

‘Slippery Nickel’ is the name many customers use when referring to our hugely successful Nickel/PTFE composite coating, Apticote 450.
Now, after recent developments in our laboratory, it’s even more slippery, with an ultra-fine dispersion of PTFE and refinements to the nickel chemistry. After heat-treatment, we can now claim a coefficient of friction of 0.08, and the coating has a hardness range of circa 250Hv (as plated), rising to circa 400Hv when heat-treated at 300C.
The benefits are:
The hardness, combined with the low friction, make Apticote 450 ideal for screw threads, splines and clutches. It’s particularly effective on stainless steel and titanium, materials that would normally gall and seize.
In our dry sliding tests, the wear rate is a factor of 2 lower than conventional Ni/PTFE, and it drops by another factor of 10 after heat-treatment. The PTFE particles are dispersed throughout the nickel matrix, ensuring that the benefits of low friction and wear are always there, not just on the surface. Apticote 450 can replace a lubricant in many contact situations.
We do not offer Apticote 450 for routine non-stick applications – those are covered by Apticote 200 and Apticote 460. But at temperatures near 250C, when normal polymer coatings tend to soften and char, Apticote 450 can prevent surface build-up of materials like lime-scale and corrosion products. (Please note that Apticote 450 is not FDA compliant)
Customers in Aerospace, Oil & Gas, Automotive and many other industrial sectors world-wide agree. ‘Slippery Nickel’ from the Poeton Apticote range is the coating of choice for durable dry lubrication and anti-galling requirements.
A new service to our customers – and it’s free!! Email designsupport@poeton.co.uk
At Poeton, our philosophy is that the need for a functional coating should be anticipated at the component design stage, in tandem with the choice of material, the manufacturing route and the tolerances. Too often, we are asked for coatings as an ‘add on’, with insufficient tolerances, difficult materials and awkward processing demands. The result is extra cost – cost that can be greatly reduced if we work together from the onset.
Where can we help you save cost?
Poeton have a wealth of coating and manufacturing experience within our Design Support Team, and over the years we have helped many customers save money by acting as design support from day one.
Remember, Poeton design support is FREE!
For your free advice, please contact our Design Support Team on (+44) 1452 300500 or (designsupport@poeton.co.uk).

For details please email clivebritton@poeton.co.uk

Founded in 1895, Poeton are the UK’s leading surface engineering specialists, providing a wide choice of surface coatings, serving customers worldwide.
Under our ‘Apticote’ trademark, we offer hard chrome, cadmium, electroless nickel, thermal spraying, anodising, plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO), polymer coatings and a range of specialist hybrid treatments that provide unique performance advantages. ‘Apticote’ is now specified by name on many customers’ engineering drawings.
For aerospace and defence, we hold OEM Approvals, ISO 9001-2008, ISO 14001 and NADCAP certification, underpinned by NDT and QA techniques. Our Cardiff site also offers copper, Tin/Nickel, Alocrom and engineering painting, whilst the Gloucester site operates advanced robotic systems for thermal spraying. All our processes are computer controlled, ensuring consistent quality and repeatability.
For the food, pharmaceutical and packaging industries, our polymer composite coatings offer unrivalled low friction, non-stick and corrosion protection, many with FDA compliance. For automotive, our nickel-composite cylinder coating gives the ultimate engine performance. For light-weight materials, including Mg and Ti, our PEO and composite anodising provide unsurpassed corrosion and wear protection.
Whatever the problem, high, medium or low volume, Poeton has the solution. We support our products with top class laboratory services, including wear and corrosion test facilities, and an ongoing programme of R&D, underpinning our claims for the best coating performance.
We are committed to solving our customers’ problems, through consultation and project management, including a help-line, developing new coatings, advising on materials and design, and ensuring the optimum and most cost-effective surface engineering solution.
APTICOTE 355 Series - 15,000 hours corrosion resistance
Apticote 355 is the latest technology breakthrough for users of hard anodic coatings. It offers corrosion protection far in excess of that achieved by standard hard anodising.
Click here to view details
Fast track service
For quality Apticote coatings in the shortest possible time, call Simon Allen (+44) 1452 300500 (Gloucester) or Sean Needham (+44) 2920 388182 (Cardiff).
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