JP2003522291A - Electron beam physical vapor deposition apparatus and its control panel - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: An electron beam physical vapor deposition apparatus (10) for providing a film on an article (20). The apparatus (10) of the present invention typically includes a coating chamber (12) operable at elevated temperatures and sub-atmospheric pressures. An electron beam gun (30) projects an electron beam (28) into and in the coating chamber (12) to melt and evaporate the coating material (26). The operation of this EBPVD device (10) is enhanced by a control panel (118) that can monitor and control parts of the device (10). The control panel (118) includes a schematic diagram of the device (10) and its components and component indicators (120), a visual indicator indicating the operational status of the component in relation to the indicator (120), and adjacent to the visual indicator. A control (124) for altering the operation of corresponding components of the EBPVD device (10) in association with the cage indicator (120).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to electron beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD) coating equipment. Specifically, the present invention is capable of providing quick and accurate information regarding the operating status of an EBPVD coating machine, allowing an operator to make appropriate manual changes or adjustments to the machine and the coating process. And a coating device as described above with a control panel.

[0002]

[Prior art]

Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are widely used to thermally shield the outer surfaces of high temperature gas turbine components in order to minimize their practical temperature. Various ceramic materials, particularly zirconia (ZrO ₂ ) stabilized with yttria (Y ₂ O ₃ ), magnesia (MgO) and other oxides, are used as TBC. These particular materials are widely used in the art because they can be easily deposited by plasma spraying techniques and vapor deposition techniques. An example of the latter is electron beam physical vapor deposition (EBP).
VD), which produces a thermal barrier coating having a columnar grain structure that can expand with the underlying substrate without producing damaging stresses that result in flaking, thereby increasing stress tolerance.

In general, a method of making TBCs by EBPVD involves preheating a part to an acceptable coating temperature and then inserting the part into a coating chamber heated and maintained at low pressure, usually about 0.005 mbar. . A component is supported near an ingot of ceramic coating material (eg, YSZ) and an electron beam is projected onto the ingot to melt the surface of the ingot and produce a vapor of coating material that deposits on the component. The temperature range in which the EBPVD process can be carried out depends in part on the composition of the part and the coating material. The lowest process temperature is generally established to ensure that the coating material vaporizes properly and deposits on the part, while the highest process temperature is generally established to avoid microstructural damage to the article. Despite the use of fluid cooled parts
The temperature in the coating chamber continues to rise during the deposition process as a result of the intense heating by the electron beam and the molten pool of coating material. As a result, EBPV
The D coating process often starts near the desired minimum process temperature and then ends when the coating chamber approaches the maximum process temperature. In modern EBPVD systems, the coated parts can be removed from the coating chamber and replaced with preheated, uncoated parts without shutting down the device to allow continuous operation. Continuous operation of the device during this time can be referred to as a "campaign", and the large number of parts successfully coated during the campaign corresponds to high processing and economic efficiency.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

From the above, a relatively narrow range of acceptable coating temperatures and low temperatures,
Proper operation of EBPVD equipment is complicated by the complexity of moving hot and cold parts into and out of an evacuated chamber and various other difficulties found in operating and maintaining modern EBP PVD equipment. I understand. Therefore, EBP
There is a constant need for improved actuation, operation and control of VD devices.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

  The present invention is for providing coatings (eg, ceramic thermal barrier coatings) on articles.
Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EBPVD) device. The EBPVD device of the present invention is
Generally, high temperatures (eg at least 800 ° C.) and pressures below atmospheric pressure (eg 10 ^-3 ~ 5 x 10^-2mbar) operable coating chamber. Electric
A child beam (EB) gun is used in the coating chamber and
An electron beam is projected onto the coating material in the bar. EB gun is a coating material
It operates to melt and evaporate the material.

According to the present invention, the operation of the EBPVD device can be enhanced by using a control panel that can monitor and control certain components of the device. The control panel is a schematic view of the device and at least some of its parts and the markings of those parts,
It includes a visual indicator associated with the indicator to indicate the operating condition of the component, and a control adjacent the visible indicator and associated with the indicator to change the operation of the corresponding component of the EBPVD device. Examples of components that are preferably monitored and controlled in this panel are EB guns and components that determine the vacuum level and coolant flow through the EBPVD system. This control panel allows the operator to more closely monitor and control the operation of the EBPVD device, thus improving the overall coating process.

[0007]   Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description below.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An outline of the EBPVD apparatus 10 of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The device 10 allows a ceramic thermal barrier coating to be deposited on metal parts intended to operate in a thermally harsh environment. Major examples of such components are high and low pressure turbine nozzles and blades of gas turbine engines, shrouds, combustor liners and augmentor hardware.

