SUPERIOR THERMAL SPRAY TECHNOLOGY
Industrial Corrosion Protection & Thermal Coatings
Flamespray Northwest is a leading single-source provider of metallizing and thermal spray industrial coating services in Seattle. Since 1978, we’ve been helping our customers improve the performance and replacement life of their parts and equipment. Our metallizing and thermal spray coatings are individually custom designed to respond to the unique demands of our clients. Flamespray Northwest’s vast experience and use of cutting-edge technologies are available Nationwide, providing you with a solid solution to your most demanding thermal coating application.
Our thermal spray coating solutions (HVOF, Plasma, Arc and Combustion Spray) are supported by an extensive machining and finishing capability that function to prevent wear and corrosion as well as to build up worn parts to original dimensions. We have the capabilities to serve any industry and offer options to meet the requirements for countless industrial metallizing applications.
Metallizing
Flamespray Northwest offers you superior metallizing services on-site or in-shop depending on your needs. Appropriate for a countless number of industrial, commercial, artistic and architectural applications, metallizing is a thermal spray process where molten metal is applied to a prepared surface to form a hard coating. It will provide you long lasting corrosion protection.
Metallizing is also used to build up worn parts which are then re-machined to their original dimensions, giving you a restored part that is stronger and more durable, saving you the time for shipping and expense of buying a new part. Flamespray Northwest’s metallizing service is a cost effective preventative and restorative measure offering quick turn-around jobs to minimize your downtime. Metallizing is the most effective, long lasting protective thermal coating available today.
Combustion Flamespraying
Flamespraying, also known as oxy/acetylene combustion spray is the original thermal spray technique developed about a century ago. This technology uses the basic principles of a welding torch with the addition of a high velocity air stream to propel molten particles onto a surface. The coating material can be in wire, rod, or powder form. Often flame spray coatings are fused after being applied to a substrate to enhance bond strengths and coating density. Flame Spray combustion coating utilizes lower temperatures and particle velocities resulting in higher oxides, porosity, and inclusions in coatings.
Flamespray Northwest is well versed in the application of combustion spray. Our flame spray process allows us to create custom thermal coatings using a wide variety of materials. We can even flame spray high melting point oxide ceramics.
Electric Wire Arc
A large portion of our coatings are applied using the Electric Arc “Twin Wire” process. Even though the technology has been around for a long time, it still remains a very powerful thermal spray technology. Electric wire arc thermal spraying utilizes the same principles employed in wire arc welding systems. The coating material, in wire form, is electrically charged, and then contacted creating an arc. The molten droplets of metal wire are then sprayed onto the substrate using a high velocity air stream to atomize and propel the material.
Flamespray Northwest’s Electric Arc spray coatings are a simple, cost-effective maintenance procedure that resurfaces your parts with a durable metal coating. They can extend the life of your parts and prevent unwanted downtime. Electric Wire spraying is typically used to apply metals like pure aluminum, zinc, copper, and metal alloys such as stainless steel.
Our Electric Wire Arc spraying is performed in-house, allowing us to offer quick turnaround times on all parts repair and service work. We work closely with you to develop electric arc spraying services that will lengthen the use of your equipment. Because of our uncompromising quality, our refinished parts often exceed the original manufacturer’s tolerances for hardness and corrosion resistance – better than replacement from the factory.
Plasma Spraying
Plasma spray is the most versatile of the thermal spray processes. Plasma is capable of spraying onto most all materials utilizing a wide range of coatings.
The plasma spray process uses inert gases fed past an electrode inducing a plasma forming gas. When the gases exit the nozzle of the gun apparatus and return to their normal state, a tremendous amount of heat is released. A powdered coating material is injected into the plasma “flame” and propelled onto the substrate.
Nozzle designs and flexibility of powder injection technology, along with the ability to generate very high process temperatures, enables plasma spraying to utilize a wide range of coatings. The range goes from low melting point polymers such as nylon, to very high temperature melting materials such as tungsten, tantalum, and ceramic oxides.
Plasma sprayed ceramic coatings have many desirable properties. They are dense, resistant to wear, corrosion, and heat, and inert to most acids, alkalis, and solvents. Ceramic coatings are often used for wear and corrosion resistance and to provide low friction surfaces.
HVOF (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel)
Our spray department boasts a state of the art High Velocity Oxy Fuel System. HVOF is the newest technology in thermal spray producing the densest and most wear resistant coatings currently available.
The HVOF (High Velocity Oxy-Fuel) process combusts oxygen with various fuel gases including hydrogen, propane, propylene, hydrogen, and kerosene. Although the HVOF system uses the basic principle of combustion, the spray gun is designed to enable the flame to expand when the spray nozzle is activated. The HVOF torch design produces higher flame temperatures and higher velocities. The result is more thoroughly melted powder and more kinetic energy available to “flatten” the molten particles of coating material. The final HVOF coating is well-bonded, strong, and dense.
Why Flamespray Northwest
Flamespray Northwest has a tradition of providing uncompromising quality and timely service for our clients. We have implemented processes to ensure every job meets the exacting tolerance our clients demand. Our expert technicians have years of experience in the metallizing industry, and can help you determine a metal spraying solution that fits your needs.