ION VAPOUR DEPOSITION

Ion Vapour Deposition of Aluminium (IVD-Al):

AeroTek is the sole provider of IVD-Al in Canada and one of few in North America. IVD-Al is a completely environmentally friendly metal coating solution and aerospace industry-accepted replacement for cadmium plating.

What is IVD-Al?

IVD-Al is a pure aluminum coating developed by McDonnell Douglas for the aerospace industry.  A replacement for the toxic and environmentally unfriendly, cadmium coatings, the process vaporizes pure aluminum wire in a vacuum chamber and deposits a thin film of aluminium coating on steel, aluminum or heavy plastics. The application of IVD in a vacuum chamber eliminates the possibility for galvanic corrosion with dissimilar materials, eg. aluminum on steel.

IVD-Al is a superior coating to cadmium, being able to perform in higher temperatures (925F) as well as out-performing cadmium for corrosion resistance. For more technical details, please see here.

IVD-Al has also been successfully used in other non-aerospace applications, including medical equipment, computer hardware, fasteners, automotive and many more. Contact AeroTek to see if IVD-Al is the solution for your coating needs.

AeroTek's in-house IVD equipment includes:

• 4 machines (10 ft. L x 4 ft. dia.)

• 2 barrel coater inserts*

• 1 stand-alone barrel coater*

* For fast, efficient and cost-effective processing of small parts (< 2 inches) in IVD-Al