DYC-1300-NCVM | A non-conductive vacuum metallization coater combining metallic finishes with wireless compatibility

Metallic look × non-conductive | Solving the cosmetic challenge around 3C product antennas

Smartphones, Bluetooth earbuds, wearables and IoT devices all call for a metallic look, yet they house 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS antennas. Conventional wet electroplating or standard vacuum aluminizing produces a continuous conductive metal layer that shields and absorbs electromagnetic waves, ruling out metallized finishes near the antennas and forcing designers to trade appearance against wireless performance.

NCVM (Non-Conductive Vacuum Metallization) vacuum-evaporates metals such as tin and indium and, by controlling film materials and deposition conditions, forms a microscopically discontinuous metal film: to the eye it is a complete, brilliant metallic luster, yet it does not conduct electricity. Wireless signals pass through the part, RF transmission/reception and ESD protection are unaffected by the coating, and the antenna module needs no separate grounding loop for the housing coating, simplifying product design.

Built on Dah Young Vacuum's decades of vacuum coating experience, the DYC-1300-NCVM double-door vertical vacuum coater is designed for NCVM mass production. It integrates a high-efficiency pumping system, Polycold cryogenic water vapor capture, planetary rotation fixtures and an optional RF plasma system, helping customers reliably mass-produce plastic cosmetic parts that combine a metallic look with wireless compatibility.

Green dry process | An alternative to chrome plating

Conventional wet electroplating of plastics involves etching, electroless plating and multiple plating baths, uses hazardous substances such as hexavalent chromium, nickel and cadmium, and generates large volumes of plating wastewater, with treatment costs and regulatory pressure rising year after year.

NCVM is a dry physical deposition process carried out in vacuum. It uses no hexavalent chromium or plating chemicals and produces no plating wastewater, offering a chrome-free (Non-Chrome) alternative for plastic metallization and helping brands and manufacturers meet green manufacturing and environmental requirements.

Double-door vertical chamber × planetary rotation | Consistent coating on 3D cosmetic parts

Phone back covers, frame trims and earbud housings are mostly 3D curved parts, and color and brightness differences tend to appear at edges, radii and around openings. The DYC-1300-NCVM uses a vertical chamber with an inner diameter of 1300 mm and a height of 1800 mm, combined with vertical planetary fixtures that revolve and rotate every part during coating so that all angles face the evaporation sources evenly:
● 8-axis configuration: Effective coating diameter of Φ330 mm per axis, suited to medium and large housings and trims.
● 14-axis configuration: Effective coating diameter of Φ200 mm per axis, suited to high-density loading of small parts.

With an effective coating height of 1300 mm, batch capacity is high. The rotation system uses an inverter for soft start and soft stop, preventing parts from swaying or colliding during acceleration and deceleration. The double front-opening doors make fixture loading/unloading and chamber maintenance more convenient.

High-efficiency pumping × Polycold cryogenic capture | Fast high vacuum even with plastic substrates

Plastic substrates and base coats continuously release water vapor in vacuum, the main cause of longer pump-down times and degraded film quality. The DYC-1300-NCVM combines an oil-sealed rotary pump, a Roots booster and a 40,000 L/s diffusion pump into a three-stage pumping system, together with a −140°C Polycold cryogenic system offering a water vapor pumping capacity of 74,500 L/s.

A new, clean, empty chamber at room temperature reaches 1 × 10⁻⁴ Torr from atmosphere within 5 minutes, with an ultimate vacuum better than 5 × 10⁻⁶ Torr. Shorter pump-down cycles and less water vapor interference effectively increase daily batch output and film stability.

RF plasma pretreatment and plasma-assisted deposition (optional) | Stronger film adhesion

An optional 13.56 MHz RF plasma system cleans and activates part surfaces before coating to remove residual contaminants, and can provide plasma-assisted deposition during coating to improve bonding between the metal film and the base coat, giving more stable top coat and reliability test performance.

Complete cosmetic coating system | Base coat + NCVM + top coat

NCVM cosmetic parts use a complete "base coat → vacuum metallization → top coat" coating system: the base coat provides a smooth surface and adhesion foundation, the NCVM layer delivers metallic luster while remaining non-conductive, and the UV top coat adds hardness, abrasion resistance and weather protection.

With a suitable base and top coat system, NCVM parts can meet common cosmetic part reliability requirements such as adhesion, abrasion resistance, alcohol resistance, artificial sweat resistance and high temperature/high humidity storage. Colored metallic effects can be achieved with tinted top coats, and film thickness can be controlled to create semi-transparent metallic finishes for backlit icons, indicator windows and light-transmitting designs, adding variety to product appearance.