Vacuum Metallising is a process widely used in the automotive industry, in rapid prototyping, and when creating decorative finishes. It has many other applications including shielding for the electronics industry.
THE PROCESS
First up, the surface of the product to be metallised is prepared using a metallic clear coat to enhance the glossy surface required to achieve a mirror finish or chrome look.
The vapour deposition is reached in a vacuum chamber, where, after baking the product in an oven at various temperatures for different materials, the product is vacuumed down until the required vacuum is reached.
The aluminium canes are vaporised over all surfaces in the chamber and a bright silver chrome look is achieved. The product can be left as is or further processes can be introduced, including turning the metallised product gold, bronze or other metallic colours, using special tints to reach the desired result.
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APPLICATIONS
Automotive:
- Dashboard Fascias
- Head Light Reflectors
- Arm Rests
- Badges
- Interior Parts
- Tail Lights
Rapid Prototyping:
- SLA
- SLS
- Fibreglass
- Metals
- Glass
- Urethane
- Most plastics , etc.
Decorative Finishes:
- Trophies
- Bottle Tops
- Curtain Finials
- Curtain Hooks
- Helmets
- Fishing Lures
Many other products can be coated in a silver, gold or bronze finish, we can also do many other custom metallic finishes if required. Metallising can be applied to most surfaces where a chrome look is desired and we can metallise one part or many thousands of parts to a very high standard.