Madison Heights competence center – supporting Forming & Molding Tools customers around the world
Many factors drive Ionbond’s success in forming and molding tool coating solutions. One of them is our state-of-the-art Engineering Lab in Madison Heights (USA). Read our latest interview to learn more!
Supporting Forming & Molding Tools customers around the world
Engineering the right coating solution for a forming and molding tool (FMT) isn’t just a matter of theory. It’s a critical step requiring expertise and real-world support. Engineers at the Ionbond competence center for Forming and Molding Tools in Madison Heights, Michigan (USA), spend their days putting coatings to the test for our customers around the world. Located in the Midwest, the competence center is well positioned to support the strong forming and molding industry in the region and beyond.
Supporting customers with analytical capabilities
“Working at the Madison Heights competence center is never dull,” says George Savva, Segment Process Engineer. “In addition to supporting production cycles, we are very involved with the sales team and their customers. We help them find the best solutions for customer applications. The lab offers technical support in making recommendations for coatings based on input about the application requirements.”
Jessica Owens-Mawson is the Segment Materials Engineer managing the lab. “With our coatings, we can often help our customers find solutions for forming and molding processes that aren’t working as desired,” she explains. “In contrast to other segments, our customers might use big dies that we can’t simply remove or destroy for testing. We can come to the customer and see how the application works. We take that knowledge back to the lab to set up the best testing parameters to simulate the customer’s application. This sets us and our sales team on the right path for success with our customers by gaining practical insight into how our coatings work before they go out into the field.”
Providing rigorous analysis for new coating design
Madison Heights is the leading Ionbond center for coating development in the forming and molding tool sector. For the development of entirely new products, analysis capability is, of course, crucial. Each new iteration of a coating is analyzed in the lab to understand its properties. Only after the Madison Heights lab team has given their seal of approval is the coating made available in the Ionbond coating centers.
“Development is done by customer request or because we see a need in the marketplace,” says George. “For urgent customer requests, we strive to engineer a solution quickly. For our more strategic goals, we try to identify trends within the next 3 years. If a certain forming application seems to be on the rise, either globally or regionally, we make a plan to address this future need. This is how we arrived at our latest big development: duplex coatings of PVD over nitrided substrate. Certain challenging applications need a much more supportive substrate, and nitriding meets that need.”
State-of-the-art analytical equipment
The Engineering Lab is fully equipped both to be able to investigate coating properties as well as provide metallurgical analysis. The Engineering Lab at theMadison Heights competence center is equipped with:
Nanohardness testing
Frictional property and wear testing
Scratch adhesion testing
Impact fatigue testing
Surface profilometry
Sessile drop analysis
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) for analysis of chemical composition
Empowering the sales team increases customer success
“We’re always at our most successful when sales and engineering work together,” says George. This is something that the lab is actively fostering. Jessica explains, “In the last few years, we started providing new training for sales managers that promotes knowledge of our testing procedures and capabilities. This helps them to understand test reports in more depth, so they can make more informed recommendations for their customers."
When an application is routine, the sales team has Ionbond’s large coating portfolio to choose from. “However,” says Jessica, “often in forming and molding, the tools are so unique that almost all applications require customization – and that requires testing to understand the right solution.” The engineering team coordinates the full resources of in-house production – including polishing, cleaning, pre-coating treatment, coating and post-polishing- to come to a high-quality solution.
Get in touch
Discuss your challenges with Tobias Brögelmann
Tobias Brögelmann, Global Segment Manager Forming and Molding Tools, will be glad to support you.
We will get in contact with you as soon as possible
Dr. Ing. Tobias Brögelmann
Global Segment Manager Forming and Molding
Dr. Ing. Tobias Brögelmann
Global Segment Manager Forming and Molding
You might be interested...
NEW Whitepaper: DLC Coating solutions for high-load applications in the automotive industry
The automotive industry is undergoing a transformation toward sustainable mobility, increasing the demand for durable and wear-resistant components. Ionbond presents its latest Whitepaper on advanced Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coatings, designed to withstand extreme stresses in automotive powertrains.
New machine for world-class automotive coatings at Ionbond India
Ionbond India has installed a second new PVD system within months. Following a machine for cutting tools, their Chennai plant now features a Hauzer Flexicoat® 1500 for high-volume automotive production. Read on to discover more!
