Connect, no.152, January/February 2008, p.2

Cold spray launch at TWI Yorkshire

Cold spray launch

More than 40 representatives from a range of industries within the South Yorkshire region and from further afield attended the official launch of TWI's new cold spray system at its Rotherham technology centre on 18 October. Funded by Yorkshire Forward and Objective One as part of the region's Surface Engineering Group (SEG) technology capacity building programme, this facility represents the latest, state-of-the-art coating and spray forming technology, and is currently the only one of its kind in the UK. Attendees were given a demonstration of the system and listened to a series of presentations from national and international experts in the field relating to industrial markets, commercial potential and technical capabilities.

Cold spray is an exciting new technology for the deposition of high quality metal coatings from fine powders propelled at very high velocities using a high pressure gas jet. It provides a solution for applications where conventional thermal spraying processes are unsuitable. Cold spray provides many technical benefits including:

• High strength, resulting from excellent inter-particle cohesion and adhesion to the substrate
• High quality, characterized by very low porosity and oxide, resulting in:
  • Superior corrosion and oxidation resistance
  • High thermal and electrical conductivity
  • Lower coefficient of friction

Many materials have already proven suitable for cold spray, including:

• Metals (Al, Cu, Ni, Ti, Ag, Zn, Ta, Nb)
• Refractory metals (Zr, W, Ta)
• Alloys (steels, Ni alloys, MCrAlYs)
• Composites (Cu-W, Al-SiC, Al-Al2O3)

To discuss your potential application, to see a demonstration or to find out more about cold spraying, please contact Tiziana Marrocco or Dave Harvey. tiziana.marrocco@twi.co.uk or dave.harvey@twi.co.uk