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The InnerArmor™ process creates DLC surfaces with a ‘glass-like’ amorphous (non-crystalline) structure, free from pinhole defects, even in tube lengths exceeding 3 metres at aspect ratios of 1:45. This provides internal bores and tubes with very high levels of protection from erosion, scaling and fouling, and prevents adhesion from gases, liquids, powders and slurries.

InnerArmor™ DLC coatings can be conducting or insulating, and can withstand high loads at operating temperatures of 450^oC. Coating application temperatures for a variety of formulations are below 200^oC. This enables many hollow engine parts to be coated with DLC, and allows the replacement of expensive high performance alloys with lower specification steels.

Tests with the new InnerArmor™ DLC process demonstrated superlative corrosion resistance and wear performance, and consistent film hardnesses of 3000 HV. High performance was shown in salt spray tests to meet US standards. Very high wear resistance in these tests was indicated by a very low attrition rate of less than 0.0005 microns per hour. Tecvac can coat internal bores to thicknesses of between 5 and 50 microns.

The InnerArmor™ process provides superior film bonding compared with other deposition methods. It offers all interior bore coating applications a high performance environmentally friendly process that offers the highest levels of corrosion protection, wear resistance, and energy efficiency.

The InnerArmor™ internal surface coating process, developed by Sub-One Technology Inc, combines the technologies of plasma vapour deposition and metallic and ceramic sputtering. It is the first process to achieve high integrity internal surface coatings of diamond-like carbon (DLC).

The hollow work piece is used as the vacuum chamber by sealing tube ends, connecting an anode to the openings, and arranging the circuit so that the walls of the work piece form the cathode. Known as the hollow cathode plasma ion immersion process (HCPIIP), the operating system can be arranged to provide surface cleaning using an argon atmosphere, and apply multiple layers of a variety of materials, including diamond-like carbons. The process is covered by the recent US patent 1091983.

The InnerArmor™ process allows the effective placement of high integrity, very lubricious and extremely hard coatings that reach the complex cavities in pipework and internal lumens or bores.

Tecvac Limited, a member of the Wallwork Group, has more than 20 years’ experience of a variety of advanced coating methods, including physical vapour deposition (PVD), ion implantation and plasma processing. Tecvac’s facility near Cambridge includes a variety of highly automated processes that use the Sub-One HCPIIP technology to apply DLC coatings to aerospace parts, oil & gas system components, and specialised medical devices.