To illustrate the present invention, an EBPVD apparatus 10 including a coating chamber 12, a preheat chamber 14 and two pairs of loading chambers 16, 18 is shown in FIGS. The device 10 is symmetrical. Shown are the loading chambers 16 aligned with their respective preheating chambers 14, with the components 20 initially loaded on the rake 22 in the chambers 16 into the preheating chambers 14 and into the coating chambers 12 as shown in FIG. It has been moved. Shown is an ingot 26 of the desired coating material that is loaded into the coating chamber 12 from below the coating chamber 12 after it has been loaded into the channels 104 of the magazine 102.

Shown are load chambers 16 and 18 mounted on a low-height movable platform 24 so that the paired load chambers 16 and 18 can be selectively aligned with its preheat chamber 14. For example, when the front left load chamber 16 is aligned with the left preheat chamber 14 to allow the part 20 to be inserted into the coating chamber 12, the rear left load chamber 18 may be replaced by the left preheat chamber 1.
4 to allow simultaneous removal and loading of components from the rake 22 of the rear left loading chamber 18. Although the platform 24 is shown supported at least in part by roller bearings 44 mounted to the floor, it will be appreciated that various bearings may be used.

The loading chambers 16 and 18 include loading doors 40 for loading components onto the rake 22. The loading chambers 16 and 18 also include an access door 42 to a drive (schematically shown at 46 in FIG. 1) that controls the operation of the rake 22.
More specifically, the component 20 supported on the rake 22 preferably rotates and / or oscillates within the coating chamber 12 to promote a desired coating distribution around the component 20. The access door 42 allows the operator of the apparatus 10 to quickly adjust or change the settings of the drive 46 without interfering with the loading and unloading of components into the loading chambers 16 and 18.

The coating includes an electron beam (mounted on the coating chamber 12 (
EB) done within the coating chamber 12 by melting and evaporating the ingot 26 with an electron beam 28 generated by a gun 30. The intense heating of the ceramic material by the electron beam melts the surface of each ingot 26, forming a molten ceramic pool from which molecules of the ceramic material evaporate, move upwards, and then deposit on the surface of component 20. , The desired ceramic coating is produced. The thickness of this coating depends on the length of the coating process. The length of the coating campaign will be limited in part by the maximum process temperature that the part 20 and the part forming or within the coating chamber 12 of the apparatus 10 can withstand, thus containing the molten coating material. The walls of the coating chamber 12 and certain other components, including the crucible used to do so, are often fluid cooled to minimize the rate at which the temperature within the coating chamber 12 rises during the coating campaign.

The pressure within the coating chamber 12 is controlled by the rate at which a gas can be degassed from the chamber 12 by a pump and the rate at which a desired gas, such as oxygen or argon, enters the chamber 12. In FIG. 2, the valve 5 located near the coating chamber 12
8 shows how gas is introduced into the coating chamber 12 via 8. The gas flow rate is individually controlled based on the target process pressure and oxygen partial pressure. After brief evacuation by mechanical pump 31, low temperature pump 32 and diffusion pump 34 of the type known in the art can be used to evacuate coating chamber 12 before and during the deposition process. A pair of diffusion pumps 38 used to evacuate the preheat chamber 14 are shown. As shown in FIG. 1, the coating chamber 1
The second diffusion pump 34 has a relatively high pressure, for example 0.0
A throttle valve 36 may be provided to regulate the pressure above 10 mbar.

As can be seen from the above, various parameters and equipment must be closely controlled during the operation of the apparatus 10. FIG. 3 shows an EBP of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Figure 5 shows a portion of a preferred control panel 118 for controlling and monitoring a VD device.
The control panel 118 is shown to include a schematic view of a portion of the EBPVD device 10 and its support system, including indicia 120 for individual components and systems. In this schematic view, a visual display 1 showing the operating state of the part represented by the sign 1
22 is located adjacent to the marker 120. Also included in the schematic is a control 124 that can adjust the operation of the corresponding component based on the state indicated by the display 122.

