Xifang Liao

Influence of Process Parameter on Grit Blasting as a Pretreatment Process for Thermal Spraying

In thermal spraying, uncoated substrates usually require roughening. As the most common roughening method, grit blasting increases the surface area and produces undercuts in almost all cases, which facilitate mechanical interlocking and thus promote the bonding between the substrate and coating. The effects of grit blasting parameters, i.e., the particle size, the blasting angle, the stand-off distance, and the pressure, on the resulting surface topography are investigated. Furthermore, the efficiency and wear behavior of the blasting media are analyzed. Influences of three different blasting media, corundum, alumina zirconia, and steel shot, on the surface roughening, are compared. By varying adjusted blasting parameters, different initial conditions (surface topography) are created. Subsequently, the substrate is coated, and the coating bond strength is measured. One of the main results of this publication is that alumina zirconia and steel grit show a longer lifetime than pure alumina as a blasting media. Moreover, it has been shown that the blasting parameters such as grain size, working pressure, and history (wear status) of the abrasive particles have a significant effect on the resulting surface topography. Additionally, systematical analysis in this study shows that the blasting parameters such as stand-off distance and blasting angle have a small influence on the results of the blasting process. Another important conclusion of this study is that the conventional surface parameters that have been analyzed in this study did not turn out to be suitable for describing the relationship between the surface topography of the substrate and resulting bond strength.

IMKS and IMMS—Two Integrated Methods for the One-Step-Production of Plastic/Metal Hybrid Parts

The integration and combination of known production technologies to one-step-processes is a promising way to make existing processes more efficient and to enable more integrated products. This paper presents two integrative process technologies that are developed by the Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) and the Surface Engineering Institute (IOT) as part of the Cluster of Excellence “Integrative Production Technologies for High-Wage Countries”. In these processes, metals or metal alloys are applied to an injection moulded part, which results in a new opportunity to create electrical conductivity of plastic articles. The Integrated-Metal-Plastic-Injection-Moulding (IMKS) represents the combination of injection moulding and metal die-casting, allowing the production of plastic parts with integrated conductive tracks in one shot. The In-Mould-Metal-Spraying (IMMS) combines the injection moulding with the thermal spraying of metal. Therefore it is possible to equip electrically insulating plastic parts with metallic coatings and provide an electromagnetic shielding like cast metal parts. In the following both processes are presented and future potentials and challenges are shown.

Transfer of Wire Arc Sprayed Metal Coatings onto Plastic Parts

By means of In-Mold-Metal-Spraying (IMMS), metal coatings deposited by means of arc spraying process (ASP) can be transferred onto plastic parts during injection molding, thus realizing an efficient production of metallized plastic parts. Parts produced by means of IMMS can be used in electrical applications. In the current study, the electrical resistivity of coatings applied with different feedstock materials was determined. As a starting point, pressurized air is used as atomizing gas for ASP. In contrast to Zn coatings, Cu coatings applied with pressurized air exhibit a significantly higher electrical resistivity in comparison with massive material. One possible reason is the more pronounced oxidation of Cu particles during ASP. Therefore, N2 and a mixture of N2 and H2 were used as atomizing gas. As a result, the electrical resistivity of coatings applied by means of IMMS could be significantly reduced. Furthermore, standoff distance, current and pressure of the atomizing gas were varied to investigate the influence of these process parameters on the electrical resistivity of Zn coatings using a full factorial experiment design with center point. It can be observed that the electrical resistivity of the Zn coatings increases with decreasing current and increasing standoff distance and pressure.

Multi-technology products

Development of technical solutions that lead to widening the use of multi-technological products as well as in assessing ecological and economic potentials of multi-technological products have not yet been studied intensively. The activities conducted in the context of this research area focus on these aspects. The aforementioned aspects have been examined, evaluated and quantified on the basis of three example products resulting from the first funding period. The research activities conducted on the example components deliver the basis for the layout of different integrated multi-technology production systems. Technical solutions that enable coupling of different process steps with each other as well as the integration of different functionalities and different materials in final multi-technology products have been proposed. The complex interdependencies of the products themselves and their associated production processes have been researched and evaluated intensively. Finally, a profitability assessment of the proposed solutions was conducted and future research topics identified.

Application of TiC reinforced Fe-based coatings by means of High Velocity Air Fuel Spraying

In the field of hydraulic applications, different development trends can cause problems for coatings currently used as wear and corrosion protection for piston rods. Aqueous hydraulic fluids and rising raw material prices necessitate the search for alternatives to conventional coatings like galvanic hard chrome or High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF)-sprayed WC/Co coatings. In a previous study, Fe/TiC coatings sprayed by a HVOF-process, were identified to be promising coating systems for wear and corrosion protection in hydraulic systems. In this feasibility study, the novel High Velocity Air Fuel (HVAF)-process, a modification of the HVOF-process, is investigated using the same feedstock material, which means the powder is not optimized for the HVAF-process. The asserted benefits of the HVAF-process are higher particle velocities and lower process temperatures, which can result in a lower porosity and oxidation of the coating. Further benefits of the HVAF process are claimed to be lower process costs and higher deposition rates. In this study, the focus is set on to the applicability of Fe/TiC coatings by HVAF in general. The Fe/TiC HVAF coating could be produced, successfully. The HVAF- and HVOF-coatings, produced with the same powder, were investigated using micro-hardness, porosity, wear and corrosion tests. A similar wear coefficient and micro-hardness for both processes could be achieved. Furthermore the propane/hydrogen proportion of the HVAF process and its influence on the coating thickness and the porosity was investigated.

The electrical properties of partially metallized plastics parts and their influencing factors produced with the in-mould-metal-spraying (IMMS)

The In-Mould-Metal-Spraying (IMMS) combines the thermal spraying of metals and the injection molding of plastics to provide a more efficient way of producing partially or fully metallized plastics parts for electrical applications. To qualify the IMMS process for the production of electronic parts, detailed investigations of the influence of the specific coating structure on the possible active and passive electrical properties are necessary. The following article gives an overview about the electrical conductivity and ampacity of IMMS parts on one hand and the possible electromagnetic shielding effectiveness on the other hand.