The Single-Source Vacuum Metallizing Process

Deep Coat Industries is a single-source vacuum metallizing partner: we take a part from raw geometry to a finished, grounded, EMI/RFI-shielded component under one roof — thermoforming, masking, metallizing, and finishing — so shielding performance stays consistent from prototype to production.

A shielded enclosure is only as good as the weakest link in how it was built. When a part crosses three or four vendors, tolerances stack up, masking drifts out of registration, grounding lands in the wrong place, and shielding effectiveness varies from lot to lot. Consolidating those steps under one supplier removes the hand-offs — so the shielding you specify is the shielding you get.

Four In-House Stages, One Accountable Partner

• Thermoforming — we form the housing, insert, or component, so the surfaces that carry the shield are controlled from the start.
• Custom masking — selective shielding, bare grounding pads, and clear zones for connectors and windows.
• Vacuum metallizing — the conductive coating, with Quad-Fire layering up to four metals in one draw.
• Finishing — bagging, labeling, packing, and other steps that prepare the product for delivery.

• In-house: thermoforming · custom masking · vacuum metallizing · finishing
• Deposition: Quad-Fire (up to 4 layers) · Dual-Fire (up to 2) · 8 metallizing chambers · 6 metals
• Quality: one ISO 9001:2015 system across all stages · since 1981
• Best fit: complex, weight-sensitive, spec-driven shielded parts

Why Single-Source Protects Your Spec

One team controls the geometry, the mask, the metal, and the finish together, so the conductive layer, grounding paths, and openings your design needs are engineered as one system — with one quality record and one point of contact for the whole shielded part.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does single-source vacuum metallizing mean?

One supplier performs every step of building a shielded part — forming the geometry, masking, metallizing, and finishing — rather than splitting the work across vendors, which keeps shielding performance consistent and accountability in one place.

Why is a vertically integrated process better for EMI/RFI shielding?

Shielding effectiveness depends on how the coating, grounding, and openings work together. When one team controls all of them, they’re engineered as one system, avoiding the registration and continuity errors that creep in across hand-offs.

Do I have to use Deep Coat Industries for the plastic part too?

Deep Coat Industries can thermoform the housing as part of the single-source process, and also metallizes customer-supplied parts. The more of the process handled in-house, the tighter the control over final shielding.

How does single-source help with compliance programs?

Running every stage under one ISO 9001:2015 system produces one documented quality record for the shielded part and removes the finger-pointing that happens when a multi-vendor supply chain produces defective parts.