In Thailand and other countries in South-East Asia, tool manufacturers are increasingly turning to HiPIMS coatings from the technology leader CemeCon to improve the performance, service life and process reliability of their cutting tools. CemeCon’s partner, W.P.P. Engineering Co., Ltd. (WPP), supports this locally with coating services, consultancy and the integration of in-house HiPIMS systems, thereby meeting the demands of a highly competitive market. In doing so, WPP combines local market knowledge with the technical expertise and quality standards of CemeCon’s international sites and its German headquarters.

High demands on tools and coatings

As a technological quantum leap in the PVD coating of cutting tools, HiPIMS is also regarded in Asia as a sound investment decision in tool manufacturing. The technology enables extremely dense, smooth and adhesive-bonded coatings with outstanding mechanical properties – even on complex tool geometries. Furthermore, HiPIMS allows for a virtually unlimited variety of coating materials across the widest range of coating thicknesses available on the market. In South-East Asia, HiPIMS-coated precision tools are used, for example, by suppliers to the automotive industry, in traditional mechanical engineering, in mould making, as well as in the manufacture of components for consumer electronics and in the two-wheeler industry.

Wittaya Ponpet, Managing Director of WPP in Bangkok, has been supporting tool manufacturers in Thailand and Vietnam with his company for many years. His company is backed by the international CemeCon network, including technical support and spare parts supply via the Indian branch. Ponpet emphasises the importance of CemeCon coatings for tool performance: “The result is moulds with maximum performance, long service life and the highest process reliability. HiPIMS is particularly impressive when machining demanding materials and where there are high expectations regarding surface quality.”

WPP offers a coating service in the region, including pre- and post-treatment as well as quality assurance, modelled on the CemeCon coating centre in Würselen. This gives tool manufacturers direct access to HiPIMS technology, even for small series or samples.

Local presence as a key to success

In addition to the coating service, WPP also offers in-house coating lines. According to Ponpet, this is fundamentally changing the strategic direction of many tool manufacturers in Asia: “Having our own HiPIMS coating system integrated into tool production is seen as a guarantee of success, offering the highest possible quality standards whilst maintaining a high degree of flexibility. Our customers who invest in this can rely one hundred per cent on a lasting technological edge ‘made in Germany’.”

Source | CemeCon