Our clients are often seeking ways of directly applying conductive or solderable metal coatings to components (such as copper to aluminium substrates) without the use of bonding techniques. They also need a quick, easy way of applying large cross-sections for conductors made out of conductive materials in any shape. Electroplated coatings need to be replaced by thicker coatings with better coating quality. Clients prefer fast processes eliminating the long time it takes for coatings to form in an electroplating bath.
Two common applications are the repair of expensive metal rejects and the replacement of more expensive, heavy or mechanically sub-optimum base materials only used because their properties were required on a small component surface.
Using the cold gas method, we apply a metallic coating which can easily be mechanically finished by grinding, milling and turning. A wide variety of metallic materials can be applied with a thickness from 50µm to several millimetres. Exact geometrical shapes are possible using masking, and in some cases by means of free coating without masking. Ceramic and metallic surfaces can be combined – for example when producing thermal generators.
Unlike electroplating, this method can be performed rapidly without the need for the lengthy chemical formation of the coating. Coatings can then be mechanically finished. Depending on use, coating systems can be produced from the common coating materials copper, nickel, aluminium and silver.
These new processes provide solutions to common problems and create room for new ideas. We can apply metallic coatings without protracted electroplating. Spraying on materials accelerates order turnaround and shortens project duration. Metallic, homogeneous, pure and non-porous coatings can all be applied in the same quality as the source material – and are also outstandingly solderable.
Since coatings with the desired material properties can be applied locally precisely where they’re needed, and by replacing expensive base materials, expensive parts can be produced more cheaply. In addition, we can restore the intended dimensions to rejects and broken parts made out of valuable metallic materials.
We are one of the few suppliers of cold spraying. Thanks to collaboration with research institutes and by participating in domestic and European research projects, our expertise is second to none, keeping us ahead of the competition. Moreover, our wide range of processes enables us to produce sandwich systems with ceramic and metallic surfaces.
