Posted to News on 17th Nov 2014, 00:00
Schaeffler receives award for carbon-based coating system
Schaeffler has received the 2014 Materialica Design and Technology Award in the 'Surface & Technology' category for its new Triondur CH carbon-based coating system, an extremely hard surface coating that significantly reduces friction and wear of mechanical tappets used in internal combustion engine valve trains.
>At this year's Materialica trade exhibition in Munich (21-23 October 2014), Triondur CH received a silver award from a judging panel comprising of high-ranking representatives from science and industry.
>"Schaeffler's expertise in functional surfaces and coatings is unsurpassed worldwide, and we are delighted that this expertise has been honoured with the 2014 Materialica Design and Technology Award," said Schaeffler CTO Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Gutzmer.
>Triondur CH is a non-hydrogenous, amorphous carbon layer. This extremely hard diamond-like carbon (DLC) layer achieves almost the same hardness rating as diamond and therefore boasts the highest level of protection against abrasive wear of any Triondur coating system. At the same time, the surface coating minimises friction.
>Triondur CH is applied using the environmentally friendly PVD and PACVD vacuum processes. "Due to a combination of optimised surface structures and matched lubricants, Triondur CH enables very low friction, wear-resistant tribological systems to be created," explained Dr.-Ing. Tim Hosenfeldt, Vice President, Competence Center Surface Technology at Schaeffler.
>In the past year, 30 million components with the Triondur CH coating system were installed in passenger cars. This intelligent combination of engine oils and coating systems allows friction in the valve train to be reduced by up to 50 per cent, which in turn means that CO2 emissions can be cut by up to two per cent.
>The innovation and added value created for customers and society as a whole are due to the coating system's resource-saving development, manufacture and application, which are reflected by the coating's rapid uptake in the global market. Applications in the industrial sector are also emerging. For example, Triondur CH could be used to coat parts that are subjected to high stresses in oil and gas production applications and in motorcycle valve trains, where research is currently being carried out.
