Method for coating stainless steel press plates and coated press plates produced thereby
A method for coating stainless steel press plates includes preparing the stainless steel press plate for coating and coating the stainless steel press plate with a diboride doped with 1%-5% by weight aluminum to produce a diboride-aluminum coating. The step of coating includes applying the diboride-aluminum coating to a stainless steel press plate using a magnetron sputter coating system.
1. A method for coating stainless steel press plates, comprising:
preparing a stainless steel press plate for coating;
coating the stainless steel press plate with titanium diboride doped with 1%-5% by weight aluminum to produce a titanium diboride-aluminum coating, wherein the coating consists of applying the titanium diboride using a first applicator consisting of titanium diboride in of a magnetron sputter coating system and simultaneously doping the titanium diboride with 1%-5% by weight aluminum by applying aluminum using a second applicator consisting of aluminum in of the magnetron sputter coating system to produce the titanium diboride-aluminum coating consisting of the titanium diboride doped with 1%-5% by weight aluminum upon the stainless steel press plate.
2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the stainless steel press plate is a 410 stainless steel high gloss press plates.
3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the stainless steel press plate is a 300 stainless steel press plate, a 410 stainless steel press plate, a 420 stainless steel press plate, a 630 stainless steel press plate, or a 633 stainless steel press plate.
4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the titanium diboride-aluminum coating has a Vickers hardness of at least 35 GPa.
5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the titanium diboride-aluminum coating has a Vickers hardness of 46 GPa.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the titanium diboride-aluminum coating has a thickness of about 3 microns.
7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the titanium diboride-aluminum coating is applied at a substrate bias of 60-90 V and at temperature of 200° C.
8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the titanium diboride-aluminum coating has a minimum bond strength of 1.6 kilogram force.
9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the titanium diboride-aluminum coating has a minimum bond strength of 1.8 kilogram force.
10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the preparing the stainless steel press plate includes cleaning a pressing side of the stainless steel press plate.
11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the preparing the stainless steel press plate includes etching the pressing side of the stainless steel press plate.
12. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the preparing the stainless steel press plate includes applying a layer of titanium directly onto the pressing side of the stainless steel press plate.