Vacuum coating support and vacuum coating device

Abstract

The application relates to a vacuum coating support and a vacuum coating device, and aims to solve the problems of thermal deformation and coating uniformity of non-conductive heat-sensitive substrates such as PEEK in the coating process. The support comprises upper and lower bearing plates arranged in parallel and a fixing tool arranged therebetween. The fixing tool adopts a split plug-in structure, which is composed of a metal part for providing structural support and an insulating part for directly bearing the substrate, so as to block the conduction of process heat to the substrate. The fixing tool is integrated with a rotation part, and the bearing plate is provided with a revolution part, and the two parts cooperate to make the substrate produce compound motion, so that the whole surface of the substrate is uniformly exposed to the coating source. The tool can also be provided with an indication part to facilitate identification and management. The vacuum coating device containing the support provides a complete coating solution for PEEK and other materials by integrating the heat insulation and dynamic motion functions, which can inhibit thermal deformation, improve coating uniformity and adhesion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of vacuum coating equipment technology, and in particular to a vacuum coating support and a vacuum coating device. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of vacuum coating technology, preparing functional surface coatings for polymer materials such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is currently a research and industrial hotspot. However, existing technologies and tooling still face some challenges that need to be overcome. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) technologies such as magnetron sputtering are considered effective ways to achieve metallization of PEEK surfaces. Studies have confirmed that depositing metal coatings such as copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) on PEEK surfaces using magnetron sputtering can achieve electromagnetic shielding performance comparable to aluminum alloys, meeting relevant standards. Furthermore, this technology has also been used to construct biomedical coatings (such as hydroxyapatite) on PEEK surfaces, demonstrating good process applicability. Besides PVD, chemical plating (such as nickel-phosphorus alloys) is also a feasible method to achieve metallization of PEEK surfaces and improve their electromagnetic shielding effectiveness.

[0003] Existing technologies have been explored in tooling design to improve coating uniformity. For example, a vacuum coating furnace support designed to allow the entire support to rotate 360 ​​degrees aims to ensure coating uniformity and accommodate products of different sizes. For controlling coating uniformity on large-area substrates (such as large automotive glass), the industry is working to overcome process challenges by optimizing cathode target design, reactive gas distribution, and magnetic field strength.

[0004] Despite the aforementioned progress, existing technologies still have limitations when vacuum coating non-conductive and heat-resistant precision components such as PEEK, especially when pursuing electromagnetic shielding coatings with high uniformity and adhesion. During vacuum coating, the bombardment of the tooling by plasma generates heat. If heat-conducting tooling such as metal is used, the heat can easily be conducted to the PEEK substrate, and localized overheating may cause thermal deformation of the substrate, affecting the dimensional accuracy of the product. For PEEK components with complex three-dimensional curved surfaces (such as electronic device housings and irregularly shaped structural parts), simple rotation and revolution are insufficient to ensure uniform film exposure on all surfaces. Uneven film thickness can lead to fluctuations in electromagnetic shielding effectiveness and even create shielding blind spots.

[0005] Current technology has made fundamental progress in the preparation of functional coatings on PEEK surfaces, but there is still room for improvement in achieving high-precision, zero-thermal-damage, and uniform coatings across the entire surface, especially in the development of specialized tooling and integration processes for PEEK parts with complex shapes. Utility Model Content

[0006] This application provides a vacuum coating support and apparatus for non-conductive, heat-deformable substrates such as PEEK, solving the technical problems of heat deformation control and uniform coating across the entire surface. The objective of this application is achieved through the following technical solution: the vacuum coating support of this application includes: Upper support plate; Lower bearing plate; A fixing fixture installed between the upper and lower bearing plates; The fixing fixture includes a metal part and an insulating part that are joined together in an interlocking manner, with the insulating part disposed externally with respect to the part to be coated.

[0007] In one embodiment, the fixture further includes a rotating component.

[0008] In one embodiment, a revolving component is further provided on the upper or lower support plate.

[0009] In one embodiment, the upper support plate and the lower support plate are annular.

