Roll-to-Roll vacuum coater installed by AGC Plasma Technology Solutions in its demonstration centre
AGC Plasma Technology Solutions, a supplier of industrial vacuum coating equipment, has installed a roll-to-roll pilot coater for the functionalization of textiles in its demonstration centre in Lauenförde, Germany.
The demonstrator will allow potential customers to experience the possibilities of applying functional layers by vacuum coating technology and it is available for making proof-of-concepts and prototyping in collaboration with the customers’ product design and development teams. The pilot line includes sources for applying thin film coatings by magnetron sputtering (PVD) and/or Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) on a maximum roll width of 1.6 meter wide bringing these technologies available on an industrial scale. Applying nanolayers of metals, oxides and nitrides can make textiles (heat) reflective, conductive and/or water-and oil repellent. Till date, vacuum coating technology finds only few applications in textile manufacturing while it offers tremendous opportunities for making the production processes more environmental friendly and sustainable. The aim of the pilot coater is to initiate partnerships with the textile industry for recognizing the value of these technologies that are already widely used in the glass industry since several decades.
