Inside MOTIF PVD: How We Coat

The finish is decided before the chamber

Every PVD job begins long before deposition. Incoming components are inspected, because a coating microns thin faithfully reproduces whatever surface it lands on — a fingerprint, a polishing swirl, a speck of residue. Preparation and cleaning are therefore where most of the care lives: parts are cleaned to remove every trace of oil, dust and oxide, then handled so they stay that way.

Inside the chamber

Cleaned parts are fixtured and loaded into the vacuum chamber. The air is pumped out; the source metal is vaporised; reactive gases are introduced to form the specific compound — and therefore the specific colour — the job calls for. Deposition itself is a controlled, monitored process: time, temperature, gas mix and power together determine the layer that grows on every surface in the load.

After deposition

Finished parts are inspected against the job's reference for colour, coverage and surface quality before anything is packed. Because the coating is set by process parameters, a batch that matches its reference today will be matched again by the batch run next season — repeatability is a property of the discipline, not of luck.

What this means for a customer

• Send components fabricated and surface-finished exactly as you want them to look — the coating preserves your work, it does not rework it.
• Specify tone and texture against samples, and the reference travels with every repeat order.
• Talk to us early about substrates: the right base metal is half the performance of the finished part.

To discuss a coating job or arrange samples, reach the team through the contact page.