History

1995
David Barrow and Ted Petroff completed their doctorates at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada and along with Dr. Michael Sayer developed an innovative technique, the “Datec Process”, for creating dense, hard, wear-resistant ceramic coatings on metallic components for many different applications. In the “Datec Process” powders are dispersed in a sol-gel solution and then deposited on substrates by spray deposition using conventional paint spray equipment. At the time, the ceramic coating industry used a variety of deposition techniques such as plasma spray, physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition  (CVD). With the limitation of these deposition techniques an opportunity arose to replace these technologies with a new coating technology that produced ceramic coatings with improved properties and provided a simple, cost- effective method of application.

The sol-gel ceramic coatings originally developed eliminated many of the disadvantages of traditional deposition methods for ceramic coatings. The novel process made it possible to deposit crack-free, ceramic coatings with a thickness up to 100 μm. Initially, the Datec Process was developed to produce lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric coatings; however, continued development produced a suite of sol-gel material systems including zirconia, titania and alumina based coatings. These coatings were characterized by thick, adherent, crack-free microstructures and performed well as thermal and corrosion barriers. To protect the technology, the first patent relating to the “Datec Process” was filed in the United States in 1996.
2001
By 2001 Datec had made significant strides in the technology and commercial relationships, developing a wide range of formulations to create dielectric, resistive, conductive, thermal barrier, wear resistant, corrosion and non-stick high-performance coatings for high performance applications. Datec was able to formulate and apply sol-gel coatings up to 500 μm thick and had expanded the application process to include spin, dip and screen printing capabilities. On the commercial front, Datec had established strategic industrial collaborations in high value added markets including: semi-conductor, aerospace, medical and appliance industries.

2007
Today, Datec continues to make further significant strides in technological developments collaborating with industry leaders for whom its ceramic coatings and processes create high value-added components for its products. Datec has also expanded its own proprietary processes creating a number of revolutionary technological developments in areas such as thermal management where it has created high-tech heating solutions on aluminum and other substrates for applications that span from appliances to aerospace.

Datec is supported by a group of dedicated research scientists and engineers who are driving the technology to new heights and applications. It’s in-house lab facilities facilitates product testing and qualification while its in-house pilot manufacturing provides customers with the resources to prototype and integrate manufacturing into their New Product Development process.