Fraunhofer-Institut für Silicatforschung ISC
Fraunhofer-Institut für Silicatforschung ISC

Mechanically stable coatings

ORMOCER®: Ideal combination of flexibility and stability

Function mechanically stable
© Fraunhofer ISC

Mechanically stable coatings are prime examples of ORMOCER® applications. As with all ORMOCER® materials, the properties of organic components are enhanced by the advantages of inorganic structures such as glass or ceramics. This includes, for example, a high degree of hardness. After suitable material design, ORMOCER® layers combine the “best of both worlds”, so to speak, namely the properties of organic and inorganic materials.

While organic materials tend to be flexible or soft, inorganic materials are hard, have increased temperature resistance and completely different chemical resistance. By selecting the right components, their ratios and the synthesis design, ORMOCER® coatings can be adapted very precisely to individual requirements and needs.

Highly effective and cost-efficient ORMOCER® coatings: Invisible protection made to measure

 

Mechanically resistant ORMOCER® coatings are characterized by a high inorganic content and high cross-linking between organic and inorganic structures. This contributes to the stability of the coating and enables the addition of specific properties, such as a barrier effect, as well as the individual adaptation of properties according to the respective product requirements.

Thanks to the chemical combination of organic and inorganic components, ORMOCER® materials can be very individually adapted to customer needs and product requirements. This “tailor-made” approach is important because many products require a very specific property profile and often coatings that fulfill more than one property. For example, coatings for some aluminum surfaces should be both scratch-resistant and flexible. It is therefore important to find the right compromise.

In most cases, the focus is on one requirement to which the other properties are adapted. This is also the approach taken when developing new coating formulations. In addition to their high adaptability, ORMOCER® coatings prove to be a cost-effective alternative to other coating materials: they are applied very thinly so that material costs can be saved. For comparison: ORMOCER® coatings are generally between 3 µm and 5 µm thick, while a human hair has a diameter of approx. 50 µm. They are therefore barely noticeable on the product and have no undesirable effects on the look, feel or other characteristics.
 

Info-PDF »MECHANICALLY STABLE COATINGS«

 

Areas of application for mechanically stable ORMOCER® coatings

Lenses / optical devices

Optical devices such as magnifying glasses or lenses require a high level of scratch resistance and transparency, just like spectacle lenses. The coating for optical devices also requires a high degree of hardness.

 

Aluminum surfaces

Aluminum surfaces should also be highly scratch-resistant. They should also be dyeable, antistatic and/or dirt-repellent, depending on the intended use.

 

Furniture surfaces

Many furniture surfaces are made of plastic films, but are also subject to high mechanical stress. These can also be treated with ORMOCER®.

Sensor discs

Another example of the use of mechanically stable ORMOCER® coatings are sensor windows, which are used in self-driving cars, for example. For these, it is particularly important that the ORMOCER® coating is highly scratch-resistant in order to repel stone chips, for example. These are then also combined with easy-to-clean properties to facilitate cleaning.

 

Temperature sensitive applications

UV-curable coatings are also available for materials that cannot be thermally cured, providing absolutely scratch-resistant or abrasion-resistant surfaces within a few seconds.

 

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»Mechanically stable coatings«

All information on our mechanically stable ORMOCER® coatings at a glance.

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