Improvement and Sensitivity Analysis of Placement Angle Optimization in Physical Vapor Deposition Process

Abstract

Widely used to improve the lifespan of tools, Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coating process yields hard coating film by creating high-energy beam of coating particles or plasma ions. The quality of the coat is largely depended on its evenness, which is achieved solely by the know-how and experience of coating companies. In dealing with a large, unfamiliar-shape workpiece, coating companies need a logical way to determine the optimal placement of the workpiece in the PVD oven. This work presents the improvement of placement angle optimization for a five-degrees-of-freedom jig fixture with self-rotation. The sensitivity of errors in the physical placement is found to be small.