A simple and inexpensive rotating barrel to ion plate small components

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Abstract
The design and performance are described of a simple and inexpensive rotating barrel to ion plate aircraft fasteners and small components. Pure aluminium, controlled-composition Al-Zn alloy and Al-aluminium oxide coatings were ion plated onto aircraft fasteners using the rotating barrel. Highly dense coatings were obtained even at low argon discharge pressure ( approximately 0.133 Pa) by increasing the power density using thermionically assisted triode discharge. Because this process is not confined to line-of-sight deposition, parts with complex shapes can be ion plated with a reasonably uniform coating. Thickness uniformity can be varied for each portion of the fasteners simply by changing the argon discharge pressure without the need to alter the power density or the grain structure.

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