Innovative Manufacturing Process Improvements-CVD TiC Coating on Precision Bearing Balls

The United States faces the imminent loss of a technology critical to national security. The guidance systems of many key missile defense systems rely on Coatings of Titanium Carbide (TiC) applied by a novel Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Process on the balls of precision ball bearings. This unique process produces a ball with performance characteristics unmatched by any material technology tested to date. The European source of this coating has announced plans to shut down the operation and sell the equipment. BryCoat has purchased the equipment and is planning to transfer the technology and equipment to its U.S. facility. The objective of this program is to develop and implement a testing protocol for qualification of the original, current and future production coatings for bearing applications in advanced guidance systems and to optimize the coating process to meet performance, repeatability and yield objectives for these applications.