A short history of thermal spraying
You may already know a little about the process of thermal spraying; after all, thermal sprays are used in every facet of modern life. The process uses heat to transform metals into a molten state, before spraying them onto a surface to achieve a certain result. When the molten metal hits the surface, a solid bond is created. The desired effect can range from strength and rust resistance to an aesthetic finish, such as high-chrome shine.
How thermal sprays were invented
From where did thermal sprays originate? The thermal sprays we use today were created over one hundred years ago by an inventor called Max Ulrich Schoop, with the Swiss inventor submitting his metallic coating patent in 1909. It is believed he got his idea by watching his sons play with toy guns that splattered lead fragments when shot. Schoop’s original methods used a combustion process to melt wire and fire it onto a surface, using oxygen as fuel and an electric arc as the heat source.
These are still the main principles of today’s surface treatments, which are available from specialists such as https://www.poeton.co.uk/surface-treatments/thermal-metal-sprays.
How thermal sprays are used today
Thermal sprays are constantly refining; today, they involve techniques such as plasma spraying and HVOF techniques, including solutions that spray non-metal substrates and solutions for spraying onto non-metal surfaces such as plastics and ceramics. Thermal spraying is used across a huge range of industries, from automobile finishing to medical equipment manufacturing, and it continues to evolve as a vital treatment mechanism for hard surfaces as part of broader manufacturing processes.
