected by our experts according to the product characteristics and the desired functionalities, such as colouration and optical effects, corrosion protection, friction reduction, and more.

These bulk-treatment technologies are also used for the decontamination and hygienisation of seeds and protein powders, with plasma treatment reducing microbial load in response to the sanitary requirements of the agri-food industry.