Variable tilting tumbler vacuum coating apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for simultaneously coating a plurality of workpieces. The apparatus includes a modular fixture having a plurality of bushing and spindle arrangements for supporting the workpieces to be coated. The bushing and spindle arrangements allow each workpiece to rotate about its longitudinal axis. They further allow each workpiece to assume a first position where it is tilted towards a source of coating material during a first portion of the coating cycle and a second position substantially parallel to the source of coating material during a second portion of the coating cycle. By providing the novel bushing and spindle arrangement of the present invention, it is possible to coat surfaces of the workpiece which are substantially perpendicular to other surfaces of the workpiece and still obtain a substantially uniform coating along the other surfaces of the workpiece. A process for simultaneously coating the workpieces is also described. The process broadly comprises the steps of providing a source of coating material, attaching a workpiece to be coated to a fixture, and coating the workpiece with a coating material by rotating the fixture and thereby causing the workpiece to be tilted towards the source of coating material during a first portion of the coating cycle and to be substantially parallel to the source of coating material during a second portion of the coating cycle.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.