What is thermal spraying?
Oh, then it is a type of welding?
What limitations in substrates are there that coatings can be applied?
Do I have to do anything to make the coating stick?
What materials can be thermal sprayed?
Does Progressive Surface sell just plasma process equipment?
Which thermal spraying processes does Progressive integrate?
Does that cover all spray processes in this field of work?
With all these different processes, in what form does the coating material or consumable come?
Is the 100HE™ the same technology as the Sulzer Metco Triplex or Mettech Axial III?
What makes the 100HE™ different from other plasma torches?
What does a ternary gas system mean?
What does high voltage and low amperage mean and what does that do for me?
What does all that mean?
What does the 100HE™ do for my coatings and applications?
What if some of the parts I spray are small?

What is thermal spraying?
Thermal spraying is a type of surface engineering that applies a coating to a substrate or part to enhance physical properties.

Oh, then it is a type of welding?
No, it's more akin to painting, only with the surface coatings produced by spraying hot materials such as carbides, ceramics, ceramets, alloy and pure metals, etc. There is no surface dilution between substrate and coating.

What limitations in substrates are there that coatings can be applied?
Using either the wire or powder process, there are very few materials that cannot be coated.

Do I have to do anything to make the coating stick?
Normally substrates/parts are prepped by abrasive grit blasting before the coatings are applied. In rare cases an acid etch or water jet stripping is used.

What materials can be thermal sprayed?
Any material available in a wire or powder form, as long as it doesn't sublimate or go directly from a solid to a gas (has a liquid phase).

Does Progressive Surface sell just plasma process equipment?
Progressive integrates all thermal spraying processes, and all thermal spraying equipment commercially available. In most cases we also build the control systems and just add the specified torch.

Which thermal spraying processes does Progressive integrate?
Liquid fuel and gaseous fuel combinations with oxygen HVOF systems, all commercially available plasma systems, twin wire arc spray systems, combustion wire and powder systems. The patented 100HE™ plasma torch is manufactured by Progressive Surface.

Does that cover all spray processes in this field of work?
No, there are two other processes that are on the fringe of thermal spray. One is spray and fuse which is a combination of combustion powder spray and welding. The second is cold spray.

With all these different processes, in what form does the coating material or consumable come?
Most thermal sprayed consumables come in the form of powders and wires, although there is still some activity in the spraying of ceramic rods.

Is the 100HE™ the same technology as the Sulzer Metco Triplex or Mettech Axial III?
No, the 100HE is of a much simpler design, utilizing a single anode and single cathode technology with the plasma generating hardware remaining the same for all coatings.

What makes the 100HE™ different from other plasma torches?
The 100HE utilizes a ternary gas system and extended arc to create a high voltage low amperage plasma.

What does a ternary gas system mean?
Three gases are used to create the plasma, usually argon primary, nitrogen secondary, and hydrogen as the ternary gas although on occasion Helium may be substituted for Hydrogen.

What does high voltage and low amperage mean and what does that do for me?
High voltage, low amperage means much longer gun hardware life than conventional plasma torches that operate at high amperage and low volts. The 100HE™ has an operating range up to a maximum of 275 volts, and up to 600 amperes.

What does all that mean?
The ternary gas plasma along with the extended arc creates a thermally dynamic high enthalpy plume that allows heat transfer to the media being sprayed instead of into the cooling water, creating a very efficient plasma.

What does the 100HE™ do for my coatings and applications?
It allows for very high spray rates with high deposition efficiencies.

What if some of the parts I spray are small?
The 100HE™ has a large operating window and can spray at both high spray rates and rates typical of conventional plasma torches.