Wear Resistance

Themal spray coatings used for wear resistance

Thermal spray coatings (also known as metal spray coatings) are commonly used to change and enhance the surface properties of an engineering product.  One property that is commonly enhanced is the wear resistance by applying a coating that is hard wearing than the base material.

All of the thermal spray and cladding processes (flame spray, arc spray, plasma spray and High Velocity Oxy Fuel plus laser cladding) are commonly used to apply wear resistant coatings and the selection of the equipment used will depend on many factors and Metallisation will be pleased to help you select the correct solution.

Materials used are also variable and depend on the application.  For example, a simple arc sprayed coating of Iron Chrome Boron (FeCrB) may be suitable as a hard-chrome replacement on a hydraulic cylinder on a piece of agricultural equipment.  However, in the much harsher application of a valve used when pumping crude oil, the industry would favour a Tungsten Carbide Cobalt Chrome coating applied by HVOF.  This coating has approximately 10x more wear life than a typical hard-chrome plate coating and performs very well against corrosion too.

It's very common to apply hard wearing steel or stainless steel coatings to softer steel substrates or even molybdenum coatings for sliding wear applications such as piston rings or gear selector forks.

Metallisation Ltd

Above is a video that we extracted from our archives.  Although very old, it demonstrates the long and trusted pedigree of thermal spray coatings in wear resistant applications.  Many of these processes and coatings are still in use today as well as enhanced processes like laser cladding.

Application Data Sheets

Thermal spraying of piston rings

Thermal spraying of piston rings

Reason for use: To produce a low friction coating, dimensionally stable throughout it’s working life. Download PDF Related Products MK61-FS Wire Flame View Product Met-PCC(PLAS) View Product Further Reading Introduction to Thermal Spray and Engineering Applications Thermal Spraying Stands the Test of Time – The Forth Road Bridge A piston is defined as a ‘cylindrical piece moving to and fro in a hollow cylinder as in engines or pumps’. To seal the gases during the compression and work strokes of…

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