11:30 AM *BB1.9
CONTROLLING THE PLASMA SPRAY
PROCESS: PRACTICAL ISSUES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS. Daryl
E. Crawmer, Praxair Surface Technologies, Appleton, WI.
This presentation will focus on the level of plasma
spray technology as it generally practiced. Emphasis will be given to
what is right and wrong with specifications, materials and processes.
Potential solutions/directions to present and future needs will be
offered. Today's thermal spray industry, plasma spray specifically,
is living with the legacy of thirty years of ill-defined coatings and
materials specifications. Coupled with that problem is a user base
which, generally speaking, has failed to advance as rapidly as has
technology. Apart from an elite group of service shops, job shops,
and captive (OEM) shops, the industry has evolved little in three
decades. New tools, which are in development, have the potential to
revolutionize the thermal spray industry. However, in their present
form, these control and measurement devices are intrusive and
expensive. Some truly adaptive controls and advanced measurement
devices are commercially available, but much work remains to be done.
In spite of the above issues and limitations, for the present, thermal
spray remains a powerful tool for materials processing and design
engineers. To remain competitive, the thermal spray community at
large must begin in earnest to address these concerns.
SESSION BB2: PROCESSING SCIENCE - B
Chairs: Richard A.
Neiser and Richard E. Teets
Tuesday Afternoon, December 2, 1997
Essex North/Center (W)