[0010] In one embodiment, the upper support plate and the lower support plate are parallel.

[0011] In one embodiment, the metal portion and the insulating portion include mutually mating irregular snap-fit ​​portions.

[0012] In one embodiment, the fixture further includes an indicator marking section.

[0013] This application also provides a vacuum coating apparatus, including the aforementioned vacuum coating support.

[0014] In one embodiment, a vacuum chamber is also included, and a vacuum coating support is disposed within the vacuum chamber.

[0015] In one embodiment, a heating element and a sputtering source are also included.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, this application has the following beneficial effects: By employing a fixed fixture consisting of a metal part and an insulating part in an interlocking combination, the insulating part directly contacts and supports the PEEK substrate, effectively preventing thermal deformation of the substrate and ensuring dimensional accuracy. This structure physically blocks the direct conduction of heat generated by the metal support and plasma bombardment to the substrate. The thermal isolation design can control the thermal deformation rate of the substrate during the coating process to a low level, thereby ensuring the geometric stability and product accuracy of precision parts after coating.

[0017] By integrating the rotating and revolving components, a two-stage motion system is formed, enabling the fixed fixture and substrate to simultaneously undergo planetary motion during the coating process. This composite motion mode allows each point on the substrate surface to be alternately and fully exposed to the coating source, effectively solving the coating blind spots and uneven film thickness problems existing in complex three-dimensional curved surfaces under traditional fixed or single-rotation modes, thereby obtaining a highly uniform film coverage across the entire surface. Within the vacuum chamber, in conjunction with the heating components and sputtering source, systematic plasma activation and magnetron sputtering deposition can be performed on the PEEK substrate. This integrated process environment helps to form a clean, highly active interface on the substrate surface, thereby depositing a functional film with strong adhesion. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a vacuum coating bracket in one embodiment of this application.

[0019] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached drawings: 100, upper support plate; 200, lower support plate; 300, fixed fixture; 310, metal part; 320, insulating part; 400, rotating component. Detailed Implementation

[0020] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this application more apparent and understandable, the specific embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of this application. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to this application are shown in the accompanying drawings, not the entire structure. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0021] The terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, used in this application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the steps or units listed, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0022] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0023] The present application addresses several technical challenges in vacuum coating applications, including substrate thermal deformation caused by tooling heat conduction, the difficulty in achieving uniform coating across the entire surface using traditional fixed or single-rotation methods for substrates with complex three-dimensional shapes, and the resulting insufficient film adhesion and durability. This application provides a vacuum coating support and apparatus, specifically designed to solve these problems when performing vacuum coating (e.g., magnetron sputtering deposition of electromagnetic shielding layers) on non-conductive and heat-sensitive substrates such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK).

[0024] To address the aforementioned problems, the core concept of this application is to provide a dedicated tooling system integrating thermal isolation and dynamic coating functions. The vacuum coating support and device will be described in detail below through specific embodiments, and the coating uniformity will be improved by utilizing optional composite rotational motion (such as a combination of revolution and rotation), thereby providing a feasible technical solution for the precision functional coating of materials such as PEEK. Preferred embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Please refer to... Figure 1 In a preferred embodiment of this application, the vacuum coating support includes: an upper support plate 100, a lower support plate 200, and a fixing fixture 300 disposed between the upper support plate 100 and the lower support plate 200. The fixing fixture 300 includes a metal part 310 and an insulating part 320 that are joined together by interlocking. The insulating part 320 is disposed externally with respect to the component to be coated.

