Fritz Stepper GmbH & Co KG is an expert in modular progressive high performance stamping tools that produce electronic contact parts at up to 3,000 strokes per minute. The HiPIMS technology from coating specialist CemeCon is a further step towards improving the Pforzheim-based company's stamping tools.
The finest stamped parts for the electronics industry require maximum precision and productivity. This requires a long tool life. The requirements are also high in terms of material, surface quality and accuracy in order to produce the demanding geometries of the micro-components with consistently high precision. This also applies to the coating processes that Stepper uses for wear protection. CemeCon's HiPIMS technology for stamping tools enables coatings that are hard, tough and extremely smooth as well as having a dense morphology and low residual stresses. With the HiPIMS coating material InoxaCon, the coating expert CemeCon has the right solution for stainless steel processing. With other coating materials, the stainless steel strip from which the contacts are punched often stuck to the tool. This does not happen with InoxaCon. The tools now last 30 million strokes and more.
