If you’re working with Kovar alloy, precision isn’t optional. Our ISO-certified shop offers tight-tolerance CNC machining that meets the demands of advanced industries.
Whether it’s for vacuum-sealed systems, glass-to-metal seals, or electronic housings, we understand how critical dimensional stability is. Por lo tanto, we machine Kovar to perform exactly as required.
Although Kovar isn’t easy to work with, we’ve mastered it. Our modern CNC equipment handles formas complejas, thin-walled sections, and tight clearances without distorting the material. From careful fixturing to stress-free cutting, every step is designed to preserve the integrity of your parts. Además, we support smooth downstream assembly or coating.
Topsbest facilitates manufacturers across aeroespacial, defensa, optics, and high-reliability electronics. Each project includes traceable quality checks, consistent finishes, and full documentation.
Whether you’re prototyping or scaling to production, you can count on us for Kovar components that meet spec, fit right, and ship ready to use.
Kovar is a nickel–iron–cobalt alloy. It has controlled expansion similar to borosilicate glass (p.ej., Pyrex or 7740 vaso). contiene 29% níquel, 17% cobalto, y hierro. Trace elements like manganese and silicon improve its stability. This prevents cracking during thermal shifts or sealing stress.
Kovar alloy stays dimensionally stable in extreme temperature conditions. It’s widely used in aerospace, optics, y aplicaciones electrónicas. Por ejemplo, we produce vacuum seals, terminals, and sensor housings out of it. Kovar machines well when proper speeds and tools are used. It’s ideal for parts needing thermal reliability and sealing performance.
Our facility is certified as YO ASI 9001:2015 assured in operations. That implies every job is done in traceable and documented procedures.
Kovar parts are controlled with high consistency across all batches. This is in favor of aerospace, optics, y defensa, which are regulated settings, and can’t even afford an inch defect. All the data is documented, reviewed, and accessible at any time.
Part-specific process sheets and set-up verifications are also put to use. These comprise inspection gateways in the course of roughing and final processes. Managing the process at an earlier stage lowers the risk at a later stage. All parts leaving our shop are built exactly to your spec sheet.
Our in-house facility uses 3-eje, 4-eje, and 5-axis machines. Those capabilities assist us in cutting down on challenging Kovar shapes effectively. Our strategic toolpath programming maintains sharp corners and tight tolerances to exact standards.
Kovar responds certain way to heat and pressure when cutting. Entonces, we meticulously set the velocidad, profundidad, y tasas de alimentación. Adaptive machining strategies help us to avoid thermal buildup. The outcome is uniform material removal, and surface damage is not incurred.
Kovar components typically incorporate slender profiles or enclosed cavities. That is why fixturing remains a mandatory step. We make up special jigs, which help us avoid flex or chatter during a cut. Además, our tools follow geometry in an exact, repeatable manner. The parts remain centralized and positioned throughout all the changes of tools.
Aside from this, our machinists continuously check the insert condition, edge wear, or breakage. This spares delicate features from burr, grietas, or warp.
Después de mecanizado, Kovar surfaces need to be cleanable and bondable. This is kept in check by having strict control over the finishing surface. Our team inspects the parts for the presence of burrs and oxidation marks.
In other instances, the surface has to be Ra compliant. We ensure this without additional polishing and chemical cleaning. You get parts that are cleaned as machined and bond-ready.
Our team integrates in-process quality checks through all stages of production. We identify mistakes before they get too late and rectify the mistakes immediately they happen. Entonces, it result is a reduction in scrap and an increase in production efficiency.
We perform final inspection by use of CMM and vision. This ascertains that the part fills the requirements of llanura, redondez, y perfiles. There is also the provision of digital records, test reports, and tracing of the materials. Everything is fully documented and completed to match your internal requirements.
Our company accommodates both prototype and full-scale production. It comprises the one-offs, the test-batches, or the multi-thousand-part runs. We have scheduling software so that there will be no delay in production. We follow our every order by batch identification and points of delivery.
When your needs increase, we can scale our process without any problem. Fixture, herramientas, as well as programs are stored to reuse in the build process. Por lo tanto, you receive the same accuracy irrespective of the production phase. That qualifies us to be a long-term supplier of Kovar components.
Here are the common Kovar alloy grades we usually process at our in-house facility:
Kovar Grade | Main Alloying Elements | Densidad (gramos/cm³) | Punto de fusion (°C) | Propiedades clave |
Standard Kovar (ASTM F15) | Níquel, Hierro, Cobalto | 8.36 | 1455 | Low CTE matched to glass, buena maquinabilidad, soldable, resistente a la corrosión |
Modified Kovar | Ni-Fe-Co with element tweaks | ~8.36 | 1450–1460 | Adjusted magnetic/thermal response, suited for custom glass types |
Oxide-Free Kovar (OFK) | Níquel, Hierro, Cobalto | 8.36 | 1455 | Chemically cleaned, vacuum-grade, free from oxide layers |
Pre-Plated Kovar | Kovar with Ni or Au plating | 8.36 (core) | 1455 (core) | Bondable surface, plating-ready for soldering/wire bonding |
Controlled Expansion Kovar | Níquel, Hierro, Cobalto | ~8.36 | 1455 | Ultra-low CTE variation maintains stability in extreme temperature shifts |
Kovar is drilled at low surface speed and with strict setups. The drills we use are cobalt or carbide drills, with sharp-edged and narrow angle of points.
Kovar hardens fast, y así, we keep it cooled all the time to minimise heat and chips sticking. Peck drilling cycles assist in the clearance of chips in deeper holes and avert glazing on the surface and thermal drift.
