Strong partners continue success story with HiPIMS

The tool manufacturer Horn has been coating its cutting tools with HiPIMS high-performance coatings in its own coating center since 2015. From the very beginning, the company has relied on market-ready solutions from CemeCon. Now Horn has received seven new CC800® HiPIMS systems for its in-house coating center – including peripherals for pre- and post-treatment of shank tools.

The quality of its cutting tools is the key to the market success of Paul Horn GmbH. In 70 countries on six continents, companies in the automotive industry, chemicals, aerospace, medical technology or in tool and mold making use the precision products of the Tübingen-based company.

The high-performance coatings of the tools also play a major role in the success. The company’s own coating center at the company site offers Horn maximum flexibility, for example in the development of new coating solutions. And what makes many of the tool manufacturer’s customers particularly happy is that fast delivery times are also possible for special tools and specific small series. From the very beginning, the partner for the operation of the systems has been the specialist CemeCon, which has developed the HiPIMS high-performance coatings to market maturity and economic efficiency. “For the current expansion and modernization of our coating lines, there was no doubt that we would once again rely on proven expertise,” says Managing Director Markus Horn, appreciating the cooperation with the technology and market leader.

Complete coating center from a single source

With seven new CC800® systems, Horn is sustainably expanding its coating capacities in HiPIMS technology. Major parts of the periphery for the pre- and post-treatment of shank tools, such as cleaning systems, blasting technology and quality control, also come from the plant manufacturer CemeCon. Horn intends to take full advantage of the “more” in autonomy and performance gained with the support of its strong partner. CemeCon will continue to supply all consumables and take over maintenance services as well as individual user training and support. Furthermore, in addition to the operational business, the joint focus is on expanding the cooperation in research and development as well as the combined strategic development of new business fields for Horn’s cutting tools. Managing Director Markus Horn is firmly convinced: “It is key partnerships like this with innovative strength that pave the way for us to remain successful in a dynamic market.”

After all, CemeCon is also well aware of the challenges involved in manufacturing precision tools. “A large proportion of the tools manufactured at Horn are solutions that are directly adapted to specific machining processes,” knows Inka Harrand, the responsible product manager at CemeCon. The right premium coating is just as important as the geometry and the material of the tool itself: “Only the interaction creates a solution that guarantees quality and enables productivity and durability.”

Horn has expanded its in-house coating center with seven new CC800® HiPIMS systems.

Efficient in day-to-day business – highly flexible in coating material development

The new CC800® HiPIMS systems with their open technology are ideal for the changing requirements that characterize everyday life at the Tübingen coating center. Clear user interfaces and fast batch changes make work efficient even with small batch sizes and complex mold shapes. Handling the original CemeCon targets, which are an elementary building block for the production of the coating materials, is also very easy. As a result, the company produces completely smooth, droplet-free and low residual stress coatings with maximum adhesion and uniform coating thickness distribution of 1 to 8 µm for all tool sizes – technically possible even up to 12 µm.

There are almost no limits to HiPIMS technology: New coating materials can be developed quickly, precisely and economically from combinations of many elements of the periodic table. Coatings can be finished directly on an industrial scale. “In this way, we as a tool manufacturer have the flexibility to react immediately to changing market conditions, new customer requirements and – what is even more – to cover entirely new fields of application,” says Dr.-Ing. Matthias Luik, Head of Research and Development at Horn, who is delighted with the potential of the HiPIMS coating systems. “We are thus securing important competitive advantages in the market and creating tangible benefits for our customers.”

CemeCon and Horn intend to further expand their cooperation in the future. Photos: Paul Horn GmbH