SurFunction and Precitec bring functional metasurfaces into series production worldwide.
Until now, components have acquired their surface functions through coating, electroplating or chemical treatment. Functional metasurfaces break with this principle: properties such as electrical contact, friction, adhesion or wetting arise solely from micro- and nanoscale structures within the material itself. Through the strategic partnership between SurFunction GmbH and the Precitec Group, one of the leading providers of laser technology and optical 3D metrology, this new technology category is now becoming available for series production worldwide. Precitec will also become a sales and
service partner for the ELIPSYS® technology.
With ELIPSYS® (Extended Laser Interference Patterning System), SurFunction structures metals, plastics, glass and ceramics at industrial cycle times. The technology is based on Direct Laser Interference Patterning (DLIP), pioneered by Prof. Frank Mücklich and Prof. Andrés Lasagni.
Ready for series production and highly versatile
Applications range from electromobility and power electronics to battery and semiconductor manufacturing, medical technology, optics and tribology – for example improved electrical contacts, chemical-free pretreatment prior to bonding and coating, low-friction surfaces, and PFAS-free, antibacterial or optically functional structures.
How far the technology has advanced in series production is demonstrated by the ELIPSYS® E 960 C1 system: it structures strip material for electrical connectors at industrial speed, reduces contact resistance by up to 80 percent and enables up to 60 percent more contacts at the same insertion force.
Global market access
SurFunction contributes the industrial process, application development, IP and software, as well as many years of process know-how. Precitec brings more than 50 years of experience in industrial laser materials processing – from processing heads to integration into the systems of leading machine builders – together with a sales and service network in 23 countries, including its own subsidiaries in the USA, Japan, China, Korea and India.
With more than 30,000 installed systems, Precitec has been a qualified supplier to electromobility, the semiconductor and electronics industries, medical technology and aerospace for decades. For customers, this means that ELIPSYS® can be integrated into existing production lines worldwide and supported wherever they manufacture.
“With Precitec, we are taking the decisive step from a technologically leading platform to a globally available industrial solution" says Dr. Dominik Britz, CEO of SurFunction. “Precitec’s sales and service network opens up new opportunities for us, especially in North America and Asia. Together, we want to establish functional metasurfaces as a standard tool in industrial manufacturing.”
“The surface is increasingly what determines a component’s performance. With ELIPSYS®, we are expanding our portfolio with a process that creates component functions directly in the material – for a wide range of applications” says Dr. Thilo Wersborg, CEO of the Precitec Group.
“Our customers are looking for ways to improve the quality, performance and sustainability of their products. With our global sales and service network, we bring ELIPSYS® exactly where they produce” adds Klaus Löffler, Managing Director Sales, Marketing and Product Management at Precitec.
DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE
DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE (German)
