Airbus qualifies Oerlikon Balzers’ high-end coating system

Airbus qualifies Oerlikon Balzers’ high-end coating system for REACH-compliant component coatings using BALINIT C

Oerlikon Balzers, a leading provider of surface solutions, has received qualification from Airbus for its RS 50 coating system, which uses the latest carbon coating technology. The RS 50 is located in Ferrières-en-Brie near Paris, a major Aerospace certified production facility of Oerlikon Balzers. The coating system has been selected and approved by Airbus to secure REACH-compliant PVD coatings with BALINIT C.

The RS 50 is located in Ferrières-en-Brie
near Paris, a major Aerospace certified production facility of Oerlikon Balzers.

The RS 50 coating system is capable of producing BALINIT C coatings according to AIPS 02-04-007 Airbus specification. BALINIT C, a non-hazardous and REACH-compliant alternative to hard chrome plating, is a coating applied to aerospace components made of steel, titanium and various alloys that helps reduce surface fatigue, withstand wear, and high loads, whilst being lightweight and exhibiting low-friction.

“We are very pleased that Oerlikon Balzers’ RS 50 coating system meets the Airbus technical and industrial requirements and has been qualified to secure the supply chain for REACH-compliant PVD coatings of the company’s aerospace coatings,” says Toby Middlemiss, Global Aerospace & Defence Segment Manager at Oerlikon Balzers. “We greatly appreciate the trust Airbus has placed in us over the years and we will continue to offer state-of-the-art coating services based on the latest coating technologies and equipment, such as the RS 50, for decades to come.”

Long-standing partnership with Airbus

In 2018, Oerlikon Balzers received the Qualified Supplier status from Airbus for its two customer centres in
Great Britain and France for copper alloy substrate coatings using BALINIT C (WC/C:H tungsten carbide /
carbon coating). Oerlikon Balzers has been successfully supplying surface coatings for Airbus since 2012.

Four Nadcap certified competence centres

Oerlikon Balzers’ customers centres Milton Keynes (Great Britain), Ferrière-en-Brie (France), Guelph
(Canada) and Niedercorn (Luxembourg) are all Nadcap-accredited and provide world-class coating solutions
and services to the aerospace industry. Nadcap, National Aerospace and Defence Contractors Accreditation
Program, is a worldwide industry-controlled global cooperation program, designed to achieve a cost-effective
consensus approach to special processes and products and to provide continuous improvement within the
aerospace industry.