Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd: News
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NADCAP Accreditation Achieved
Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd. Increase Capacity
Ahead of the Field with IIP
Advanced Surface Engineering
New Surface Technology For Ball & Gate Valves
HVOF Applied Materials Replacing Hard Chromium
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NADCAP Accreditation Achieved
Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd (PTC) is pleased to announce its accreditation within the Nadcap programme.
What is Nadcap?
Nadcap is the leading worldwide cooperative programme of major companies designed to manage a cost-effective consensus approach to special processes & products and provide continuous improvement within the aerospace & automotive industries.
Bulk Gas Installation— New plant investment at PTC for improved process efficiency.
What does this mean to PTC?
Essentially, this means that PTC is approved to offer the specialist coating process (Thermal Spraying) to companies requiring this accreditation. Currently, these include:-
- Rolls Royce
- Honeywell
- Pratt & Whitney
- Cessna
- Sikorsky
- Eaton Aerospace
What does this mean to you?
You will continue to get the same level of excellent service & support from PTC, but with the added assurance that the company has been recognised as having the quality systems in place that are a mandatory requirement for the supply of coated products to some of the World’s leading Aerospace companies.
MP-100 Integrated Air Plasma & HVOF robotic production booth
The future for PTC!
The Nadcap accreditation is a further indication of Plasma & Thermal Coatings determination to grow it’s business whilst ensuring that the customer’s needs are supported during all aspects of the coating process. This, alongside PTC’s recent investment in a “state of the art” integrated Thermal Spray cell ensures that, at PTC, the future is being planned.
The MP-100 integrated system has been designed to fulfil the increasing demands of customers in the market segments currently supported by PTC (these include:- Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Aerospace & Automotive) as well as being flexible enough to support new application areas. This, together with recent investments in bulk gas supplies underpins the existing business & allows for further directed expansion.
Issued by Steve Bomford, Technology & Business Development Director of Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd
Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd. Increase Capacity
Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd (PTC) is pleased to announce it’s most recent investment in a “state of the art” combined Air Plasma Spray (APS) & High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) integrated Thermal Spray system. The cell has been fully integrated with a 125 Kg load capacity long reach 6 axis Fanuc robot & has been designed to be flexible & multifunctional in order to satisfy the most demanding customer needs for existing & new applications.
JP5000 HVOF gun mounted on long reach Fanuc 6 axis robot
The heart of the cell is a Flame Spray Technologies b.v (FST) MP-100 multi process spray controller. This system allows for full closed loop control of all parameters & for quick change between one Thermal Spray process & another.
The integrated system has been designed to fulfil the increasing demands of customers in the market segments currently supported by PTC (these include:- Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Aerospace & Automotive) as well as being flexible enough to support new application areas. This, together with recent investments in bulk gas supplies underpins the existing business and allows for further directed expansion.
Brian Brennan (Director of Engineering) hands over the completed installation to Darren Winnel (Production Supervisor)
Richard Prince (Managing Director) comments:-
“PTC is set to embark on a significant expansion of its coatings service activities with its acquisition of the latest, technically advanced FST MP100 Multi-Process Coatings Centre. Robots, automatic handling and laboratory equipment will complement this major investment, which is geared to maximising productivity, quality and customer service.”
Issued by Steve Bomford, Technology & Business Development Director of Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd
Ahead of the Field with IIP
In January 2003, Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd, one of the leaders in surface technology, became the first UK thermal spray company to achieve the prestigious Investors in People standard (IIP).
As a company committed to the training and development of its people this award is seen as a major component in its business objectives, as well as complementing and enhancing the value of its accreditation under the Quality and Environmental Management Standards.
"We wanted to be one of the first UK thermal spray companies to achieve this award," comments Dawn Cairns, Quality Manager, "as we believe that Investors in People will provide an additional reason for customers to choose our products and services."
Issued by Britt Henderson, Marketing Administrator of Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd
Advanced Surface Engineering
Thermal spray coating is a technique for enhancing the surface characteristics of a material, or extending its service life. Finely powdered particles of metal, ceramic or carbide compounds are heated and accelerated by a high-temperature stream of gas to form a high-energy spray of semi-molten droplets which hit the target material, and then adhere to it to form a tough permanent coating.
Thermal spraying uses a combination of thermal and kinetic energy to ensure the particles form a coating on the target. Because the target substrate does not reach a very high temperature, there is no distortion of the items being sprayed, so coatings can be applied to high-precision finished parts.
