Product innovation
Bekaert launches Dylyn® Plus coatings offering the lowest friction for automotive engine components (March 2005)		Building on its widely recognized success with Cavidur® coatings for racing engine applications, Bekaert expanded and up-scaled its manufacturing capabilities in 2004. These new in-house developed, state-of-the art coating equipments enable Bekaert to enter high-volume markets (e.g. automotive) with reliable and high performance diamond-like coatings. These new introduced Dylyn® Plys aumotive coatings are tunable diamond-like coatings that reduce friction losses resulting in improved performance over traditional coatings. Dylyn® Plus coatings also increases the lifetime of the components significantly. The new Dylyn® Plus coatings will be showcased at the upcoming SAE show (April 11-14, 2005) in Detroit USA at Bekaert's booth # 2353 and at the upcoming Engine Xpo Show (May 31 - June 2, 2005) in Stuttgart Germany.
Read the full text published in Engine Technology, March 2005
Now boost mold productivity without lubricants (February 2005)
		Without Dylyn® /DLC the pins need lubrication Using Dylyn® /DLC coated ejector pins without lubricants  maintenance needed every 35,000 shots for cleaning, lubrication and wear control (*) maintenance needed only once every 150,000 shots for wear control the ejector pins face cold welding problems at frequent intervals virtually no interruptions due to cold welding lubricant contamination can generate up to 60% scrap of the molded plastic parts the yield of correctly molded plastic parts increases to 99% (*) plastic degassing leads to lubricant resinification and due to this higher ejection load & venting problems occur Lifetime of more than 1 million shots have been reported by customers - without lubrication
Newest generation end blocks for rotatable magnetron (October 2004)
Read the full text published in Glass Coatings Q2 2005		Advantages Improvements Driven head Higher electrical power (400 Amps, 180kW) both AC/DC New slip ring design reducing the skin effects   Increased reliability, robustness and lifetime Mechanical seal as primary water seal to eliminate water leaks Improved vacuum seals   Improvement of corrosion resistance Replacement of steel parts Driving head Possibility to remove the motor without interrupting the vacuum Fixation screws of motor are accessible from the atmospheric side
Rotatable high-density Sn sputter targets (September 2004)
Read the full text published in Glass Coatings Q1 2005		Continuous development & innovations in rotatable sputter targets, enabling sputter hardware and rotating magnetrons make Bekaert a strong partner for current and future needs in large area glass coating. One of the recent developments of Bekaert is  a rotatable high-density Sn target, made by thermal spraying. This new product combines the advantages of the thermal spray technology and the interesting properties of cast metal structures. The advantage of this new product is that higher power can be used for sputtering.
		High performance coating for race engine pistons (April 2004) Thanks to co-operation with and advice from our customers, we developed a tailor-made coating for race engine pistons. This specific coating (of the Cavidur® range) increases lifetime of pistons 3 to 5 times. Tool life is also considerably increased thanks to this type of coating.
		New Bekaert coating for the textile industry (October 2003) Wear on rapiers is strongly decreased thanks to the high wear resistance of the duplex coating (hard metallic underlayer + Dylyn®). The low friction properties of the Dylyn® coating significantly reduce the number of yarn ruptures.
		Coated optical molds have increased lifetime (July 2003) Diamond-like coatings reduce the cost of DVD/CD mould repair and/or maintenance. The low surface roughness reduces cold metal weld build-up on the nickel stamper. The instrinsic hardness protects the mold from wear and increases significantly the lifetime of the nickel stamper.
		MF AC Inverter Module (INV300): cost-effective add-on that can be used in a variety of sputter processes (April 2003) INV300 is used in dual-cathode sputtering, using a DC Power Supply to prevent anode contamination, particulary in reactive sputtering where dielectric materials are deposited. Alternating targets between cathode and anode cleans the surface, ensuring a stable deposition rate over long periods.
		Bekaert's proven rotatable magnetron technology now on the market (January 2003) The introduction of complete sputter systems is a clear proof of Bekaert's on-going commitment to the rotatable magnetron technology. These dual-cathode systems include all the components needed for the glass coating process (end blocks, magnet bars, gas distribution, anodes, PLC control, electronics, targets, etc.) and can be integrated for various types of glass coaters.