HVAF tungsten carbide to replace hard chrome - Help??!!!

[Adamreis]

Hi all. I work for our small family engineering firm, specialising in the repair of hydraulic piston rods. As our roots are in chrome plating, I'm having problems convincing others that we must invest in an alternative, as I am sure chrome plating will become problematic in the future.

I have been looking into HVAF tungsten carbide coatings, and feel this is the way the industry is going as a replacement.

As I have no experience in this area, could anyone help explain what I would need for a basic setup, and how to keep costs low (buying used or making own parts) as I'm going to struggle getting financial input.

Thanks for any help you can give!

Adam

[djewell]

Hi Adam,

As someone who works with HVAF every day, I think you will very much like working with HVAF. It is fast, reliable, and flexible. Here is a list of the basic components you will need:

Air compressor (size depends on which gun you purchase)
Sound attenuating spray booth
Dust collection system (size depends on the size of your spray booth)
Spray lathe/stand/turn table
Fuel delivery system
Piping
Robot or gun manipulator
Powder feeder(s) - I suggest 2...one for grit blasting and one for coating
Spray system

You should be able to put everything together new for around 500,000 USD. If you go with used equipment, you could probably do it for less than 300,000 USD. Feel free to contact me off-line to discuss further.

[Vig]

Hi,Adam

Keeping the cost low:
there are two parts CAPEX and OPEX

Basically, djewell provided good estimation of CAPEX, if you would like to go into more details - please consult investment cost estimation here.

for OPEX, it is imporant to choose a proper system (to fit your task) and set-up a procedure. You can read more on hard chrome replacement here

With Kermetico HVAF, you could repair not just rods, but cylinders as well (I believe you will need it as well).

Feel free to send me a personal message and I will provide you more info or we could organise a Skype or Whatsapp chat.

Regards,
Vig