Furthermore, there is no surface oxidation or changes in the microstructure of the parts being sprayed, so substrate materials, which have a relatively low melting point, can be coated safely.
Thermal spray coatings have been used within the aerospace industry in the manufacture of high value, high performance and critical gas turbine components for at least forty years. Several hundred coatings have been developed and designed in to protect these highly engineered components, such as turbine blades, nozzle guide vanes, combustion cans and compressor casings from wear, corrosion and high temperature oxidation, where safety, quality and performance are pre-requisites which override cost considerations.
For this reason thermal spray coatings have historically been labelled high tech / high cost.
However, new advances in the technology, modern spray equipment and robotic application techniques means that now these high performance aerospace quality coatings are applied cost effectively at high volume production rates to many automotive components such as piston rings, turbocharger housings and brake discs. more .
Industry's drive towards improved performance and efficiencies, to reduce weight and to control emissions, cost effectively, is having a dramatic effect on the worldwide acceptance of thermal spray coatings.
Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd has high expertise and a long track record in thermal spray coating technology with many OEM enduser approvals, including ISO 9002 and ISO 14001 accreditation. Against this background Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd is able to operate in several ways to offer this technology. The company can provide full coatings service and finishing technologies for customer parts. It can provide
R & D, technology, equipment, materials and continued support for customers to carry out the application in-house, or it is able to license its technology with collaborative companies, as has already happened in Italy and South America.
Issued by Britt Henderson, Marketing Administrator of Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd
New Surface Technology For Ball & Gate Valves
(Used in Oil/Petrochemical/Power and Marine Industry)
An innovation from Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd (PTC) which introduces a new surface finish for ball and gate valves used in the petrochemical industry, will set new standards of wear resistance and reliability.
Surface engineering developed at PTC has produced Metal to Metal (MTM) seal technology, a hard coating solution of ball and gate valves as typically used in the oil and petrochemical industries and for power generation and marine applications. The MTM technology applies a HVOF thermal spray coating to the metal substrate of the valve components which are then diamond ground and polished to a super-finish for a very intimate surface and tight fit between components. This gives a very smooth wear-resistant and abrasion-resistant surface, able to withstand the highly abrasive and corrosive fluids which flow through the valves at extreme pressures, and at temperatures greater than 600 oC . The MTM technology by PTC is applied to valve components approved successfully to the industrial standard, Class 1000.
Under these conditions, the traditional soft seal valves have been unable to guarantee a perfect seal and long working life.
The new MTM technology gives valves a perfect fit under differential pressure and in both flow directions even when handling solids; there is no jamming; low friction levels ensure smooth control; and their low torque allows smaller actuators to be used. The new coatings thus considerably prolong life and improve performance under aggressive environments and extreme working conditions.
The performance and reliability improvements will benefit the oil, petrochemical, power and marine industries in a number of ways. The risk of lost revenue if components fail is minimized and the fire-safe features of the technology are a crucial advantage to health and safety.
PTC has high expertise and a long track record in surface coating technology with many approvals to OEM and users standards. Against this background, PTC is able to operate in several ways to offer this new technology. The company can provide the complete service of applying coating and finishing technologies for customers; it can provide the technology for customers to carry out the application in-house, and also supply technical advice and materials; or it is able to license the technology in a distributor joint venture agreement, as has already happened in South America.
PTC believes that outside Europe, the greatest take-up of the technology will be the Far East, South America, the Middle East, and for the North Sea Oil industry.
Issued by Britt Henderson, Marketing Administrator of Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd
HVOF Applied Materials Replacing Hard Chromium
For many years hard chromium has been widely used throughout industry for wear and corrosion resistance with few alternatives available. Chromium offers some wear protection and provides a suitable surface for fluid seals.
The use of hard chromium is now increasingly being questioned due to the environmental impact that the processing chemicals have. These factors are having such an effect that some organizations are banning the use of chrome entirely. HVOF coatings exceed the wear resistance of Cr plated coatings, whilst not having the same detrimental impact on the environment. Thermally sprayed materials such as Tungsten Carbide offer many advantages over chrome, the coatings are much harder, increasing longevity as well as increasing resistance to corrosion. HVOF coatings can be applied quickly and the process lends itself well to high volume production.
Typical applications include;
- Hydraulic Rams including marine
- Aircraft landing gear
- Rolls used in industries from paper to steel
- Petrochemical applications
- Pump shafts
Issued by Britt Henderson, Marketing Administrator of Plasma & Thermal Coatings Ltd