What is Plasma Spraying?

Plasma spraying is a thermal coating process in which particles that have been softened by heat form a coating onto a substrate. This process aims to prevent corrosion or damage and allow materials that have been sprayed to last longer and have improved resistance. This popular form of thermal spraying can be used to coat any material and its flexibility can be used in many different industries such as medical, aerospace, automotive and agriculture.

How does Plasma Spraying work?

The coating material is in powder form and injected into a high temperature plasma jet which heats the powder before accelerating it out towards the substrate. The plasma gas acts as the spraying heat source and gets heated to such a high temperature that it ionizes and becomes electrically charged, meaning materials with high melting points can be sprayed.

The plasma gun itself comprises of a copper anode and tungsten cathode which the gas flows through and around, making plasma that is forced out through a constructing nozzle once mixed with the powder coating material. When combined, the powder becomes molten and fires out of the gun onto the substrate before cooling to form a coating.

What is Plasma Spraying used for?

Because plasma spraying is so versatile, it is one of the most popular thermal spray coating techniques available for producing high quality coatings that provide resistance, insulation, control, prevention and restoration. Plasma spray solutions may be necessary to protect industrial equipment and it is used across many different applications in industry sectors such engineering, electronics, chemical and nuclear, household appliances and more.

What are the advantages of Plasma Spraying?

Wide range of coating materials

There are a range of different materials that can be used as a quality coating using plasma spraying. Most materials are available in the suitable powder form such as metals, ceramics and alloys, and can be individually selected depending on the substrate. 

Wide range of substrate materials

Plasma spraying can coat many different substrate materials such as plastics, glass, metals and ceramics. 

Wide range of powder particle sizes

Compared to other types of thermal spraying, plasma spraying can use a wide range of powder particle sizes between 5-100µm. 

Maximise the lifespan of the substrate

Plasma spraying provides effective coatings that act as a protective barrier to a substrate, ensuring the material has a high resistance and is insulated and controlled.

What are the disadvantages of Plasma Spraying?

Equipment can be expensive

If you need to use plasma spraying, buying the specialist equipment can be expensive to buy and use/maintain.

Regular replacements

The internal components of the plasma gun can experience deterioration due to the high temperatures and they will need replacing fairly regularly to maintain the consistency of the coating. 

If you would like to find out more about plasma spraying or how we can provide quality coatings for you and your business operations visit https://www.riskfreeserv.com/ and please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Here at IRS, we are fully committed to providing durability and high performance through our range of applications.

If you would like to find out more about plasma spraying or how we can provide quality coatings for you and your business operations, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Here at IRS, we are fully committed to providing durability and high performance through our range of applications.