The panel 118 shown in FIG. 3 provides quick and accurate information regarding the operating status of the EBPVD apparatus 10 and allows the operator to make appropriate adjustments to the apparatus 10 and the coating process. Examples of components that are particularly important to monitor and control with this panel 118 include EB gun 30, components that indicate and control the vacuum level in coating chamber 12, such as pumps 32, 34 and gas valve 58, and EBPVD devices. There are components that indicate and control the coolant flow through. The indicator 122 in the form of an operating light is preferred to indicate the operational status of the EB gun 30. The position of the part 20 within the chamber 12, 14, 16 is also preferably indicated by an operating light, allowing manual control by the switch 124. Similarly, the position of the valves that set the coolant flow, as well as the mechanical pump, cryogenic pump 32 and diffusion pumps 34,3.
Preferably, operating lights and switches 124 are provided to indicate and control the position of the valves that control the evacuation of chambers 12, 24, 16 by 8. By equipping both the display 122 and the controls 124 in the schematic, a relatively unskilled operator can identify the operating state of the individual components and display the device 10 and the schematic representation of the device 10 on the panel 118. It will be easier to identify what adjustments to make based on the visually perceptible relationships.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, it will be apparent that other forms can be adapted by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

[Figure 1]   It is a schematic plan view of an electron beam physical vapor deposition apparatus.

[Fig. 2]   It is a schematic front view of an electron beam physical vapor deposition apparatus.

[Figure 3]   3 shows a control panel for monitoring and controlling the operation of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2.

[Explanation of symbols]

  10 Electron beam physical vapor deposition equipment   12 coating chamber   20 articles   22 Supporting means   26 coating materials   28 electron beam   30 electron beam gun   34 Pressure maintaining means   118 control panel   120 signs   122 Visual display (indicator)   124 control unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE), JP, SG, U A (72) Inventor Evans, John Douglas, senior             United States, 45502, Ohio, Su             Pullingfield, Johnson Law             No. 3970 (72) Inventor Marikoch, Antonio Frank             La, United States, 45140, Ohio             Brand, City Court, No. 101 F-term (reference) 4K029 AA02 BA43 BA50 BD00 BD03                       CA02 DB21 EA03 EA08

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electron beam physical vapor deposition coating apparatus (10) including a control panel (118) for controlling and monitoring the electron beam physical vapor deposition coating apparatus (10), the control panel (118). ) Is a schematic view of an electron beam physical vapor deposition coating apparatus (10) and at least some of its components, including a label (120) representing at least some of the components of the electron beam physical vapor deposition coating apparatus (10). The figure and a plurality of visual representations (122) located on the schematic adjacent to the part marking (120).
), Each of which is adjacent to the visual indicator (122) and is adjacent to the visual indicator (122) that indicates the operating state of the component represented by the adjacent indicator (120). A plurality of controls (124) located on the schematic, each of which is operable to regulate the operation of the component represented by the adjacent label (120). An electron beam physical vapor deposition coating device (10). 2. A coating chamber (12) operable at elevated temperature and subatmospheric pressure, an electron beam gun (30) for projecting an electron beam (28) into the coating chamber (12), and electron beam physical vapor deposition coating. Included is a control panel (118) for controlling and monitoring the apparatus (10), which is a schematic view of the electron beam physical vapor deposition coating apparatus (10) and at least a portion of its components. A schematic view including at least some indicia (120) of the components of the electron beam physical vapor deposition coating apparatus (10) and a plurality of visible indicia (122) located on the schematic adjacent to the indicia (120) of the components.
), Each indicating the operating state of the component represented by the adjacent indicator (120),
A visual display (122) and a plurality of control units (124) adjacent to the marking (120) of the part and adjacent to the visual display (122) on the schematic view, each of which is a neighboring marking ( An electron beam physical vapor deposition coating apparatus (10) according to claim 1, comprising a controller (124) operable to regulate the operation of the component represented by 120). 3. A coating chamber (12) containing a coating material (26) operable at elevated temperatures and pressures below atmospheric pressure, and an electron in the coating chamber (12) and in the coating material (26). An electron beam gun (30) that projects a beam (28) to melt the coating material (26) and vaporize the molten coating material (26), and vapor of the coating material (26) is deposited on the article (20). To goods (20
Supporting means (22) in the coating chamber (12) and means for maintaining a pressure below atmospheric pressure in the coating chamber (12) (
34), means for determining the elevated temperature in the coating chamber (12), and a control panel (118) for monitoring and controlling at least the electron beam gun (30), the maintaining means (34) and the determining means. This control panel (118) includes a schematic view of the electron beam physical vapor deposition coating apparatus (10) and its components,
At least an electron beam gun (30), a maintenance means (34) and a determination means indicator (1
20) and a schematic of at least the electron beam gun (30), the maintenance means (34) and the determination means (
A plurality of visible indicia (122) located on the schematic adjacent to (120) at least an electron beam gun (30) represented by an indicator (120) and a maintenance means (34).
And a visual display (122) showing the operating state of the determining means, and a plurality of control units (124) positioned on the schematic diagram adjacent to the marker (120) and the visual display (122). 124) and a control (124) operable to regulate the operation of at least the electron beam gun (30), the maintaining means (34) and the determining means, represented by the indicator (120). An electron beam physical vapor deposition coating device (10).