Abstract
A new process called in-mold metal spraying (IMMS) shows good potential for producing metallized plastic parts quickly and inexpensively. A zinc layer is deposited on mold cavity inserts using wire arc spraying and subsequently transferred to a plastic carrier via injection molding. Finely adjusted bonding strength between the carrier body and coating is essential for successful coating transfer. To that end, this study evaluates the influence of carrier body surface pretreatments on the transferability and bonding strength of zinc coating. Carrier bodies made of different types of steel pretreated by glass bead blasting and EDM were tested and their surface topography examined. In the initial experiments, the hardness and surface topography of carrier bodies were identified as factors that can influence coating transferability. Further experiments focusing on the adhesion strength of zinc on hardened and annealed carrier bodies were conducted to verify the influence of hardness on bonding strength.
