Electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB–PVD) is widely used in fabricating thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) onto aero-engine turbine blades. The process stability of EB–PVD determines the quality of TBCs and batch-tobatch consistency. In this work

two technologies including automatic evaporation of ceramic targets and multi-degreeof-freedom motion of blades were developed

in order to improve the EB–PVD coating performance. The results show that the ceramic targets can be automatically evaporated

yielding an even and smooth top surface. Coatings are obtained with a well-developed columnar structure. Two-layer coating system for ultra-high temperature applications can be further realized by the two-crucible configuration

which allows the deposition of two different targets within one coating process. The multi-degree-of-freedom motion enables the blades to rotate and tilt simultaneously

benefiting the tailoring of microstructure and thickness distribution of parts with complex geometries. Burner rig tests conducted for coating properties validation demonstrate that coatings deposited at the top surface of the platform exhibit excellent thermal cycling life compared with that at the outer surface of the blades.