Technical Notes
Short technical pages built around questions that repeatedly appear in equipment review, process transfer and R&D work.
I use these notes to keep practical reasoning accessible without turning every subject into a formal report. The emphasis is on what should be measured, what can be compared directly, and where apparently similar technologies are not actually equivalent.
Vacuum equipment acceptance
Why ultimate pressure is not enough; how pump-down, pressure rise, helium leak rate, gas load and process logging should be read together. Vacuum systems and pumping →
LPC versus gas carburizing
What really changes when the process route changes: carbon profile, boost-diffusion sequence, quench route, distortion and validation of the actual component. Vacuum heat treatment →
Plasma nitriding of precision parts
Layer control, dimensional stability, compound-layer management, access to holes and shielded surfaces, and when tribology should be added to hardness data. Plasma nitriding →
Tribology after surface treatment
Why hardness alone is not enough when the functional requirement is wear or friction, and how counterbody, load, lubrication and surface finish change the interpretation. Application cases →
Hollow cathodes and cold-start concepts
Ignition, restart, thermal balance, I-V behaviour and the difference between a cathode concept and the surrounding power / gas / test architecture. Hollow cathodes →
Supplier FAT logic
How to convert a supplier specification into measurable acceptance evidence instead of a checklist of component names. Equipment review and FAT support →
Engineering validation routes
LPC validation logic
Case profile, microstructure, real geometry, quench, distortion and repeatability.
Cathode validation logic
Ignition sequence, keeper/main discharge transition, thermal closure, restart and life evidence.
Engineering practice
Requirements, architecture, supplier review, FAT, diagnostics and process transfer.
Application map
How application, process physics, hardware, verification and the industrial landscape connect.