OVE Plasmatec, a provider of sealing technology, has inaugurated a new technical center in Weil im Schönbuch. The company, which offers high-performance coatings for elastomers, aims to advance the development in cleaning and coating technologies.
Simulation facilities and efficient testing equipment, located directly next to the production areas, enable rapid feedback on innovative concepts. Due to a looming ban on PFAS, there is an increase in inquiries from new customer projects, which also impacts the future of mobility. “In our technical center, with short paths to production, we take the future of coating into our own hands”, emphasizes Heiko Friedrich, managing partner of OVE Plasmatec GmbH.
The newly opened OVE-owned technical center, situated right next to the quality laboratory and close to production, is equipped with state-of-the-art technology. In the testing and inspection facilities, the future of elastomer coating can be simulated. A painting robot reliably applies improved or newly developed coatings in small batches to the cleaned surfaces, thus allowing alternatives to PFAS coatings to emerge.
Supported by modern drying cabinets, climate and salt spray chambers, and a resistance measuring device, OVE employees are on the quest for the coatings of the future. The focus is currently on a coating solution for bipolar plates in fuel cells for alternative mobility. This demanding challenge requires entirely new approaches regarding safe, durable, and sustainable coatings. The feasibility of serial application is always considered. “With the short paths from the technical center to our production, we get quick answers on whether new solutions are also viable in series”, assures Friedrich.
New Coating Solutions Urgently Needed
In addition to paints, the technical center also focuses on innovative coating processes, including a special plasma coating chamber. OVE Plasmatec utilizes plasma technology specifically in the elastomer sector, particularly for deep pore cleaning of seals.
Evolved for coating, now noble gases instead of air as mediums open new possibilities. Under four different gases and settings, the noble gases deposit onto the seals. Depending on the gas, the coating can produce various properties of the seals, such as hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces. Coatings that act as diffusion barriers or protective layers can also be created. Initial results of the new process are promising.
There are many applications for this. Customers from sectors such as biomedicine, semiconductor industry, or pneumatics are just as eager for new coating alternatives as users from the drinking water and food sectors. In addition, the coatings offer protective functions. The highly professional service providers for the surface refinement of elastomers always focus on particle purity, germ-free status, and tested and certified LABS-free status. This is due to the cleaning and coating processes and affects not only the products but also the packaging.
