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As one of the pioneers in plasma coating technology, the Bosch Group has adopted a comprehensive planning approach for this cutting-edge technology. Since 1985, the central research department has continuously developed DLC coatings and other hard coatings, successfully applying them to numerous products across different fields at Bosch. Meanwhile, to meet the performance requirements of various products, special coatings were developed, and Bosch Manufacturing Solutions began to research and develop high-performance plasma sources and innovative plasma technology to satisfy the demands of high-quality mass production. After more than thirty years of experience accumulation and technological upgrades, Bosch's plasma technology has become one of the most cost-effective coating production systems.
Coating R&D Center
As early as the beginning of the 1990s, Bosch's Central Research (CR) department began researching surface coating technology and applied microwave technology to coating techniques in order to address the issue of key component lifespan in diesel common rail systems.
Bosch Plasma Coating Technology Center
Across 9 coating plants in 7 countries worldwide, nearly 60 Bosch PCS coating machines provide over 450 million high-quality coated components annually to major clients globally. Years of extensive production and application experience, along with strict quality control throughout the entire process, have given Bosch coatings a significant competitive edge in the industry. With full support from Bosch's Smart Manufacturing Solutions division, the efficient microwave plasma source technology has been successfully industrialized and standardized into the Bosch PCS series of coating equipment, making large-scale efficient coating production feasible.
Research and Development Direction and Capability
Bosch's global coating research and development team consists of 13 PhDs and over 30 Master's degree holders, demonstrating particularly strong capabilities in coating preparation and performance studies. The team is dedicated to developing and manufacturing industrially efficient and stable plasma coating equipment for the mass production of wear-resistant, friction-reducing, and corrosion-resistant coatings for automotive parts, as well as hard coatings for tools and molds. The coating R&D center in Suzhou works closely with the headquarters in Germany, focusing on optimizing coating performance and researching new product applications.
The proprietary plasma sources used in our coating machines allow for high depositing rate and excellent coating quality. For a-C:H coatings we employ a microwave-based technology. This technology allows for effective decoupling of the plasma gen - eration and the substrate bias. The resulting process provides very high depositing rate (2x faster than competitors) and is ideal for big loading volume.
Compact design and very short cycle time make the PCS DESKTOP the perfect choice for flexible sampling and small volume series production.
The plasma source allows DLC layers with up to 5 μm thickness within 15‒30 minutes. Additionally, the plasma jet cleans the surface from particles and dust allowing it to be operated in a standard manufacturing environment.
Parameters:
The possibility to combine different plasma sources makes the PCS800 a versatile coating machine that can be used to apply high performance DLC coatings, ta-C coating or hard coatings like CrN. It is suitable for development as well as small to medium volume series production. For advanced process monitoring the machine can be equipped with devices like mass spectrometer or plasma monitor.
PCS1000 coating machines are used in BOSCH coating centers world wide for large scale series production. Continuously improved they are highly robust and user friendly in operation. The microwave technology used for plasma generation allows a high coating rate which is one of the key advantages and guarantees cost efficient production of high performance coatin.
PCS 1000L is used for large-scale mass production or coating of larger parts. Continuous improvement has greatly enhanced the stability and operational friendliness of the coating system.
One of the key advantages of the machine is the possibility to use three microwave plasma sources. It can be equipped with a central and/or 1-2 lateral plasma sources with vertical alignment. This microwave technology can achieve high deposition rates, ensuring the economic efficiency of high-performance coatings.
For hydrogen free diamond-like carbon coatings (ta: C), patented technology based on pulsed cathodic arc is used. Effectively avoiding the disadvantages of traditional ion sources while achieving the similar deposition rate of normal DLC coatings.
High-performance tool coating technology is one of our main focus points besides component coating in recent decades. TCS series provide the best-in-class solution to improve the lifetime of your tools and molds. High productivity and reliable quality are ensured, so that competitive production price allows our customer staying in the forefront of the market Our tool coating system and the broad coating portfolio allow coating of a wide range of tools for all applications: Cutting (Turning, Milling, Drilling, Microtools), Forming & Molding, Bonding, Punching.
The TCS Compact combines innovative technology with a wide range of applications. Despite the compact dimensions, all common tool coatings can be implemented without any problems.
The TCS Performance enables highly flexible production through short batch times and batch sizes in the standard range of up to approx. 1000 kg. Due to the scalability through several systems, it enables flexible production control even with changing customer requirements. The optimal solution for your contract manufacturing.
With a TCS Plus system, you can also easily produce components with a coating length of more than 1000 mm. This is also possible in combination with our duplex process (plasma nitriding), for example for forming technology. The large coating chamber also enables highly efficient series production for large batches in the same layer system.
The TCS Xtra system enables the coating of components with large dimensions as well as an extra large number of parts per batch. Large forming tools or components or small parts in large quantities - here we have the optimal solution.
Bosch aims to take leading role in establishment of a hydrogen economy and providing corresponding products to partners and customers. Our experts have dedicated over 30 years to the development of high-end plasma systems to overcome technical challenges in industry, now are using their experience to develop double-sides coating for stainless steel bipolar plates (BPP).