Plasma Spray Coating

With a specialty application service like plasma spray coating, it’s essential to work with experts. Hale Performance Coatings provides innovative thermal coatings to optimize part performance. Our plasma spray service modifies equipment surfaces to improve wear resistance and heat protection.

Plasma spray coating involves ionizing gas to create plasma, which produces a strong mechanical bond with the substrate. That allows you to extend the lifespan of your parts, components and equipment and manage operating costs. You can incorporate a wide range of materials into the application, from metals to ceramics.

Our team is at your disposal to help you determine if this coating process is right for the job.

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What is Plasma Spray Coating?

Plasma spraying is a thermal coating application that uses an electric arc to ionize gas like nitrogen, hydrogen or argon to create a plasma jet stream. As they’re energized, electrons break free from the atoms within plasma, allowing them to conduct electricity and produce heat up to 15,000° C. Powdered coating materials are injected into the plasma stream, melted and directed toward a substrate. The impact allows the coating material to solidify and cool quickly.

Benefits of Plasma Spray Coating

Extreme thermal protection: Plasma spray coating is ideal for extreme environments. You can incorporate high-heat ceramic coatings to protect base components without worrying about degrading the substrate. That strong mechanical bond also prevents heat generated during use from damaging your components.
Wear resistance: You can rely on plasma spraying to protect your equipment from impact, friction and sliding. Depending on the added coating material, the final layer can be harder than the substrate, which is crucial for reducing wear in metal-on-metal contact. That enhances service life and reduces the need for replacement parts.
Electrical insulation: Plasma spraying can insulate against electricity, making it extremely effective for use in electronics, medical devices and industrial equipment.
Dimensional restoration: You don’t have to get rid of worn components when you apply a plasma spray coating. The process allows you to build up a protective layer to your requirements and even restore the original part dimensions. That’s crucial for specialty equipment that can be difficult to source.
Minimal heat input to substrate: While the coating material is molten when it encounters the substrate surface, the rapid cooling prevents warping.

Our Plasma Spray Coating Process

Substrate preparation: Cleaning the surface and removing contaminants is crucial to coating adhesion. We use solvents to clear away grease, debris and dirt, then use abrasive blasting to roughen the substrate surface and promote effective bonding.
Bond coat application: This intermediate layer between the plasma coating and substrate improves adhesion and provides a thermal barrier. It includes a combination of nickel, aluminum and cobalt alloys.
Plasma spray application: We use a spray gun that has an electronic arc to heat the plasma. Powdered coating material is injected into the stream and propelled toward the component surface at a high temperature. The particles flatten on impact and interlock to create a solid surface.
Post-coating finishing: We provide post-coating finishing to ensure the layer’s thickness meets your specifications. That may involve grinding, especially if we use ceramics, and sealing to further enhance heat protection.
Final inspection: Once the application is complete, we conduct visual and adhesion tests and assess hardness to verify the integrity of the plasma spray layer.

Plasma Spray Coating Materials

You can use a variety of materials for plasma spraying, which increases its application versatility. Hale Performance Coatings uses the following in our process.

Chromium Oxide

This coating material is extremely dense, making it one of the best options if your equipment requires high corrosion and wear resistance. Chromium oxide can resist fluid and chemical penetration, so it will withstand the presence of acids, alkalis and alcohol. It’s also reliable in high temperatures, making it effective in power generation and manufacturing applications.

Aluminum Oxide

This is one of the most versatile ceramic coatings. Aluminum oxide insulates well against electricity and offers reasonable corrosion resistance. It’s also chemically inert, so it isn’t affected by acids, alkalis and solvents. It doubles as a thermal and non-stick barrier and is more cost-effective compared to other ceramic coatings. Aluminum oxide is very compatible with the plasma spray process, allowing for precision control.

Additional Materials

Plasma spraying is also compatible with other materials, including cobalt and nickel alloys, stainless steel, polyethylene, polymer-metal composites, yttria-stabilized zirconia and titanium oxide. Coating material selection is based on substrate type and application environment to enhance operational effectiveness.

Plasma Spray vs. HVOF

While plasma spraying incorporates ionizing and heating particles, HVOF coating uses kinetic energy to create a high-velocity application. Plasma spray coating melts materials, including ceramics, due to its extreme operating temperature. HVOF isn’t as suitable for ceramic coatings, but it is effective for tungsten carbide and cermet materials that can degrade when exposed to extreme heat. Plasma spray coatings have inherently higher porosity than HVOF, but this can be managed with proper parameter optimization and careful application.

Common Applications for Plasma Spray Coatings

Plasma spraying is used in aerospace, oil and gas, automotive, medical, manufacturing, energy and mining applications. It’s effective for the following equipment:

Turbine blades
Drilling tools
Valves
Molds and forming equipment
Rolls and chocks
Compressor blades and vanes
Landing gear
Pump components
Medical and dental implants
Surgical instruments
Medical device housing
Printing and packaging machinery

Trust Hale Performance Coatings for Plasma Spray Services

Hale Performance Coatings’ plasma spray services are available for a variety of diverse applications. You’ll have direct access to our technicians who are ready to assist and answer questions. We can help you determine if this coating option is suitable for your needs. Contact our team for a quote or to schedule a consultation.

FAQs

What is the difference between plasma spray and thermal spray?

Thermal spraying is a general type of coating category. Plasma spraying is a type of thermal application.

Can plasma-sprayed coatings be repaired or recoated?

Yes, plasma spraying is suitable for localized repairs, general degradation recoating and substrate damage restoration.

Does plasma spray coating change part dimensions?

Depending on the coating material and application technique, plasma spray coating can alter part dimensions. However, post-application finishing can reduce thickness to keep your components within specific operating parameters.

Do plasma spray coatings require sealing?

Not always, but some materials, like aluminum oxide, require sealing to prevent fluid penetration.

What surface preparation is required before plasma spraying?

Clearing away residual contaminants allows for optimized bonding. Surface abrasion is another important part of the preparation process as it provides microscopic anchor points that help molten particles lock together.