This article reports on work at the Center for Thermal Spray Research over the past 25 years to develop and commercialize a new technology for digital printing of mesoscale circuits directly from a CAD file onto plates, cylinders, and complex 3D components and structures. With the evolution of cold spray technology and new powder materials, as well as advancements in control and robotics, innovative thermal spray applications are on the horizon.

The next generation of metal additive manufacturing leverages the advantages of cold spray to offer promising options for applications in aerospace, automotive, and biomedical engineering.

Cold spray technology provides a multidisciplinary approach to additive manufacturing at the intersection of science and art. This article describes the novel use of cold dynamic spray technology to create a large and complex 3D artwork that incorporates six different metals.

Moisture-electric energy transformation (MEET) technology is being developed to further expand the utilization of environmental energy sources like thermal power, wind power, hydropower, and solar energy. The goal of the MEET technology is to extract power from environmental moisture with as few conversion processes as possible to satisfy the ever-growing demand for new and more portable energy sources The use of cold spray to produce MEET devices results in a greener process. While the suitability of polyether ether ketone as a MEET material was proven and the deposition of PEEK using cold gas dynamic spray (CGDS) was achieved, additional work is needed to fully characterize the manufacturing of PEEK-based MEET devices via CGDS.

This article series explores the indispensable role of characterization in the development of cold spray coatings and illustrates some of the common processes used during coating development.

This article series explores the indispensable role of characterization in the development of cold spray coatings and illustrates some of the common processes used during coating development.

Hybrid heat sinks produced via cold spray technology can be a cost effective and lightweight alternative for cooling electronics.

Enhanced antiviral performance is associated with antipathogenic copper material consolidations obtained using cold spray processing.

A joint Canadian project aims to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and future epidemics with cold sprayed, copper-based coatings. The objectives are: (1) to tailor the microstructure and surface state of Cu/Cu alloy cold spray coatings to maximize the antiviral activity and provide an economically viable solution that can be rapidly upscaled and industrialized; (2) to identify the most relevant high-touch surface components based on a systematic data-driven analysis and simulation of public infrastructure usage; and (3) to demonstrate viable production capability with real component demonstrators to be installed in public transport facilities for in situ testing.

Cold spraying is a potentially attractive method for producing accident tolerant fuel cladding, near-net shape nuclear reactor components, and nuclear fuel storage canisters.

Increasing and controlling particle impact temperature is proving to be beneficial for both process performance and coating properties.

A joint Canadian venture launches a new facility with an innovative hybrid approach to cold spray additive manufacturing. The technology platform combines multiple manufacturing steps in a single cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) unit, incorporating surface preparation, cold spray forming and buildup, local laser-based thermal treatment, and in-situ sequential robotic machining and semi-finishing.

This article series explores the indispensable role of characterization in the development of cold spray coatings and illustrates some of the common processes used during coating development.

Cold spray is uniquely suitable for depositing a wide range of materials over temperature-sensitive substrates. This article is a case study in using cold spray coatings to restore a 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B racing car.

Coating development using cold gas spray technology demonstrates the feasibility of bonding polymers to metal substrates and metals to polymer composite substrates with good adhesion. The examples addressed are polyetheretherketone (PEEK) coatings on steel and aluminum substrates and metallic coatings on carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites.

This article series explores the indispensable role of characterization in the development of cold spray coatings and illustrates some of the common processes used during coating development.

New thermal and cold spray technologies are being developed to extend the lifespan of thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems at elevated temperatures. This article describes the relevant attributes of coating technologies such as high velocity air fuel, high velocity air plasma spray, and high pressure cold spray for use in TBC systems.

Kinetic metallization offers certain advantages over hard chrome and high-velocity oxyfuel thermal spray coatings, especially when elevated process temperatures would degrade the coating or part.

Led by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM) industrial R&D group brings together the technology supply chain, end users, and OEMs in an effort to develop and adapt cold spray for additive manufacturing and demonstrate feasibility for targeted applications.

This article series explores the indispensable role of characterization in the development of cold spray coatings. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) is a characterization technique that enables determination of crystal orientations, texture, boundary misorientations and deformation behavior, and bonding mechanism in cold spray coatings.