University and Private Company Developing Next-Gen Industrial Coating

“Should a small company succeed not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad, it has to keep innovating and remain competitive. For some time we could definitely survive with what we have, but soon, we would fall behind,” explains Dr. Vjačeslav Sochora – head of the SHM research team. This nine-member department of his works on innovations in the field of thin protective coatings.

The requirements regarding extremely hard and ductile protective coatings of only several micrometres in thickness are constantly changing. Sometimes these requirements come from the sales department or customers. On top of that the research team follows the latest trends in the field and tries to get ahead of the competition. SHM devote considerable effort to research and development – 16 % of the company’s expenses go to R&D. Their research partners are often public universities, one of which is also Masaryk University.

“The collaboration with the University started as soon as 1995. Back then SHM, together with Professors Jan Janča and Stanislav Vepřek, researched the cause of the extreme hardness of the coatings they had prepared. They found out that it is the nanocomposite structure of the coatings that is crucial to the hardness and SHM became a world leader in the preparation of these coatings,” says Prof. Petr Vašina from the Department of Physical Electronics FS MU. In 2011 the Faculty renewed the collaboration from the 1990s.

“In 2005, when I finished my doctoral studies in France, I received an offer to return to MU and start researching deposition methods and procedures for the preparation of thin-layer materials,” says Mr. Vašina – head of the PVD Laboratory at MU. “We began with basic research projects which were aimed at understanding the physical processes of preparation of thin layers. When our department got the CEPLANT OP RDI project, we managed to equip the laboratory with new experimental equipment. At the same time the project conditions motivated us to seek new industrial partners and focus on other things as well,” adds Mr. Vašut.

Renewing the collaboration with SHM was easy. One of the undergraduate students was given an opportunity to cooperate with the company on his Bachelor’s thesis. Even though the research did not yield any product in the form of a new coating, both partners appreciated the cooperation and decided to carry on. During the next very successful cooperation, a doctorand from MU managed to develop a new type of coating which was industrially applicable; SHM is currently offering it to their customers. In the future the company is planning to offer internships so that students can get a better idea of research and development in the industry during their studies and use the industrial deposition machines/devices to carry out experiments for their theses.

From Theory to Industrial

Application These days the company together with Masaryk University are entering uncharted territory. “We’re interested in ductile layers. So far we’ve been making hard but fragile layers. However, the customers’ requirements are changing. Nowadays there is a demand for coatings that are both sufficiently hard and ductile,” explains Mr. Sochora.

At MU, ductile and hard layers are Professor Vašina’s area of expertise. “If you take for example a ceramic mug, it is hard and therefore difficult to scratch even with a very sharp knife. But if you drop it on the floor it shatters. Industrial ceramic coatings behave in a similar way: they are hard but they work well only before the first cracks appear – they usually spread fast and eventually destroy the coating. The current trend is to sacrifice some of the hardness in exchange for other useful properties such as ductility or tenacity. Metal spoon is a good example of ductility. I can bend it, straighten it back again and it won’t break,” explains Mr. Vašina.

Together with SHM they started looking for a next-generation protective coating which would combine the properties of metals and ceramics, that is extreme hardness and high ductility. Such coatings made of nanolaminated composite materials were so far only theoretically predicted by Professor Schneider of Aachen in Germany. Even though it is a new field of research, the company wanted to get involved from the very beginning. “We were surprised they decided to join in such a risky project – we’re looking for a material that was only theoretically predicted; so far nobody has synthesised it and verified its properties,” says Mr. Vašina praising the company that was willing to invest its own capital even though their first joint project application of applied research MPO TRIO did not work out.

Their second application was successful and they received funding from the Ministry which will make the research much easier for both sides. The company has lent the university some of its experimental equipment for free and takes care of its operation and servicing. This allowed the team of Professor Vašina to hire two new doctorands and devote its time entirely to researching the next-gen coating. “At the same time, SHM accepted the fact that the product, if we ever succeed at developing it, will be available in a relatively long time. We estimate it to take around four years,” says Mr. Vašina.

It Needs Time

Whereas the university and the company are still looking for the material of the future, they have already found a recipe for an effective cooperation. “The company’s attitude is of the essence. We at SHM have always built upon quality research for which we have the company’s partners, Mojmír Jílek and Pavel Holubář, to thank. Historically we’ve cooperated with several universities and public or research institutions which has allowed us to use technology that we don’t own and buying it wouldn’t pay out. Sometimes we also need outside experts who have the knowledge we don’t,” explains Mr. Sochora.

The PVD Laboratory, on the other hand, prefers to cooperate only with a few partners but on a deeper level. “If we decide to enter into a cooperation, we give it our best,” says Mr. Vašina. He appreciates when industrial partners know how to respect the conditions of high-quality research. “Successful cooperation is not a question of weeks or even months, nor is it cheap. Companies have to accept that a joint research project can take quite a lot of time and even though it looks promising, its success cannot be guaranteed. That’s the risk of research. On top of that the company should appreciate the fact that quality research takes a substantial amount of time and money because if we want to fully stand behind our results we have to maintain state-of-the-art equipment which costs a lot. We at the university have to understand that companies are interested in results, not only in publication,” says Mr. Vašina and adds: “Progress requires time, effort and good ideas. If you don’t have all these ingredients, a long-term cooperation simply can’t work out.”