[0025] The core of the vacuum coating bracket of this application lies in the fact that the fixing fixture 300, located between the upper support plate 100 and the lower support plate 200, adopts a split-type interlocking structure, specifically composed of a metal part 310 and an insulating part 320. The insulating part 320 is externally located and directly contacts and supports the PEEK or other components to be coated. The insulating part 320 can be made of low thermal conductivity materials such as ceramic, glass fiber, or bakelite. Its core function is thermal insulation, that is, blocking the direct transfer of heat from the plasma environment of the process chamber and the metal bracket to the temperature-sensitive PEEK substrate, thereby fundamentally suppressing thermal deformation of the substrate. The metal part 310 provides the main structural support and mounting interface, and it is tightly combined with the insulating part 320 through an interlocking method (e.g., through mutually cooperating irregular snap-fit ​​parts), ensuring the rigidity of the overall fixture in a vacuum environment. The composite structure combines the mechanical strength of the metal with the thermal insulation properties of the insulating material, ensuring the overall stability of the fixture, facilitating connection with the drive system, and effectively protecting the substrate. The upper support plate 100 and the lower support plate 200 can be parallel circular structures, which together form a stable frame supporting the entire fixed fixture 300 system, ensuring that multiple fixtures are evenly arranged and heated during the coating process.

[0026] In vacuum coating processes, to achieve a uniform functional coating layer on the surface of non-conductive or heat-sensitive substrates (such as PEEK materials), in addition to solving the problem of tooling heat conduction, dynamic control of the substrate itself during the deposition process is also crucial. Therefore, this application further integrates a rotating component 400 into the aforementioned interlocking fixed tooling 300. The introduction of this component allows each tooling unit carrying the component to be coated to rotate independently around its own central axis. For example, this can be achieved through a built-in planetary gear transmission system, or by a separate motor directly driving the shaft connected to the tooling via a reducer. In one feasible embodiment, the rotating component 400 may include a drive shaft fixedly connected to the tooling metal part 310. This shaft is supported by bearings on upper and lower support plates 200 and meshes with a fixed central gear ring or a rotating drive gear ring via gears, thereby passively generating differential rotation when the entire support undergoes revolution. In another implementation, an additional drive mechanism can be used to convert the rotational power from the support rod into power to drive the workpiece fixing disk to rotate around its own axis. The purpose of setting the self-rotating component 400 is to ensure that each PEEK substrate fixed on the tooling can periodically and alternately face the coating source (such as a magnetron sputtering target) at various points on its surface during the coating process.

[0027] Furthermore, the upper support plate 100 or the lower support plate 200 is also provided with a revolving component. The specific implementation of the revolving component may include a drive shaft located at the center of the support plate, which is connected to a motor outside the cavity via a vacuum dynamic sealing mechanism; alternatively, it may be designed to be driven by an external motor, rotating the internal support plate through magnetic coupling. In a typical embodiment, the revolving component may include a fixed central gear (sun gear) and a planetary gear system meshing with it. When the central shaft is driven, it can drive the support plate connected to the planetary gears to achieve revolving motion. The core technical effect of this arrangement is that it allows all PEEK substrates spatially distributed within the vacuum cavity to periodically and alternately pass through the optimal deposition area in front of the coating source.

[0028] In the vacuum coating apparatus, the upper support plate 100 and the lower support plate 200 adopt a circular geometric configuration and are arranged in parallel, forming the basic frame for supporting and driving multiple fixed fixtures 300. The circular structure design allows them to be symmetrically arranged around the central axis of the vacuum cavity (usually corresponding to the coating source), providing a suitable mounting base for the integrated revolution drive components, which is beneficial for achieving uniform circumferential arrangement and balanced rotation of the fixtures within the cavity. The parallel upper and lower support plates 200 together form a stable support plane, ensuring the overall rigidity and motion stability of the multiple fixtures fixed therebetween during high-speed rotation, and avoiding inaccurate fixture movement trajectories or vibrations due to frame deformation. This is an important prerequisite for achieving highly uniform coating. In the core part of the fixed fixture 300, the metal part 310 and the insulating part 320 are combined through mutually cooperating irregularly shaped snap-fit ​​parts. The irregularly shaped snap-fit ​​parts can be specifically implemented as the cooperation of bosses and grooves, wedge-shaped dovetail structures, or specific asymmetrical locking contours. In summary, the design of the circular parallel frame and the irregular snap-fit ​​part, respectively, supports the precise implementation of the aforementioned rotation and revolution motion from two aspects: macroscopic overall structural rigidity, motion stability and microscopic component connection reliability and thermal management controllability.

