Abstract
The basic idea when using common plasma gases for arc spraying with their varying levels of energy was first of all to achieve higher system efficiency and to produce coatings with fewer oxides. The differentiation between the open arc process and plasma spraying is the advantage using active gases with a much higher energy level, for example using fuel gases to influence the process characteristics and to get high end coatings. As these results from this work in arc spraying show, the increased need for research into this technology at the moment is definitely of importance. The main market of arc spraying can be found in the area of corrosion protection, the technology’s growth stems from those areas which are interested in manufacturing high-quality coatings with substantially more cost-effective wire. In order to broaden the range of thermal spray applications, we have endeavored to investigate the issue of the right gas mix for arc spraying. In doing so, it was concluded that, by using wire as the spray material, this cost-effective process can often be used as an equally viable alternative to other methods. The optimization of costs and tailoring of coating properties to suit specific applications are just some of these influencing variables.
