Graphite-like and diamond-like carbon coatings with exceptional tribological properties

Two hard, carbon-based solid lubricant coatings, Graphit-iC (TM) and Dymon-iC (TM), have been developed that offer considerable benefits for industry. Both of these new coatings have a high tribological load-bearing capacity, exceptional wear resistance and very low friction, even in dry or lubricant-starved contact. This is in contrast to many commercial diamond-like carbon, DLC coatings, which tend to be highly stressed and therefore brittle, making them unsuitable for high load bearing industrial applications. The development of the new solid lubricant coatings is described, and details of their tribological performance in dry, water and oil-lubricated environments are given. The structure of the coatings has been investigated and related to the tribological properties, and the mechanism for the low friction and wear rates is discussed. The coatings have been used to successfully improve the lifetime and efficiency of many highly loaded mechanical parts, including automotive fuel injection components, gears, bearings, tappets (cam followers), gudgeon (wrist) pins, etc. They also offer benefits for tooling and are widely used in forming or machining of non-ferrous alloys, and extensively on dies and moulds. Other industrial application areas include electrical devices that require either high conductivity or insulation, optical devices requiring abrasion resistance and surgical tools and implants.