Decobond™ PVD coating for stainless steel: the solution for metal-look colors
Do you wish that stainless steel was easier to paint or color? Then take a look at Ionbond’s Decobond coatings. We offer a wide range of colors, excellent performance on stainless steel, and great adhesion.
NEW Whitepaper: Contributions of Forming Tool Coatings to Sustainability and CO2 Footprint Reductions
The manufacturing industry is facing increased pressure to meet sustainability targets and improve operational efficiency. In response to these challenges, Ionbond is excited to present our latest whitepaper that explores the transformative role of PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coatings in driving sustainability and reducing CO2 footprints. As the industry evolves to meet environmental demands, PVD coatings are emerging as a key technology to help manufacturers reduce waste, improve performance, and embrace sustainable practices.
Ionbond Mexico expands decorative PVD coating production to meet growing demand
Are you looking for high-quality decorative coatings? Ionbond Mexico serves local companies and companies from the USA with their broad portfolio of proven Ionbond coatings. They recently expanded production capacity, so this is a great time to get in touch. Read more in our article below.
Ready to Discover How Ionbond’s FDA-Approved Coatings Improve Food Processing Equipment?
Discover Ionbond’s FDA-approved coatings for food processing equipment, offering high durability, efficiency, and hygiene.
Ionbond Turkey doubles coating capacity with new state-of-the-art facility
Read our full article to find out more about our brand new facility at Ionbond Turkey and the coating capacity expansions and developments which allow us to serve you even better!
Ionbond India expands coating capabilities to better serve the local manufacturing industry
Will you be attending IMTEX this January? We're looking forward to talking to you about Ionbond India's coating capacity expansions and developments for the manufacturing industry, enabling us to even better serve your business needs. Read already now our insightful interview article below with our experts to find out more!
Ionbond's 2024 highlights
As we reflect on 2024, we’re proud to share some of the achievements that made this year unforgettable. From expanding our capabilities to welcoming new talent, these milestones are a testament to the innovation, dedication, and collaboration that drive Ionbond forward.
Ionbond – your partner for customized automotive coating solutions
You can already read it in our slogan: we are the surface engineers. When it comes to providing coating solutions for the automotive industry, that means understanding your application in depth and then designing the solution that meets your requirement. Through this distinctive approach, we can position ourselves as a true development partner, in addition to a high-quality coating provider.
Ionbond coatings for next-generation autonomous driving
Did you know that PVD coatings might play an important role in bringing self-driving automobiles to market? Read more in our article, and come see us at IZB 2024 in Germany!
PVD for high-quality automotive design – a growing trend
More and more automotive designers are looking to physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings to give their car interiors and exteriors an exclusive esthetic. PVD coatings are thin, durable, scratch and wear resistant, and have a premium look and feel. Ionbond is working with high-end car brands to deliver the optimum coating solution for their unique designs. Want to hear more about what we’re doing in this area? Come talk to us at IZB in Wolfsburg, 22-24 October 2024.
Watch our new corporate video!
At Ionbond, we are proud of what we have achieved. We have over 30 coating centers around the world, a fleet of high-tech coating machines and a wide range of proven, innovative PVD, CVD and PACVD coatings. More than that, we are proud to offer one of the largest network of surface engineers, ready to provide local support to our customers everywhere.
Ionbond visiting FABTECH in October!
Join us at our boothS30103 in Orlando, Florida (USA), from October 15 to 17 for the 2024 edition of FABTECH, North America’s largest trade show for metal forming and fabricating. We’re looking forward to showing our premium performance coatings for forming metals and non-ferrous metals, aluminum die casting as well as our developments in plasma nitriding for duplex coatings. In addition, we’d love to hear about your current projects and challenges in forming and molding.
New! Whitepaper on coating development for a hydrogen automotive application
We are proud to present our whitepaper on developing coating solutions for components used in hydrogen, for instance in a hydrogen internal combustion engine. This is a lesser-known application of hydrogen technology for mobility – compared to the more well-known hydrogen fuel cells – yet with strong potential for specific applications such as long haul trucks and heavy duty construction vehicles. The whitepaper is available for download now! Let’s start with a little preview of what it covers.