Metal coating method
First Claim
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1. A method of coating metallic articles utilizing an essentially dry process which comprises the steps of:
- a. cleaning a selected area of an article by abrasion to remove macro particles, scales and the like,b. exposing said area to a plasma of above a 1-2 Key energy level in the presence of an argon environment,c. preheating said area to a temperature above 230 degrees Celsius,d. producing an evaporant of a metal to be coated upon said area by evaporation through bombardment by an electron beam directed against the said metal in a vacuum on the order of greater than 10-4 Torr,e. transporting said article in said area within said evaporant at a distance on the order of between 1 and 7 inches whereby said evaporant condenses on the said area to coat said area,f. adjusting the rate of transport to effect the thickness of said coating as desired.
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Abstract
This invention includes a method featuring steps having a transport (64, 68) to carry metal articles (10, 14) through a vacuum chamber (62, 66, 90) containing a plasma cleaning station (32) followed by exposure to an evaporant of metal (42) generated by an E-Beam (50) caused to condense on the articles in high vacuum. A channel structure (51) is provided to cause selective condensation upon the surface of said articles. The apparatus includes several stations (101, 102, 103) to provide multiple coatings on one or both sides of an article to be coated.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A method of coating metallic articles utilizing an essentially dry process which comprises the steps of:
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a. cleaning a selected area of an article by abrasion to remove macro particles, scales and the like, b. exposing said area to a plasma of above a 1-2 Key energy level in the presence of an argon environment, c. preheating said area to a temperature above 230 degrees Celsius, d. producing an evaporant of a metal to be coated upon said area by evaporation through bombardment by an electron beam directed against the said metal in a vacuum on the order of greater than 10-4 Torr, e. transporting said article in said area within said evaporant at a distance on the order of between 1 and 7 inches whereby said evaporant condenses on the said area to coat said area, f. adjusting the rate of transport to effect the thickness of said coating as desired. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification