Custom Vacuum Metallizing Services

With over 45 years of experience and seven advanced vacuum chambers–three quad-fire and four dual-fire systems–we deliver precision metal coatings that solve electromagnetic shielding, thermal management, and light deflection challenges.

Our ISO-certified vacuum metallization processes deposit ultra-thin conductive metal layers on plastic enclosures, thermoformed covers, and housings with complex geometries. From prototype development through high-volume production, Deep Coat Industries’ engineering team provides custom solutions, ensuring your coated components meet demanding performance specifications.

What is Vacuum Metallizing?

Vacuum metallizing is a physical vapor deposition process used to coat substrate surfaces with thin metal layers in controlled vacuum environments. The process heats source metals until they vaporize, then deposits the atomized metal onto substrates, creating repeatable, highly adherent conductive coatings.

Deep Coat Industries specializes in physical vapor deposition, using electrical resistance heating to sublimate source metals directly into pure-metal coatings. Unlike electroplating, which requires hazardous chemical baths, vacuum metal deposition produces no hazardous byproducts.

Key advantages of the vacuum environment:

• Extreme purity – Eliminates atmospheric contamination
• Exceptional repeatability – Controlled vapor distribution ensures consistent coating
• Superior adhesion – Plasma-enhanced bonding creates durable coatings
• Environmental safety – No hazardous chemicals or toxic waste

Operating pressures range from 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻⁶ torr, creating conditions where metal vaporization occurs at lower temperatures than atmospheric pressure allows.

Tooling & Fixturing Development

Deep Coat Industries’ engineering team develops custom tooling that holds our customers’ products securely while maximizing coating coverage and chamber efficiency. Our tooling expertise ensures optimal part orientation for repeatable metal vapor exposure while accommodating complex geometries.

Custom fixturing includes:

• Rotating fixtures for 360-degree coverage on complex shapes
• Multi-tier racks to maximize chamber capacity for high-volume production
• Precision alignment jigs that maintain tight tolerances
• Quick-change systems reducing setup time between runs

Optimized part layout dramatically impacts production economics, maximizing parts-per-cycle while maintaining coating consistency.

Substrate Preparation & Base Coating

Surface preparation determines coating adhesion and long-term durability. Deep Coat Industries utilizes an RF plasma treatment to clear surfaces of localized static charges and activate the substrate’s surface to promote metal adhesion.

Surface preparation sequence:

1. Pre-cleaning – Removes oils, fingerprints, organic contamination
2. Mechanical treatment – Ceramic stone-tumbling, sand/bead/glass media blasting–which roughens surfaces and enhances adhesion.
3. Plasma activation – Proprietary treatment optimizes surface energy for metal adhesion
4. Custom masking – 3D-printed or molded masks protect areas that must not be coated

Foreign materials on surfaces cause vaporized metals to be easily removed by vibration or mechanical contact. Our comprehensive preparation protocols eliminate contamination and ensure reliable, durable coatings.

Metal Vapor Deposition

In vacuum environments, metal boiling points decrease significantly, which enables sublimation at practical temperatures. Deep Coat’s seven vacuum chambers provide flexible production capacity with multiple shielding capabilities per cycle.

Deposition process:

• Substrates are loaded on custom fixtures into the vacuum chamber
• Chamber evacuates to 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻⁶ torr operating pressure
• Plasma pretreatment of the substrate occurs
• Resistance heating elements vaporize source metals
• Metal vapor condenses as thin films on substrate surfaces
• Carriage rotation ensures uniform deposition
• Multiple metal layers deposit sequentially

Dual-fire chambers deposit two different metal layers in a single vacuum draw. Quad-fire chambers–Deep Coat Industries’ patented technology–accommodate up to four different metal layers per cycle, creating sophisticated multi-layer shields while avoiding oxidation between layers.

Top Coat Application

Protective top coats enhance durability, chemical resistance, and aesthetic properties while maintaining underlying metal coating performance. Deep Coat Industries works with a reliable group of partners that provide aesthetic coatings and top coats for projects that require these additional features.

Top coat options:

• Clear coats – Protect metallic finish and maintain high reflectivity when environmental conditions would otherwise degrade the coating
• UV-cured coatings – Rapid processing with excellent environmental durability
• Colored finishes – Custom colors over the metallic base
• Hard coats – Abrasion-resistant layers for high-wear applications

Top coat selection depends on end-use requirements. Medical device applications require biocompatible coatings. Military electronics need chemical-resistant finishes that are capable of withstanding harsh environments.

Reflective Coatings

Aluminum deposition creates highly reflective surfaces for optical components, lighting systems, and solar applications. Reflectivity that can exceed 90% across visible wavelengths makes vacuum metallized aluminum ideal for automotive headlamps, LED reflectors, and solar concentrators.

EMI/RFI/ESD Shielding Coatings

Functional conductive coatings using copper, aluminum, or nickel provide electromagnetic interference (EMI), radio frequency interference (RFI), and electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. Deep Coat Industries’ direct deposition services create continuous shielding layers on thermoformed covers and plastic enclosures.

Shielding effectiveness:

• Aluminum coatings: 60-80 dB attenuation (100 MHz – 1 GHz)
• Copper coatings: 70-90 dB attenuation (100 MHz – 10 GHz)
• Multi-layer hybrid: 80-100+ dB broadband attenuation

Applications span aerospace avionics, medical electronics, defense communications systems, and cloud computing infrastructure.

Metals Used in Vacuum Metallization

Deep Coat Industries offers six different metals, each selected for specific performance:

Aluminum – High reflectivity, excellent environmental barrier for copper coatings, cost-effective, basic EMI shielding, and lightweight

Copper – Highest electrical conductivity of cost-effective metals available in the marketplace, superior EMI shielding above 1 MHz

Tin – Excellent environmental barrier for copper coatings, can empower soldering directly onto the substrate under certain conditions

Nickel – Low-frequency shielding, environmental barrier for copper, complements stainless steel for multi-layer coatings

Nickel/Chrome – Outstanding corrosion resistance, aesthetic durability, low-frequency shielding

Stainless Steel – Exceptional chemical resistance, mechanical strength, biocompatibility, low-frequency shielding

Custom combinations – Quad-fire and dual-fire capabilities enable sophisticated material stacks that can optimize your device’s performance

Vacuum Metallizing vs Other Coating Methods

Vacuum metallizing offers distinct advantages over electroplating, painting, and conventional processes: