High-velocity oxygen fuel coating is used to improve wear resistance, prevent corrosion, reduce the erosion of the surface of or improve or restore the surface of components. Used in a wide variety of applications with a range of coating materials, it is highly effective and one of the most environmentally friendly methods on the market.
This method involves using a thermal spray coating process to spray molten or semi-molten materials in a high temperature, high-velocity stream of gas. This technique results in a densely covered surface; what’s more, it can be ground to a highly refined finish.
Applications and materials
A wide variety of materials can be coated using this method, with common coating materials including metals, alloys, plastics, composites and ceramics. These materials can all result in a coating that has an exceptionally high degree of adhesion to the substrate material, hardness of finish, and significant resistance against wear and corrosion.
The process
Much like other thermal spray methods, high-velocity oxygen fuel coating involves heating the coating material to a high temperature so that it can be accelerated towards the substrate surface in a high-velocity gas stream. This enables the surface results of the coating to be maximised, thus providing the best finish and wear protection possible.
This particular method uses combusted oxygen and fuel to produce the gas stream. The combustion happens in a combustion chamber before it is accelerated through a nozzle towards the substrate. Once the combustion has occurred, the coating material is introduced to the stream in a powder form before it reaches the substrate surface, where it forms the overlapping platelets that give it the fine finish and durability.
Benefits
There are a number of benefits of this particular method of spray coating, including reduced costs, increased performance, enhanced electrical properties, protection of components from varying temperatures and chemical corrosion, improved efficiency, and enhanced durability of components that are paired with the coated parts. One of the major considerations with HVOF over other plating methods is the reduced environmental impact that companies can provide for their customers.
There is no doubt that there is a huge range of thermal coating processes available on the market. High-velocity oxygen fuel coating provides an effective, durable, adaptable choice for a wide variety of components and coating materials.