Highly polished or orange skin Lunac 1
non-stick coatings in molds
The hardness, non-stick effect, corrosion resistance (e.g. to bio-degradable or water attracting plastics) and good cleaning capability of Lunac 1 is the main reason for Lunac 1 applications in molds. Additionally, in a spectacular short Lunac 1 polish time a roughness of less than Ra = 0.02 µm (0.00079 mmil), starting with a preceding roughness of Ra= 0.2 - 0.3 µm / 0.0079 - 0.118 mmil |
will be obtained. This reduces the mold's production costs significantly. The very dense Lunac 1 surface is microscopically uniform and consequently also very suitable for optical applications (last figure). Like all Lunac versions, Lunac 1 can very well be applied locally. The substrate hardness limitation of HRc 50 should always be considered first before Lunac 1 can be applied successfully. |
This female part of a soap dispenser (figure right) was locally plated with Lunac 1(bottom and middle part of the product forming part) to prevent the mold from corroding, caused by the corrosive action of the (water absorbing) ABS plastic. The mold below needed an extreme smooth scratch-resistant surface. The polish flow effect highly reduced the polish time as well.
These two lamp cover molds display the 'flow polish' effect clearly. The left item shows the mold surface before 50 µm (0.002") Lunac 1 coating was deposited. The manufacturer declared a good surface finish with the uncoated steel part was not feasible and the products gradually became dull. Lunac 1 is able to level out scratches to a depth of 10 µm / 0.394" by this so called 'flow polish' effect and reduces the tendency of the surface to become dull as result of usage. Lunac 1 coatings are very homogeneous and can provide optically perfect surfaces. Especially perpendicular release can be highly facilitated by a "macroscopically rounded" orange skin structure if the coinciding higher roughness (+/- Ra 0.6 µm) is allowed or desired.
