Morgan Technical Ceramics’ Diamonex diamond-like carbon coatings approved by Boeing

Morgan Technical Ceramics, a manufacturer of ceramic components and coatings, has launched a new Diamonex diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating, which extends component life in the aerospace industry and has been approved by Boeing for limited use at overhaul on certain landing gear parts on its 737 NG aircraft.

There is increased industry demand to extend the flight time between scheduled service intervals and the new Diamonex-Ti has been approved for use in place of Tiodize AMS 2488 Type II coating on certain landing gear bearing carriers at overhaul.

The titanium Diamonex-Ti is a super hard coating with a tensile strength of more than 15 gigapascals (GPa).  It prevents fretting, wear and galling, thereby extending component life and service intervals which increases flight up-time. The coating also has a low coefficient of friction and acts as a dry lubricant on mating surfaces, reducing wear and tear on components.

The coating is durable and stable through thermal cycling, while also being chemically inert and corrosion resistant. It is resistant to chemical attack including hydrogen embrittlement, and as a result, it maintains high quality integrity and delivers reliable high performance over a long lifetime.

Morgan Technical Ceramics has also recently developed Diamonex Crx, an environmentally-friendly corrosion protective coating that provides superior performance compared to traditional hard chrome plating the company said. The coating is deposited using a low temperature (<250°C) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, so the underlying substrate material is not affected. The coatings are also significantly thinner than hard chromium and do not require any post process machining.

Compared to chrome plating or titanium nitride (TiN), the Diamonex Crx coatings are significantly harder, provide exceptional wear resistance, excellent adhesion and reduced coefficient of friction to give high performance.

“The aerospace industry is constantly striving to extend aircraft service life by increasing maintenance intervals, and improving operating efficiencies by minimising operating costs and reducing aircraft weight,” said Neil Winterbottom, general manager of Morgan Technical Ceramics, Diamonex. “We work closely with aerospace manufacturers worldwide to fully understand their needs and the new Diamonex range of high performance coatings are providing them with significant opportunities to help meet both current and future demands.”

Morgan Technical Ceramics’ wear-resistant Diamonex DLC coatings are ideal for many applications in the aerospace industry including landing lights and wing tip lenses. For aircraft windshields, the DiamondShield coating reduces the abrasion caused by desert sand environments. Under harsh environments, Diamonex coatings provide a robust and durable solution for bearings, actuators, gears, fasteners, control mechanisms and landing gear as well as a variety of transparent products.

The Diamonex coatings can be applied to a variety of metals, plastics and glass, providing a significant improvement in both product life and operating efficiencies.