Letter 14081

Metal tiles  

I would appreciate receiving any information about manufacture processes to apply a metallic coating over ceramic tiles (wall tiles). It would be possible to cover the tiles with PVD coatings?

Thank you very much in advance,

Charo Fernandez
- Spain

It is possible to PVD coat the tiles, but not very easy. The first problem is that the tiles are insulators. You may have to go to a ion beam assisted deposition process to get adequate adhesion. Second, the tiles will probably outgas quite a bit. The outgassing will slow the process down considerably. Third, there's a lot of heat generated in the PVD process. If the tiles heat up is non-uniform -- which it very well may be -- the temperature differential may cause cracking. I've seen this in glass. Finally, many hard PVD coatings are quite highly stressed. This can also cause cracking of the tile.

Much of the above depends on the coating that you are interested in, and the thickness. It might be practical for a decorative coating, but the thickness needed for functionality (wear resistance) is probably too great to be practical.

Jim Treglio
- San Diego, California

It is possible to PVD coat ceramic tiles. The question is what purpose, what finish, and at what price. I could provide more information if needed.

Mandar Sunthankar
- Fort Collins, CO

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