This document provides information on plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings, including: 1) PEO is a plasma-based surface treatment that converts metal surfaces like aluminum and titanium into protective nano-ceramic coatings with improved wear, corrosion and thermal properties. 2) IBC's Ceratough coatings produced via PEO provide significantly better performance than traditional anodized coatings, with hardness over 10 times higher and up to 10 times improved wear life. 3) PEO coatings are environmentally-friendly as they use water-based electrolytes and produce no hazardous waste streams.

1. Materials and Technologies
IBC Group | 902 Hendricks Drive, Lebanon, IN 46052 | www.ibccoatings.com
SurfaceModificationof Aluminum,
TitaniumandMagnesiumAlloysby
PlasmaElectrolyticOxidation
IBCMaterialsandTechnologies
June 2013
Dr. Solomon Berman
765 482 9802 (w)
317 418 3725 (c)
sb@ibccoatings.com

2. Materials and Technologies
The Need for New
Lightweight Alloy Coatings
Environmental regulatory and performance
requirements dictate the need for a new class of
coatings for lightweight alloys that provide:
• Improved wear performance
• Improved corrosion performance
• Improved Electrical insulation
• New level of Thermal barrier and Thermal
conductivity
• Environmentally clean processes

3. Materials and Technologies
Plasma Electrolytic
Technology
Plasma Electrolytic
Oxidation
Plasma Electrolytic
Diffusion
Plasma Electrolytic
Coatings
Plasma Electrolytic
Surface Treatment
Plasma Electrolytic Technology

4. Materials and Technologies
Plasma Electrolytic Processing
Principles of Operation
*A.L. Yerokhin et al. / Surface and Coatings Technology 122 (1999) 73–93
Passivating, Anodizing

5. Materials and Technologies
Heat
Exchanger
Centrifugal Pumps
Analog
Oscilloscope
Power
Supply
PLC
Temperature
Controller
Chiller
Tank
Localized Process
Cell
Digital
Oscilloscope
Valve
Electrode Specimen
MPO can be conducted in tank or localized processing fixture
Plasma Electrolytic
Process Schematic

6. Materials and Technologies
Plasma Electrolytic
Discharge
Counter electrodes on both sides coat both
sides of work piece
Work piece exhibits plasma
discharge during the coating process
Enclosed cell fixture is used to coat
specimens for parameter
development. Electrolyte is
constantly being pumped through
the fixture while coating.

7. Materials and Technologies
IBC Materials & Technologies’ Ceratough® nano-
ceramic coatings deliver a quantum leap in
performance over anodizing
Non-line-of-sight plasma process converts light
alloy surface into a hard layer of protective
ceramics
Completely environmentally clean process – no
hazardous waste streams
Ceratough-Mg Mg . . . . . .
Ceratough-Al 2XXX, 3XX, 6XXX, 7XXX . . . .
CeraTough® Nano-Ceramic
Coatings for Lightweight Alloys
Ceratough-Ti Ti-6-4 . . . . . .

8. Materials and Technologies
Ceratough® Process
Advantages
No pretreatments required (NaOH soak, caustic etch, de-smutting, etc)
No sealing required
No acids or hazardous byproducts to be scrubbed, vented, respirated or
remediated
Ceratough® process uses water-based electrolytes composed of low-
concentration silicates, aluminates, metaphosphates, borates, and hydroxides
– These additives are low-cost, safe, and easy to maintain
– Fully spent electrolyte can be washed down the drain with no prior
remediation or downstream monitoring
Ceratough® eliminates OSHA & HAZMAT issues for anodizing

9. Materials and Technologies
How are Ceratough®
Coatings Used?
• Advanced protection against wear, fretting and
galling
• Extreme protection against corrosion and chemical
attack
• State of the art thermal barrier coatings with
controlled thermal conductivity
• High electrical insulation properties with controlled
electrical and thermal conductivity
• Life extension of repairs parts in conjunction with
additive manufacturing processes
- Cold spray
- Flame spray
- Laser cladding
- Laser welding
- Friction welding
Base metal –
Aluminum alloy
Ceratough®
Al2O3 Coating
Al2O3 coating on
F357 aluminum

10. Materials and Technologies
Ceratough® Coatings on
Complex Geometries
PE delivers uniform coatings for all manner of
hidden/small/complex geometries
• Blades / blisks
• Disk rim sections
• Wire, foil, sheet
• Cylinders, blind holes
Ceratough® coating exhibits excellent adhesion and
uniformity around corners

11. Materials and Technologies
Controlling Surface Finish
of PEO coatings
50 HZ Frequency 400 HZ Frequency
PEO is able to achieve 1 micron RA surface finish as
coated, and 0.1 micron RA with light honing

12. Materials and Technologies
Micro Structure of Ceratough coating
on Cold Sprayed Aluminum on Ti-6-4
Cross section images of
ceramic transformation
of aluminum cold spray
layer on Ti-6-4 substrate
Al2O3 Ceramic
Coating
Ti-6-4
Substrate
Aluminum
Cold Spray

13. Materials and Technologies
Microstructure of Ceratough®
coatings on 6061 alloy

14. Materials and Technologies
PEO process filling
scratch (.0006” deep)
14

15. Materials and Technologies
Base material 355 alloy
Hardness 120-140 HV50
Ceratough® Coating Hardness
1360-1550 HV50
Comparison of Ceratough® Structure for
base 355 material and laser welded 4041
Ceratough® Coating Hardness
1260-1320 HV50
Laser weld 4041 alloy
Hardness 100-120 HV50

16. Materials and Technologies
Performance of Ceratough®
Coatings

17. Materials and Technologies
Ceratough-
Ti Coating
Ti-6-4
Substrate
Cross Section of Ceratough-Ti
Nano-Ceramic Coating
0 20 40 60 80
Coating Thickness (microns)
80
20
Ceratough-Ti
Titanium Oxide
Ceratough® Ti Coatings

18. Materials and Technologies
Ceratough® Mg-Alloys
Anodizing Ceratough®
Thickness ~5µm as a primer for paint
~25µm (1mil) for mild corrosion
resistance
~5µm as a primer for paint
~25µm for mild corrosion resistance
50-75µm (2 – 3 mils) for abrasive resistance
Hardness NA Up to 1000-1600 HV for abrasive resistance

19. Materials and Technologies
0
0.0002
0.0003
0.0005
0.0006
Ceratough-Al Anodize + SFL Anodize
Wear Rate (mm3/Nm)
30X
100X
Wear Performance of Ceratough®
Coatings ASTM G133
Fretting wear of AL 7075 T6 Alloy with different treatments
Hard anodized 0.0001597
Hard anodized with MoSi2 solid lubricant 0.00006223
Ceratough® coated 0.000004021

20. Materials and Technologies
Ceratough® Wear Test
Results
Test Method: M50 ellipsoid against test specimens, with oil
Baseline: 4340 steel
Samples: Ceramic Aluminum-Oxide (Al2O3) coated F357 Aluminum
M50 vs Ceratough®
M50 vs 4340
Ceratough® Coatings provide 10X
wear improvement over
lubricated 4340 steel
4340 exhibits substantial fretting
& galling against M50
Ceratough® exhibits virtually no
fretting & galling against M50

21. Materials and Technologies
Ceratough®-Ti Coatings are
Low-Friction
Low coefficient of friction,
combined with high hardness,
enables outstanding wear
performance
COF can be further lowered by
adding teflon and other particles
into the Ceratough® coating

22. Materials and Technologies
Taber Test Results:
5X less wear vs. anodize
Hard Anodized 355 Alloy Ceratough® coated 355 alloy

23. Materials and Technologies
Ceratough® Fatigue
Test Results
(+) AU5NKZr -no treatment ; (x) Hard Anodizing ; (o) MAD
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
1000 10000 100000 1000000 10000000
No of Cycles
Stress(MPa)
MPO exhibits similar or
slightly better fatigue
performance than hard
anodizing
5-10% fatigue debit is
expected on most aluminum
and titanium alloys

24. Materials and Technologies
• Hard Coat Anodized samples failed
at an average of 29,459 cycles.
• PEO coated samples failed
at an average of 37,449 cycles.
Fatigue Behavior of 7075 T5711 PEO Coated Versus Anodized
The PEO coated samples had
an average 27% longer fatigue
life then anodized ones.

25. Materials and Technologies
ASTM B117 Corrosion Test Results:
Ceratough vs. Hard Anodize
0
16.25
32.50
Corrosion Pitting - # of pits after B117 salt spray 1344 hours
Ceratough-Al Hard Anodize

26. Materials and Technologies
Summary of Ceratough®
Coating Properties
• A new Nano-structured ceramic
surface treatment for Al, Ti, Mg
and other alloys
• Non-line-of-sight plasma
process
• Conformal to surface via
diffusion mechanism
• High hardness (800-2000HV)
• Low friction with outstanding
wear performance
• High density (95%-99%+)
• No fatigue debit
• High corrosion resistance
• Ceratough® is a green
technology – no hazardous
waste streams

27. Materials and Technologies
Application Study:
Fuel Pump Repair
Problem:
-Cavitation and gear wear causing premature failure
-Anodize coating provides <50% component life
-No qualified repair method
Solution:
-Repair wear areas with additive manufacturing
-Coat with Ceratough® nano-ceramic coating
Benefits:
-Life cycle cost-reduction through repair and over 5X life
extension
-Eliminate environmental remediation costs for Hard Anodizing
*Fuel pump picture for illustration purposes only

28. Materials and Technologies28
Application Study:
Aerospace Gearbox
Problem:
-Premature wear of Al & Ti bearing supports mated to M50
bearings – high vibration causes fretting fatigue
-Steel sleeves currently used to prevent wear, add 15-20 lbs
-Undesirable to mask gearbox due to large size
Solution:
-Replace steel sleeves with Ceratough® coated Al or Ti sleeves
-Locally coat supports with Ceratough® nano-ceramic coating
Benefits:
-Life cycle cost-reduction through 10X life extension
-Fuel burn reduction due to weight savings
Localized Coating Fixture
for Bearing Sleeves

29. Materials and Technologies
• Project to increase durability of engine
piston heads
• Piston head coated with PEO ceramic
Al-Si-O
• Coating resulted in 150°C more
reduction in temperature than plasma
spray coating
• Thermal conductivity test results:
– Traditional Plasma sprayed zirconium
oxide coatings displayed thermal
conductivity of 0.45-0.48
– Al-Si-O displayed thermal conductivity
of 0.13 – over 300% improvement
Humvee piston with MPO coating
Thick thermal barrier coating
created with PEO Process

30. Materials and Technologies
Summary
• Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO): Next Generation coatings
for light alloys
• Nano-structured coatings offer quantum leap in performance
for wear, corrosion, hardness and ductility
• PEO is compatible with a wide variety of build-up repairs
• Environmentally clean process with low infrastructure and
processing costs
• IBC’s Ceratough-Al coatings are qualified and in use today
30

31. Materials and Technologies
Contact Information
Company POC Information:
Dr. Solomon Berman
E-mail: sb@ibccoatings.com
Phone: 765-482-9802
Fax: 765-482-9805
Web site: www.ibccoatings.com
31

32. Materials and Technologies32
Welcome to IBC

33. Materials and Technologies
Introduction to IBC
• IBC is a small manufacturing business that offers integrated repair
solutions for high value components
• IBC develops next-generation, ecologically clean coating processes for
harsh environment applications
• Established in 1999 in Lebanon, IN – IBC has grown to 40,000 ft2 of R&D
and manufacturing space
• IBC’s team of 45+ engineers and technicians bring years of practical
knowledge for integrating and implementing advanced technologies into
production
• IBC serves the industrial, automotive, energy and defense markets

34. Materials and Technologies
IBC Core Capabilites
• IBC’s expertise in developing integrated solutions stems from two core
areas:
– Advanced repair methods
• Friction Welding
• Laser Welding and Cladding
• Electro-Spark Deposition
• High Velocity Thermal Spray/Cold Spray
– Advanced surface treatment processes
• Plasma Electrolytic Surface Modification and Coating
• Vacuum Plasma Surface Modification and Coatings
• Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Coatings
• High Energy PVD Coatings
IBC combines material science expertise with hands-on production
experience to successfully integrate extended-life repair solutions