Cold Spraying of Zn and Zn-Alloy Coatings for Print

Zn, Zn-Al and Zn-Mg coatings have been produced by cold spraying. By careful tuning alloy compositions and spray conditions, dense coatings are produced with a hardness of 200 HV0.01 that are up to four times harder than pure bulk Zn, thus meeting the requirements for print applications. These new developments open opportunities for producing harder and more wear resistant coatings, which may allow for the production of larger number of copies without compromising quality.