Wire Arc Spray

Wire arc metallizing is excellent for applications that require a heavy coating deposit. The wire arc system produces a highly concentrated spray pattern and can spray at extremely high speeds.

Wire arc is a method for spraying any metal that can be drawn on a wire. Drive rolls feed two electrically charged wires through the arc metallizing gun to its nozzle. There a short circuit is set up between the wires, creating an arc that melts them at temperatures higher than 7200 degrees F. A compressed air blast atomizes the molten metal and projects it onto a previously prepared surface. The surface is prepared for metallizing by mechanical roughening. When spraying a non-ferrous material, mechanical roughening can be followed by a bond coat of low-carbon steel to increase bond strength.

This process has flexibility allowing precise fine-tuning of characteristics such as coating hardness and oxide content. It also allows the creation of a pseudo-alloy (of mixed metal) coating by feeding a different metal through each electrode. This is an excellent process for the repair of shafts.