To keep holes round, we operate ‘15-25 SFM’ medium feed. Because excessive feed rate can make the workpiece hard and reduce the lifespan of tools. Además, the hole location is retained with the aid of the pilot spotting. It helps the drill enter the hole meticulously. This guarantees concentricity, particularly on the cross-sections, which are thin or near-finished features.
Reaming is built to attain high-precision holes in terms of diameters and finishings. We use the durable, hard carbide reamers coated with TiN or Titanium Aluminum Nitride (Tialn). There has to be rigid spindle alignment to avoid deflection because Kovar is tough. Holders having coolant feeds make sure that friction heat does not make the hole larger during reaming.
The surface speed is maintained at the levels of 20-30 SFM, depending on the diameter, where we adjust our feeds. When required, this process shows a tolerance limit of +/-0.005 milímetros. Holes are checked in terms of taper, acabado superficial, and cylindricity. High-tolerance assemblies, such as electrical feedthroughs, mounting slots, are most often finished by reaming.
Kovar milling requires minimal cutting depths and consistent clamping. To resist edge wear, we use coated end mills, most often using TiCN or AlTiN coating. The chip evacuation is highly important, and so we use flood coolant and moderate RPM of 50 -80 SFM. Cutter deflection is minimized by decreasing the axial loads and increasing radial passes.
Climb milling is advised so as to decrease tool pressure and tearing. We use a rest machining strategy on thin-walled parts to ensure uniform wall thickness of the parts. To prevent tool dwell at corners or tight fillets, CAM simulations are used to prevent them. This creates uniform flatness, produces a small amount of burrs, and clean-edged finishes ready to be transferred to sealing or welding.
EDM is perfect for cutting hardened Kovar pieces and complicated shapes. Generalmente, wire EDM is used to attain a sharp corner, thin rib, and tight internal radii. These features are hard to achieve by the use of conventional tools.
As EDM involves spark erosion, there is no mechanical stress that is transferred to the workpiece. This saves sensitive components, particularly in sub-assemblies or sealed enclosures.
Spark parameters and tension of wires are controlled to give the exact width of kerf. Roughness of a surface is usually between Ra 0.4–0.8 µm by finish passes. For large Kovar Blocks, Sinker EDM is used to machine cavities and deep internal pockets in Kovar. EDM eliminates such abrasive tooling, microcracks, or heat-affected areas.
Thread tapping in Kovar needs extensive control of the tool and torque. TiN-coated high-speed steel or carbide tapping is used in low-friction threading. CNC tapping is rigidly controlled to give accurate pitch, thread form, y profundidad. Synchronization of spindles causes less shear stress on thread walls, avoiding galling or breakage of the tools.
When the holes are blind, then spiral flute taps can be used to evacuate chips more efficiently. The through-holes that have a low pitch thread are filled in with the straight flute taps. To prevent the picking up of the material, we use sulfur-based lubricants or synthetic cutting oils. During inspection, threads are checked with GO / NO-GO gauges as well as thread gauges, which ensure compliance in ISO or UN thread classes.
Kovar finds extensive use in hermetic housings of sensors in the aerospace industry and thermal shielding parts. We manufacture products such as connector heads, RF housing bases, and sealing flanges. These units must be able to resist pressure change and thermal cycles at altitude. The Kovar low expansion prevents bonded materials from detaching in the air.
We also get requests for Kovar brackets and mounts on fixtures from our aerospace clients. These are navigation systems and electronic pressure sensors. There is aerospace-level inspection of parts, and in most cases, they can validate MIL-SPEC. The reliable design of Kovar increases the air and space mission-critical performance.
The biocompatibility and seal strength of Kovar are employed in the medical sector. We make laser-sealed Kovar housings for pacemakers and implantable sensors. Such housing needs to be sealed with ambient temperature and pressure conditions. Kovar also has expansion control that averts exhaustion in the vicinity of ceramic or glass surfaces.
Además, Kovar is applied in imaging devices and lab diagnostics. We mill precision collars, feedthroughs, and heavy bases. These Parts are usually plated and welded after machining. The performance of Kovar facilitates patient safety, sterilization, and functionality of the long-term implants.
Kovar is used by the telecom industry and the RF industry as a magnetic shielding material. We turn waveguide bases, filter housings, and crystal oscillator housings. These components avoid the signal collision and permit stability in frequency. Thermal aspects of Kovar allow minimal drift of sensitive communication gear.
The Kovar headers can also be found in the fiber-optic signal systems. These continue a hermetic bond between optical glass and metal. Telecom clients rely on our tight-tolerance sealing components. All the parts facilitate the non-stop communication of data at the high-frequency spectrums.
The military systems demand tough metals. We make Kovar components of missile guidance systems, radar electronics, and battlefield optics. It has housing caps, ground terminal, and RF shields. These should have precise military grades mechanical tolerances as well as thermal tolerances.
Kovar has compatibility with vitreous-to-metal seals. This improves the survivability of components. It blocks leakage/stress in modules that are pressure sensitive.
Our machining services guarantee the repeatability of the outcomes in the ITAR and DFARS adherence.
Kovar is commonly used with precision lab and vacuum arrangements. Our products are vacuum flange rings, carcasa del sensor, and feedthrough isolators. These components are installed in spectrometry, X-ray, and SEM. Kovar does not allow leaks of the vacuum and maintains alignment with the change of temperature.
Kovar is used in cryogenics, magnetics to control the movement at an interface between materials. Our test chambers, accelerators, and probs require very precise machine work. To scientists, we need stable, sealed components that have a reasonable thermal expansion. Through Kovar, it is possible to achieve reproducibility of the experiment and isolation of signals.
