Aluminium tools reduce volume moulding costs
Plasma electrolytic oxidation enables aluminium to be used as a replacement for expensive steel tools by improving the durability and the release properties of the surface
* Hardness and wear resistance - depending upon the alloy used and the thickness of the ceramic layer created by the process, the hardness of Keronite surfaces ranges from 500 HV to 2000 HV - well above the capabilities of hard anodising.
Aluminium surfaces can thus be rendered harder than steels, glass, and many silicon-containing compounds.
This hardness improves the wear performance of surfaces, but it the combination of this hardness with compliance of the Keronite layer that really makes it ideal for wear resistance.
Research at the University of Cambridge, UK, demonstrated that the stiffness of Keronite layers can be as little as 30GPa, making them far more strain-tolerant than most ceramic layers.
When impregnated with PTFE, the wear resistance of Keronite surfaces can be even further enhanced.
