THE RIGHT SLOT-DIE COATER

THE RIGHT SLOT-DIE COATER

How to choose your slot-die coater

Our customers often ask which slot die coat machine and options to choose for their applications. Although it is a trivial question, there are some essential considerations to have before answering. This post will provide some valuable hints to select the right equipment and options for your needs.
FOM slot-die coating products

Figure 1 – FOM  Slot-die coating product portfolio. (RC series – Roll Coaters, SC series – Sheet Coaters, R2R – Roll-to-roll series)

Our benchtop roll coaters (RC) enable researchers to simulate large-area coatings and R2R production during lab-scale research. Their compact size, user-friendly interface and adjustable slot-die angles allow for the easy development of complex processes. The unique heated drum design makes this possible without the need for the large ovens and handling of unwinding/rewinding rolls seen in the pilot- and full-scale production.

On the other hand, our benchtop sheet coaters (SC) represent the ultimate combination of precision and versatility as a lab-scale coating platform for almost any thin film application. Their sheet-based, heated vacuum chuck design enables coating on flexible or rigid substrates, simulating both R2R and sheet-to-sheet (S2S) processes in a compact form factor with easy sample handling for subsequent drying and analysis.

What type of material do you want to coat?

The material properties to be deposited, typically in ink, are fundamental to achieve a good and uniform coating. The viscosity of the ink plays an essential role in selecting the pump, and the slot die head. We generally categorise the inks into low and high viscosity. For inks with viscosities below 1000 cPs, a standard set of slot die head, tubing and pump are used. A particular set of slot die head, tubing, and pump needs to be selected in the case of inks with viscosities of above  1000 cPs. One important aspect is that the slot die can be heated for both cases, widening the use of the different applications.  For both sheet and roll coaters, a selection of slot die is available.

What type of substrate do you want to use?

The substrate type is a crucial parameter as our product portfolio has two main groups: sheet coaters and roll coaters. The roll coaters can only accommodate flexible substrates, whereas rigid coaters can handle both rigid and flexible substrates. The substrate size, both width and length, is also important when choosing the slot die coater system and the slot die head. Ultimately, the choice of substrate depends on the devices you are developing. For example, our slot die heads can cover a coating width ranging from 1mm to 300mm for the R&D series and up to 1000mm for the industrial series.
FOM arcRC and FOM alphaSC
Figure 2 – FOM advanced slot-die coaters: a) FOM arcRC – for flexible substrates; b) FOM alphaSC – for rigid substrates

Are you exploring new materials or devices?

The discovery of new materials usually happens when only small quantities are available. Nevertheless, researchers often want to deposit these new materials onto a substrate. Our slot die heads come with minimal dead volumes together with a pump back function which reduces the wastage of the precious new material to negligible. Still, selecting a small slot die head is preferable to have minimal material consumption when coating.

Researchers frequently want reproducible results over as many and as large substrates as possible when testing new devices. Larger slot die heads can be selected for these cases, coating substrates with width up to 500 mm or even larger for industrial purposes.

Medium slot die head
Figure 3 – High precision FOM slot die head.

Are you looking for industrial applications?

One of the main advantages of doing your R&D development with FOM equipment is that the transition to industrial-scale occurs seamlessly, reducing the cost and time required for technology scaling considerably. Furthermore, we at FOM can support not only your R&D development but your industrialisation process through our advanced equipment, namely the monolithSC and modulo R2R products.

FOM moduloR2R and FOM pontemSC

Figure 4 – Industrial FOM slot-die coaters: a) FOM moduloR2R – your solution to flexible, roll-to-roll coating; b) FOM monolithSC – your large area solution for a sheet to sheet processes.

There are a couple of considerations to have before choosing the most suitable coating platform and configuration for your applications. In this post, we gave a brief overview of some essential factors to have in mind. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us directly.

Let’s talk about scaling your research

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In this brochure you will get an introduction to our products and learn about the benefits of slot-die coating such as film thickness control, film quality control.

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FOM Technologies - Product brochure