Thermal spray and plasma applications

Thermal spraying refers to the technological procedure whereby a suitable source of heat is used to transform a material into either a molten, fused or plastic state, the particles of which are subsequently propelled by an appropriate method towards the prepared surface of the substrate material, i.e. the component, where it then forms a continuous coating with the desired properties.

The thickness of surface coatings applied in this way can range from 50 to 3,000 µm. For thicker coatings, a multi-hole torch is needed.

Thermal spray coatings are most often applied to surfaces to:

improve wear resistance – protection against erosion, abrasion and cavitation
increase corrosion resistance
enhance tribological properties
increase bioactivity
improve fire-resistance - ferrous and non-ferrous alloys
increase electrical conductivity; or vice versa its complete isolation
ensure specific requirements - optical surface properties, resistance to radiation damage, and so on.

There are many sources of information on the Internet about these technologies. These include the“Atlas of Thermal Spraying and Welding Methods”. The authors of this publication are our colleagues from CEITEC (VUT Brno) in cooperation with our company.You can download the Atlas here: http://ime.fme.vutbr.cz/images/umvi/files/download/atlas_metod_zarovych_nastriku/ATLAS_OF_THERMAL_SPRAY.zip (1,4GB)

WCCo coating, surface roughness Ra ≤ than 0,1 µm