Singularity black coating services
Developing Coating Specifications
NanoLab offers coating services for Singularity, and we coat parts every day for aerospace and technical customers. We have a few options as to the coating we put down, which is informed by your desired use:
1. Tell us the wavelength range where you need the best performance. We have three solutions : Visible only (350-800nm), Vis- NIR (350-2000nm), or Vis to IR (2-12 microns).
The coating thickness we put on, and which primer we may use depends on the wavelength you want this to perform best.
2. Tell us where this part needs to perform. We have a Singularity LT version is ‘space-ready’ with regard to outgassing, thermal cycling, etc. but is a little more fragile. Another version is heavily crosslinked, and tougher, but hasn’t yet finished all its qualification tests.
Preparing your drawings
The first step is to send us your part drawings. The best drawings for us are highlighted with three areas…
1 Critical areas where you want Singularity,
2. Areas where overspray is acceptable, and
3, Areas where no overspray can be tolerated.
It your parts are simple, and overspray isn't an issue, you can send us a drawing with only your critical areas highlighted.
Email your drawings to
coatingsvs@nano-lab.com for quote.
Please ensure your drawings call out the material and the surface finishes that the parts will have when we receive them. Smooth, non-porous surfaces benefit from a texturizing additive that we blend into Singularity before it is sprayed.
Packaging
We spend a lot of time creating packaging to protect parts from abrasion and dust during shipping. Our favorite customers send us parts in a protective case, so the finished parts can be re-secured, and are free from abrasion and dust during shipping in both directions. We handle, coat and package your parts in a Class 100 flow bench, so parts stay clean.
Our process:
When a shipment arrives, each part is unpacked, identified by its drawing number, and inspected for cleanliness. Each job order generates a tracking sheet that accompanies the parts through their time at NanoLab. Parts that require moderate cleaning are processed in an ultrasonic bath with acetone followed by an isopropyl alcohol rinse and a nitrogen blow dry, in the Class 100 flow bench. Custom protocols may also be specified. Once parts are declared clean after inspection under our microscopes, they are queued for deposition. If we have designed specialized masks for these parts, they are produced at this point, and applied to the parts following the submitted drawings.
Once masked, parts receive the coating schedule that is identified in the order, based on the use and environment. The coatings are cured, and then submitted for post inspection. We inspect for coating irregularities, mask residues, overspray, and coating thickness, and color by either our spectrometer or our CIELAB colorimeter. When those pass the specifications, the parts are packaged for travel, and released to shipping.
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