[0029] To address the practical problem of rapidly and accurately identifying and managing multiple identical or different batches of tooling and their loading status under combined motions involving rotation and revolution, this application further provides an indicator marking section on the fixed tooling 300. This indicator marking section, as a visual feature on the tooling body, can be implemented in various forms. For example, it can be a specific physical mark protruding from the surface of the tooling's metal part 310 or insulating part 320, such as raised bumps of different shapes, etched serial numbers, or barcodes; it can also be a specific color-coated area distinguished from the tooling body; or it can be an identification hole provided on the tooling for a vision system to capture. During equipment commissioning, loading, or maintenance, operators can quickly distinguish different tooling or confirm the installation position of the tooling based on this marking.

[0030] This application also provides a vacuum coating apparatus, including the aforementioned vacuum coating support. The apparatus typically also includes a vacuum chamber for providing a clean process environment, and key functional components for performing the coating, such as a magnetron sputtering source or an evaporation source. Placing a dedicated support with thermal isolation and dynamic composite motion functions within this system achieves synergistic optimization of "tooling-process-environment." Specifically, the support, as a direct carrier for supporting and transporting the substrate, has a metal portion 310 and an insulating portion 320 interlocking structure that acts as a terminal thermal management mechanism within the apparatus, physically isolating heat generated by the coating source (such as plasma) and potentially conducted through the metal frame. Simultaneously, the rotation and revolution components carried by the support are driven within the closed environment of the vacuum chamber, enabling multiple PEEK substrates to perform complex planetary composite motions. This motion, combined with the statically distributed coating sources (such as multiple fixed targets) within the vacuum chamber, can average the orientation and distance of each point on the surface of each substrate relative to the coating particles, thereby compensating for spatial non-uniformity of deposition flux within a batch range. By introducing a support with specific functions, the technical means to solve the two core problems of substrate thermal deformation and coating uniformity are organically integrated into the standard vacuum coating equipment architecture, ultimately achieving efficient, high-quality, and mass-producible surface functionalization treatment of PEEK materials. Specific Implementation The following will further introduce some specific implementation methods to provide a more detailed explanation of the technical solution of this application.

[0032] Example 1 In one specific embodiment of this utility model, a vacuum coating apparatus is provided for electromagnetic shielding coating of a PEEK mobile phone casing. The apparatus includes the aforementioned vacuum coating support, whose fixing fixture uses glass fiber (with a hardness of approximately Rockwell M100 scale) as insulation, combined with a stainless steel metal part via a mating structure. The fixture is mounted on a support capable of compound motion, configured to achieve revolution around the center of the cavity (e.g., approximately 10 rpm) and rotation of the fixture itself (e.g., approximately 20 rpm). Before coating, the PEEK mobile phone casing undergoes pretreatment sequentially with isopropyl alcohol ultrasonic cleaning (approximately 15 minutes) and plasma activation (approximately 10 minutes). Subsequently, it is mounted on the fixture, placed in the vacuum cavity, and the vacuum level is evacuated to approximately 1×10⁻⁶. -6The process involves sputtering pure silver (99.9% purity) as the magnetron sputtering target at approximately 8 kW for about 30 minutes, forming a dense silver layer approximately 2 micrometers thick on the shell surface. Components treated with this process, tested according to ASTM D4935, exhibit electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of approximately 40 dB in the relevant frequency band; the cross-cut adhesion test according to ISO 2409 achieves the highest level 5B; no measurable thermal deformation was observed on the substrate using a three-dimensional coordinate measuring machine; and the film uniformity was assessed by multi-point thickness measurement using scanning electron microscopy, showing a coverage rate higher than 95%. This embodiment demonstrates that the device of this invention is suitable for the mass production of 5G communication equipment shells with high requirements for dimensional accuracy and electromagnetic shielding performance.

[0033] Example 2 The device was applied to the functional coating of a PEEK medical device component. In this embodiment, the insulating part of the fixture is made of bakelite (with a hardness of approximately Rockwell M90), and the metal part is made of aluminum alloy, which are joined by a mating structure. This fixture is also mounted on a composite motion support, with its revolution and rotation speeds set to approximately 15 rpm and approximately 25 rpm, respectively. The substrate pretreatment process is the same as in the previous example. The coating process uses a copper-nickel alloy target and is performed at a magnetron sputtering power of approximately 12 kW for approximately 45 minutes, resulting in an alloy shielding layer with a total thickness of approximately 3 micrometers. Performance testing shows that the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of this component is approximately 35 dB. To evaluate its durability under harsh environments, a neutral salt spray test was conducted according to relevant standards. After 48 hours of testing, no corrosion, blistering, or peeling was observed on the coating surface. Similarly, the substrate showed no thermal deformation, and the film uniformity was better than 95%. This embodiment verifies that when processing biocompatible substrates, the device of this invention can provide effective electromagnetic interference protection while meeting the stringent requirements of the medical device field for component reliability and environmental durability.

[0034] As described above, this application provides a vacuum coating support and a vacuum coating apparatus including the support, aiming to solve the problems of thermal deformation of non-conductive, heat-sensitive substrates such as PEEK during vacuum coating due to heat conduction from the tooling, and uneven coating thickness and insufficient adhesion caused by the substrate surface not being uniformly exposed to the coating source. The core structure of the vacuum coating support includes a parallel upper support plate and a lower support plate, and multiple fixing fixtures disposed therebetween. The fixing fixtures adopt a split-type interlocking structure, consisting of a metal part for providing structural support and installation interface, and an insulating part for directly contacting and supporting the component to be coated. This design combines the mechanical strength of metal with the thermal insulation properties of insulating materials, ensuring the overall stability of the tooling while physically blocking the direct transfer of process heat to the substrate, thereby suppressing thermal deformation of the substrate.

[0035] To improve coating uniformity, the fixed fixture integrates a self-rotating component that drives its own rotation, while the upper or lower support plate is equipped with a revolution component that drives the entire support to rotate. This combined rotation and revolution motion ensures that each point on the substrate surface is periodically and alternately fully exposed to the coating source, thereby compensating for the uneven spatial distribution of deposited particle flow and achieving uniform coating coverage of the entire surface of complex-shaped parts. Furthermore, the fixed fixture can be equipped with an indicator to facilitate fixture identification and orientation confirmation, improving operational efficiency and management level in mass production. By integrating the aforementioned support, the vacuum coating apparatus internalizes thermal isolation and dynamic uniform coating functions into the equipment system, forming a complete solution suitable for functional coating of materials such as PEEK, balancing dimensional accuracy and coating quality.

[0036] The above is only one specific implementation of this application, and any other improvements made based on the concept of this application shall be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A vacuum coating support, characterized in that, include: Upper support plate; Lower bearing plate; A fixing fixture installed between the upper and lower bearing plates; The fixing fixture includes a metal part and an insulating part that are joined together in an interlocking manner, with the insulating part disposed externally with respect to the part to be coated.

2. The vacuum coating bracket according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fixed fixture also includes a rotating component.

3. The vacuum coating bracket according to claim 2, characterized in that, The upper or lower support plate is also provided with a revolution component.

4. The vacuum coating support according to claim 3, characterized in that, The upper support plate and the lower support plate are circular.

5. The vacuum coating bracket according to claim 2, characterized in that, The upper support plate and the lower support plate are parallel.

6. The vacuum coating support according to claim 1, characterized in that, The metal part and the insulating part include mutually mating irregular snap-fit ​​parts.

7. The vacuum coating bracket according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fixed fixture also includes an indicator and marking section.

8. A vacuum coating apparatus, characterized in that, Includes the vacuum coating support as described in any one of claims 1-7.

9. The vacuum coating apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that, It also includes a vacuum chamber, and the vacuum coating support is set inside the vacuum chamber.

10. The vacuum coating apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that, It also includes heating components and sputtering sources.

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