Coating techniques
Coating techniques
Facilities for the research and development of advanced thermal spray, weld, laser and thin film coatings. Novel coating processes with sophisticated process parameter optimization, including plasma, HVAF, cold spray, suspension spraying, weld, and laser technologies.
Equipment
Based on continuous burning of fuel gas and oxygen in the combustion chamber (in the gun) under high pressure -> generates high speed gas flow in which powder is fed with carrier gas
Mostly used for hardmetals and metal alloy coating production (e.g., WC-Co), wear and corrosion protection.
Equipment
- Oerlikon Metco DJ Standard (propane), DJ-1000 (propane), DJ-2600 (hydrogen) and DJ-2700 (propane, ethene)
- GTV Top Gun (hydrogen, ethene)
- Miller HV-2000 (hydrogen, ethane)
- S-HVOF (suspension)
HVAF is similar to HVOF but uses compressed air instead of oxygen. Process temperature is lower and particle velocity higher than in HVOF.
Materials: hardmetals, metals and metal alloys.
Applications: High-performance coatings for corrosion and wear protection, etc.
Equipment
- Uniquecoat Technologies LLC M3 spray gun (propane/air)
- Kermetico HVAF AK7 spray gun (propane/air)
High velocity, high kinetic energy -> particles impact, deform and adhere to the sprayed surface, forming the coating. No melting, no oxidation (dense and high quality coatings).
Application fields: corrosion protection, electrical and thermal conductivity, repair, additive manufacturing.
Equipment
PlasmaGiken PCS-100 HPCS system
- Process gas: N2 or He (70 bar, 1100°C)
- Pure metals and metal alloys
CGT Kinetiks 3000 MPCS system
- Process gas: N2 or He (30 bar, 550°C)
DYMET 403K LPCS system
- Process gas: compressed air (9 bar, 650°C)
- Metal-ceramic powder mixtures
Laser-Assisted Cold Spray System (COLA)
Mixture of fuel gas (acetylene, propane, hydrogen) and oxygen burns and melts the feedstock material -> molten particles are sprayed to the surface. The cheapest thermal spray method.
Materials: metals, metal alloys, ceramics, polymers
Applications: corrosion protection (Al and Zn), bond layers, icephobic surfaces, etc.
Equipment
- Sulzer Metco 6P-II (powder, suspension)
- Castolin DS 8000 (powder)
- Sulzer Metco 12E (wire)
- Saint Gobain MasterJet (wire, rod, flexicord)
- TeroDyn (for polymers)
Based on the use of electric arc between two metallic wires fed into the gun -> arc melts metallic wires and melted particles flow to the sprayed surface with process gas. Arc spraying is more effective method than flame spraying.
Materials: Metals and metal alloys
Applications: wear resistant metal alloy coatings, corrosion protection of large areas (Al, Zn), etc.
Equipment
-
Oerlikon Metco SmartArc
Strong electric arc is generated between Cu anode (+) and W cathode (-) -> ionizes the flowing process gases (argon, helium, hydrogen, nitrogen) to the plasma state. Feedstock material is injected to the plasma jet -> melting the particles and propelling them onto the workpiece surface.
Materials: ceramics, hardmetals, metals.
Applications: wear and corrosion protection, thermal insulation, etc.
Equipment
Oerlikon Metco F4
- Power 55 kW
Saint Gobain ProPlasma
- Power 65 kW, powder feeding rate up to 9 kg/h
WAAM Equipment
- Fronius CMT Advanced 4000R single wire
- ABB IRB 4600-40/2.55 (40kg) + ABB IRBPA-750 turn table (700kg)
- Pyrometers to control interpass temperatures
- Heatmasters heat treatment unit
- Minac induction heater 18 kW
- Gas mixer
- Welding enclosures
- Siemens NX CAD/CAM
Laser DED Equipment
Lasers
- Coherent 3kW multi-mode
- Coherent 1 and 2kW single-mode
Powder feeders
- Medicoat Duo
- Oerlikon Metco Twin-150
Processing heads
- COAX 8 and COAX 14, powder heads
- COAXwire, laser wire head
Movement devices for DED
- ABB IRB 4600-40/2.55 (40kg) + ABB IRBPA-750 turn table (700kg)
- Fanuc F200i robot
- Aerotech 3-axis machine tool
- RJ 4-axis machine tool
- GF lathe
Laser Processing Heads
COAX8
- Laser power up to 10 kW
- Powder focus 1.5 – 5 mm
- Powder feed rate 10 – 150 g/min
COAX14
- Laser power up to 3 kW
- Powder focus 0.5-2 mm
- Powder feed rate 1 – 50 g/min
COAXwire
- Laser power up to 4 kW
- Wire diameter 0.6 – 1.6 mm
- Wire feed 0.5 – 20 m/min
Laser DED processes
- Cavilux + high-speed video camera
- Flexible welding enclosures
- Beam analyser
- Power meter
- Heatmasters heat treatment unit
- Minac induction heater 18 kW
Typical coating parameters:
- Base pressure: 2·10-5 mbar
- Current: 2 A
- Voltage and power: 400-460 V, 820-920 W
- Possible gases: Argon (99.99 %), Oxygen (99.999 %), Nitrogen (99.95 %)
- Pressure during deposition (mbar) 1.2·10-2…3·10-2
- Target size Ø (mm) 150
