In the cold spray additive manufacturing (CSAM) process, layer-by-layer stacking is a good method to achieve coating AM. Different from AM processes such as selective laser cladding, which can quickly realize trajectory planning based on commercial software, the spraying trajectory of the CSAM process cannot be created easily due to the “one-stroke” character. The spray path cannot be intersected and the coating deposition cannot be interrupted during the spraying process. What’s more, the spray gun or the workpiece held by the robot usually needs to be deflected by a certain angle to compensate the coating edges. An accurate and efficient spraying trajectory for a given workpiece is the most basic and important part in CSAM process. This article proposes a novel parametric layered slicing algorithm for STL files and an optimized rapidly exploring random tree (RRT) algorithm, so as to generate spraying trajectory accurately and quickly, especially for a part with multiple features. The simulation results revealed that the algorithms can efficiently generate the corresponding spraying trajectory for CSAM.

Applications in thermal and kinetic spraying increasingly aim for coating of parts with complex geometries. So far, respective robot programming for the required path during deposition is usually adjusted individually in time-consuming procedures. Thus, it is essential to develop methods that allow a fast adaptation to part geometries and production conditions as well as possible quality control. To tackle these problems, this work addresses novel strategies for robot programming and post-spray analyses. The design of the method and workflow follows routes of smart manufacturing and should enable fast and accurate implementation into spray procedures. Here, the developed application can handle complex parts of arbitrary geometry in the form of CAD files. Supported features include (i) cutting the objects according to the object boundary, (ii) creating self-intersecting curves, (iii) generating a set of index-sequence-based spatial discrete points and (iv) reordering the discrete points to generate adaptive paths. Robot offline programming allows for process simulation, analysis and optimization of the robot kinematics. By optical scanning profilometry, the layer-by-layer deposit build-up could be monitored for quality control, as well as for the determination of the final overall coating thickness. The entire procedure was tested by cold spraying onto a complex workpiece, validating the capability of the proposed strategy. Based on the universal layout of the applied methods, the strategies can also be applied for thermal spraying in general, considering individual boundary conditions. With respect to cold spraying, the implementation framework of this study provides a good basis for part repair and additive manufacturing.

Cold Spray is a solid-state Additive Manufacturing process of 3D near-net-shape parts which requires the implementation of a good spraying strategy and the choice of the right operating parameters. This paper is the result of empirical studies on the determination of the optimal processing conditions (spraying and kinematics) for the Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM) of pure aluminum powder using a stable layers building strategy. Vertical 3D deposits (thick walls) with a height and thickness of 13-100 mm and 5-11 mm, respectively, were obtained through a series of tests that consider an effect of some kinematic parameters. The visual analysis of the deposits shows that the nozzle traverse speed as well as middle/edge pass number ratio constitute the two most influential parameters on the final shape of the deposits (flatness and straightness). All these results prove the potential of the Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing (CSAM) process as fast 3D additive method using micron sized powders, and particularly for Al powder.

An innovative hybrid process which combines the two very effective solid-state techniques of cold spraying (CS) and friction stir processing (FSP), was proposed to fabricate a high-strength ultrafine-grained Cu-Zn coating. Results show that the CS coating had an elongated microstructure with 78.42% of low-angle grain boundaries. Following FSP, there appear ultrafine grains with 90.47% of high-angle grain boundaries and a composition of α, β' and γ phases while the CS coatings was mainly α. Significant mechanical properties enhancement is achieved, i.e. with the ultimate tensile strength increasing from 87.2 MPa to 257.5 MPa and fracture elongation increasing from 0.17% to 0.81%. The precipitates have a significant effect on the fracture behavior of FSP coatings.

This study investigated the accelerating behavior of spray particles during cold spraying (CS) by employing a computational fluid dynamics program, FLUENT. Optimization of the dimensions of CS nozzle was conducted to maximize particle velocity. The results show that the expansion ratio, divergent length, particle density and size, operating temperature significantly influence particle acceleration. It is found that the spray particles in nozzles with long divergent length can obtain a relatively higher impact velocity, but too long divergent length will reduce the particle velocity. Besides, the particle impact velocity shows a downward trend with increasing the particle size or density. Hence, the optimal divergent length should increase with the increase of particle mass. Moreover, higher gas temperature leads to a higher particle velocity, but it has no influence on the optimal divergent length.

The cold gas dynamic spray process, or cold spraying (CS), represents a radical departure from conventional thermal spray (TS) methods in that the deposition process relies purely on kinetic energy rather than on a combination of thermal and kinetic components. A potential advantage of this process over TS is the ability to generate dense coatings retaining initial material chemistry and phase composition with a very little oxidation. Also, low temperature process (no bulk particle melting) eliminates solidification stresses and enables thicker coatings. However, hard brittle materials like ceramics can not be sprayed without using ductile binders. In this study, magnetic alloys such as FeSiBNbCu also called Finemet and FeSiBNbCu-Al with various percentages of Aluminum coatings were synthesized using cold spray technique in order to produce ferromagnetic materials. Ultra-fine grain coatings were obtained using FINEMET nanostructured powders mixed with Aluminum as ductile binder in order to improve adherence. Magnetic measurements revealed a soft magnetic character for all the powders and the coatings. 25% of Al was considered as ideal to produce a homogenous coating with suitable magnetic properties.

In this paper, tin-bronze/TiN and tin-bronze/quasicrystal (AlCuFeB) composite coatings were fabricated by cold spray process. Microstructures and microhardness of coatings were characterized. Ball-on-disc dry sliding wear tests were conducted in an ambient condition to examine the tribological performance of the composite coatings. The results show that the microhardness and densities of composite coatings increase significantly compared to those of the pure tin-bronze coating. The friction coefficients of coatings decrease with the introduction of reinforces. Furthermore, the tin-bronze/quasicrystal composite coating yields a lower friction coefficient and wear rate compared to the bronze/TiN coating. The tribological mechanisms were discussed.