Molecular Metallurgy, Inc.

Deposition Technology, Inc.

Buck Knives, Inc.

Nathan K Meckel

Benjamin B Meckel

Harold L Knudsen

Herbert M Gabriel

Dana Howard Campbell

Harold O Knudsen

A bone saw blade includes a blade body having a cutting section, a hub section and a shank located between the cutting section and the hub section. The blade body is first formed having a substantially uniform Rockwell hardness between approximately R and R throughout. Next, a cathodic arc process is used to coat the cutting section with a hard, wear-resistant metal nitride coating. During the coating process, ion impingement on the surface of the cutting section creates heat that beneficially anneals the cutting section. Significant annealing of the shank and hub section is prevented during the coating process by stacking the blade bodies together with blade blanks that are formed without cutting sections. The heat generated during coating is insufficient to raise the temperature of the large mass above the annealing temperature of the blade material. The resultant blade has a high strength shank and hub section.

Bone saw blade and a method for manufacturing a bone saw blade

An article is protected with a wear-resistant coating. The wear-coated article is thereafter treated to produce a chemical conversion coating on any portions of the surface of the article accessible through micropores in the wear-resistant coating. For steel articles, the wear-resistant coating is preferably a titanium nitride-based intermetallic compound such as TiN, Ti N, (TiAl)N, Ti(CN), (TiAl)(CN), ZrN, and CrN, and the chemical conversion coating is preferably a phosphate-based compound.

Surface treatment for improved hardness and corrosion resistance

A scalpel blade is made by depositing a coating onto a tapered region of a substrate which is tapered with an included angle of from about 10 to about 25 degrees to an edge. The substrate is made of surgical-grade stainless steel hardened to a Rockwell C hardness of at least 54 and then annealed to a Rockwell C hardness of from about 46 to less than about 53. The coating overlying the tapered region has a thickness of from about 0.1 to about 2.5 micrometers and includes a first coating layer of a first metal, and a second coating layer overlying the first coating layer. The first coating layer is preferably zirconium or a zirconium-base alloy, and the second coating layer is preferably zirconium nitride. The edge may be atomically sharpened by applying a large negative voltage to the substrate relative to the deposition source while a portion of the thickness of the second coating layer is being deposited.

Scapel blade having high sharpness and toughness

A golf club component is coated with a corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant, impact-resistant material, such as zirconium nitride, titanium nitride, di-titanium nitride, titanium aluminum nitride, titanium carbonitride, titanium zirconium nitride, or titanium aluminum carbonitride. Deposition is preferably accomplished by a cathodic arc process using linear deposition sources with simultaneous heating and rotation of the golf club component substrate relative to the deposition sources.

Coated golf club component

A manicure implement is coated with a corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant material, such as zirconium nitride, titanium nitride, di-titanium nitride, and titanium carbonitride. Deposition is preferably accomplished by a cathodic arc process using linear deposition sources with simultaneous heating and rotation of a manicure implement substrate relative to the deposition sources.

Coated manicure implement

A coating material such a TiN, Ti(CN), or (TiAl)N is deposited onto the blade edge region of a steel knife blade blank by a cathodic arc process using linear deposition sources with simultaneous heating and rotation of the blade blank relative to the deposition sources. The blade edge region may be sharpened or unsharpened prior to deposition of the coating material. If the blade edge region is unsharpened prior to deposition, it is thereafter sharpened, preferably on one side only.

Method of making knife with cutting performance

Disclosed herein is means adapted for use in combination with magnetically-enhanced sputtering devices whereby said devices are rendered more useful for sputter-coating substrates susceptible to heat-induced deterioration. Said means comprises a screen-like mesh or grid member disposed intermediate the target of said device and the substrate to be coated, and in such a position that said means is also disposed across the magnetic field formed by said device. Said screen-like mesh or grid member is formed of material which is magnetizable in response to the disposition thereof across said magnetic field. Said screen-like mesh or grid member has the desirable effect of suppressing the expansion of heated plasma whereby said plasma is confined to a region proximate said target and generally away from said substrate. Also disclosed is improved anodic means for collecting fast electrons emitted from said target.

Sputtering device adaptable for coating heat-sensitive substrates

A sputtered thin film coating characterized by a stepwise and/or variable refractive index as a function of film depth. By means of an in-line assembly of planar magnetrons, each magnetron essentially isolated from the others but for a region of sputtering overlap, select materials and combinations of said materials with reactive gases can be continuously deposited upon a dynamic substrate whereby to obtain pre-determined refractive index gradients. Substrates coated with an inhomogeneous thin film exhibit superior non-spectral reflective characteristics particularly desirable for architectural designs and applications.

Growing community of inventors

La Mesa, CA, United States of America

Nathan K Meckel