FAQs

In order to provide you with the most timely service and most accurate information, all inquiries are handled directly by our in-house staff. If your situation requires a visit to your facility, we will gladly arrange for one of our staff to meet with you.

We carry a large inventory, so it is likely that we have what you are looking for in our warehouse. If not, we can supply most raw material or custom items within 1-8 weeks. Our lead times for custom machined parts can be significantly shorter than is common for the industry. Ask us about stocking your custom size or shape.

Ask us! Chances are that we can help, even if you don’t see the item on our site.

We can accept prints by mail (Midwest Tungsten Service, 540 Executive Drive, Willowbrook, IL 60527), fax (1-630-325-3571), or e-mail (mts@tungsten.com). We accept all cad formats. To speed your quotation, please ensure that prints are properly and completely toleranced.

We understand the rapid pace of business these days. Our goal is to return a quotation to you within 24 hours of receiving your request. You can help speed this process by tolerancing prints, indicating purchase quantities, and specifying material compositions in your inquiry.

All products will ship from our facility in Willowbrook within secure packaging. We ship Monday through Friday and typically use UPS or FedEx, though DHL and USPS can also be used. Stocked items may ship out the same business day if received by 1pm in our local time zone. Non-stock items are shipped the day they pass inspection. If the free shipping option is selected in our webstore MTS will select the carrier and service that will most economically deliver the package safely. Alternatively, a customer can provide a shipping account number and the charges will directly be applied to your account.

Yes, customers are responsible for payment of any customs or duty required by their local jurisdiction.

All of these terms can be used to describe the same process, with vacuum metallizing being a more specific case. Within the confines of a chamber which has had most of the air removed, metals or other materials are heated until they vaporize. This vapor travels about the chamber and condenses on surfaces within the chamber, forming a thin film.

Two reasons – to lower the boiling point of the material to be deposited and to allow the subsequent vapor to travel about the chamber without interference from air molecules.

Typically metallizing is performed under a vacuum of at least 10E-4 (.0001) torr. One torr is also known as one millimeter of mercury. Atmospheric pressure is 760 torr.

In the most simple case, a wire or sheet of metal is used as both a container and heater for the material to be evaporated. By running a current through this metal, enough heat is generated to cause vaporization of the evaporation material. Tungsten, molybdenum, or tantalum are the usual choices because they have melting points higher than most evaporation materials.

Yes. Besides using resistance heated thermal evaporation sources, methods such as electron beam, cathodic arc, and sputtering can be used. These methods have a much higher capital equipment cost. They may be appropriate, however, for materials which would decompose or degenerate upon heating.

Many metals, compounds, chemicals, and alloys can be evaporated and/or deposited. The material will dictate which of the techniques listed above should be used. Please contact us for details on specific materials.

Plastic is probably the most common material coated. Often this is to enhance the appearance of a plastic part or to increase its reflectivity. A metallic coating may also be used to reduce electromagnetic or radio frequency interference in electrical or electronic devices with plastic housings. Lenses can be coated to improve performance, integrated circuits can be created, film for food packaging is often metallized to improve its barrier properties.

The deposited film is typically very thin and composed of small platelets formed when the vapor hits the substrate. Films are usually in the neighborhood of 1000 angstroms thick. Films may contain small pinholes. Films are generally fragile and should be protected with a topcoat. There are exceptions to this, like SiO films. Films take on the character of the substrate underneath. Reflective films must have a smooth substrate. Film thickness can affect opacity, color, and reflectivity.