Patent ID: 7645492

Claim:
A method of coating a non planar substrate comprising: continuously moving the non planar substrate through a bend of a pathway with at least one bend, the pathway having a first side and a second side, the non planar substrate being non planar in the direction of movement through the bend; while continuously moving the non planar substrate along the bend in the pathway, coating the non planar substrate with at least one coating station including a first plasma arc that provides a plasma jet directed towards a substrate, the first plasma arc being positioned in the bend on one of the first side or the second side; and wherein as the non planar substrate continuously moves through the bend of the coating station, a first working distance is defined between the first plasma arc and the non planar substrate and a second working distance is defined between the substrate and the side of the bend opposite the first plasma arc, maintaining the first working distance substantially the same as the second working distance during continuous movement of the non planar substrate through the bend of the coating station by simultaneously rotating the substrate relative to the pathway.