PVD coating machines and plant consultancy

Dekap designs and builds arc and sputter PVD coating machines and installs them on site. Each machine is sized to your parts, target coatings and production volume, and installation, commissioning, coating recipes and operator training come with it. Because we run PVD every day in our own Istanbul atelier, on lines we build ourselves, the process advice comes from production rather than a catalogue.

Cathodic arc PVD evaporates the target with an electric arc, giving high ionisation, dense films and fast deposition, which suits hard tool coatings and many decorative colours. Magnetron sputtering knocks atoms off the target with plasma ions, giving smoother, more uniform films with fewer droplets, preferred for large flat surfaces and precise colour. Many machines combine both sources in one chamber, and the mix is chosen for your parts.

Helium leak detection finds leaks in a vacuum system by spraying helium around suspect points while a helium mass spectrometer watches the vacuum side for any trace of it. A PVD chamber only reaches and holds its process vacuum when it is leak free, so the test pinpoints leaks in the chamber, flanges, seals and feed lines before they cost coating quality or pumping time.

Yes. We run leak detection on an existing PVD or vacuum line on site: we find the leak points, report them and advise on the fix. On request we also test parts or subsystems in the workshop.

Plant consultancy covers feasibility, plant setup, process design and training. Feasibility comes before the investment decision; then line layout and installation, the design of coating recipes and process parameters, and finally operator and maintenance training. The aim is a line that is ready for production, not only a machine that has been installed.

Our PVD machine and plant references are kept under client confidentiality, so we do not publish names. Dekap has run PVD coating in its own Istanbul atelier since 2017, on lines it builds itself, alongside machine installation and leak detection work. In a technical meeting we walk you through comparable projects, process data and the approach we would take for your line.

Designing and building a PVD coating machine takes six months to a year, depending on the chamber, the number and type of sources and the level of automation. Once the machine is delivered and the site utilities are ready, installation and commissioning take two to four weeks, followed by coating recipe set-up and operator training. The whole schedule is planned at feasibility stage.

A PVD coating plant needs a stable electrical supply, a cooling water circuit, compressed air, process gases such as argon and nitrogen, and clean floor space for the machine and its service access. Parts also need a cleaning and drying line before coating, because preparation decides adhesion. Dekap sets out the layout and utility list at feasibility stage, so the site is ready when the machine arrives.