*Ralf Bandorf¹, Anna Katharina Bender¹, Holger Gerdes¹, Günter Bräuer¹, S. Waschke², G. Grundmeier^2
1Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST, Braunschweig, Germany; ²University of Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany
Metallization of plastic parts is a common business for everyday life production. In line with resource efficiency and environmental aspects vacuum deposition and to some extent, the REACH regulation in Europe demand for an advanced solution. Preliminary investigations utilizing HIPIMS deposition have shown a high potential for deposition of well adhering coatings. Furthermore, the question arises if additional handling and treatment steps can be neglected and if a direct metallization without any additional pretreatment will result in excellent adhesion. This contribution will show the results on various plastics (PC, PEEK, ABS, PMMA, PA, …) and the influence of the process parameters on the final coating adhesion. The adhesion is tested by a combined cross-cut and tape test following an ISO standard.