Controlled Atmosphere Plasma Spray Systems
These systems producing oxide-free, very pure and dense coatings operate in a controlled atmosphere. Because of these properties, applications include turbine parts used in land and weather conditions and medical implants using metallic, ceramic and cermet materials. Because of these properties, applications include land-based and in-flight turbine components and medical implants using metallic, ceramic, and cermet materials.
Our portfolio of controlled atmosphere plasma spray systems consist of:
- Vacuum Plasma Spray (VPS)
- Low Vacuum (LVPS) / Low Pressure (LPPS) Plasma Spray
- Low Pressure Plasma Spray-Hybrid (LPPS-Hybrid)
The presence of oxygen may adversely affect the coating properties. Spraying the materials in a controlled atmosphere ensures that the coatings are very pure, dense and oxid-free. Prior to coating, the components are preheated and cleaned to reduce coating stress and provide a clean, oxide-free substrate. Many types of surface protection can be achieved with controlled atmosphere plasma spray:
- Oxidation
- Hot corrosion
- Chemical attack
- Erosion
- Wear
- Electric resistance
Comparison of our controlled atmosphere systems
| VPS | LVPS LPPS |
LPPS Hybrid |
|
| Can be controlled with the MultiCoat system platform | X | X | X |
| Batch workpiece processing (8, 12, 16 or 24 workpieces or more workpiece indexing devices): Cover small parts at low production speeds | X | ||
| Continuous workpiece machining: Coat large parts at high production speeds | X | X | |
| Pre-heating and cleaning in the transfer room, coating in the main room | X | X | |
| Substrate cleaning using an inverted spring | X | ||
| Oxidation and hot corrosion protection of aircraft and land-based gas turbine vanes and blades | X | X | X |
| Oxygen-free spray medium for coating medical implants and biomedical instruments | X | ||
| Columnar Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBC) at high precipitation rates | X | ||
| Electrolyte and diffusion barrier layers on solid oxide fuel cell interconnections | X | ||
| Coating of blind areas with vapor phase in the coating room | X | ||
| Alumina coating for abrasion and electrical resistance | X |
This system has the feature of batch processing for over 24 parts.
Vacuum Plasma Spray (VPS) System
The following elements include this system type:
- Main room
- Part manipulator, such as rotary table or indexing table
- Vacuum compatible robot
- Vacuum spray gun
The VPS system produces coatings with the following features:
- Bonding to perfect surfaces
- Low porosity
- Optimized structure
- Controlled residual stresses
Low Vacuum (LVPS) / Low Pressure (LPPS) Plasma Spray System
This system gives you an almost seamless workpiece machining sequence.
The following elements include this system:
- Main room
- Transport unit
- Vacuum spray gun
- One or more transfer rooms (loading lock)
The LPPS / LVPS system produces coatings with:
- Low pollution levels
- High density
Low Pressure Plasma Spray-Hybrid (LPPS-Hybrid) System
Coatings using LPPS-Hybrid systems bridge the gap between traditional thermal spray processes and thin film (PVD, CVD) processes.
The following elements include this system:
- Vertical oriented vacuum chamber
- Very long plasma jet to cover large areas
- Uses much lower working pressures than traditional LPPS
LPPS-Hybrid systems can produce coatings in three different regimes:
PS-PVD (Plasma Spray-PVD), can produce thick, columnar structured YSZ coatings (100 to 300 µm) using high gun enthalpy to evaporate certain types of raw materials.
PS-CVD (Plasma Spray-CVD), uses modified conventional thermal spray components operating below 0.5 mbar to produce CVD-like coatings (<1 to 10 µm) at higher deposition rates, using liquid for gaseous precursors as raw material materials.
PS-TF (Plasma Spray-Thin Film), can produce thin, dense layers using a classic thermal spray approach, but with liquid splashes with high speed and enthalpy.
| LPPS Technology | ||||
| VPS / LPPS | PS-PVD | PS-CVD | PS-TF | |
| Room Pressure | 50 mbar | 1 mbar | 0.5 mbar | 1 mbar |
| Raw materials | Metals | Ceramics | Liquid and Gas Precursors | Metals, Ceramics |
| Deposit Status | Liquid | Vapor | Vapor | Liquid |
| Coating Example | MCrAlY | YSZ | SiOx | LSM |
