Harfords Services: AC-HVAF

As part of Harfords services, we offer Uniqecoat AC-HVAF coatings. The AC-HVAF System was created to apply all the standard HVOF materials at higher quality and faster turnaround for clients. AC-HVAF is a thermal spray technology used for simple and inexpensive application of premium quality coatings, which meet or exceed HVOF standards for hardness, density, bond strength and oxide content, as well as wear, corrosion and fatigue resistance.

The AC-HVAF process uses air and fuel gases to spray metal and carbide powders at supersonic velocities. Particle velocities exceed 2300 ft/s, while particle temperatures remain slightly below the melting point of metal and metallic binders, allowing AC-HVAF to operate in a solid-state spray mode.

Research Driven Coatings

UniqueCoat Technologies' AC-HVAF process represents the highest quality thermal spraying technology on the market today. The highest coating quality is the result of unique coating morphology that is radically different from that of HVOF. HVOF coatings are formed from molten particles, which do not bond together properly due to solidification shrinkage and oxide scale. This results in defects in the coating in the form of voids and other imperfections, which reduce coating quality. AC-HVAF coatings do not exhibit such voids and imperfections, with all of the particles tightly bonded together.

Tungsten carbide-cobalt coatings are alternatives to chrome plating on high-strength steel landing gear components. In independent testing conducted by a US Air Force Research lab the WC-17Co AC-HVAF coatings outperformed all HVOF counterparts in fatigue testing at increased loads and especially when thicker layers were applied, meeting the metallurgical criteria established by General Electric Aircraft Engines for HVOF coatings. Engineers rated the AC-HVAF coating as superior to the HVOF coatings and equal to EHC plating.

Due to the forgiving nature of the AC-HVAF process the quality of the applied coating remains largely unchanged at shallow spray angles and a wide range of gas parameters. Only the particles with the proper temperature and velocity characteristics form a coating; the particles with poor adhesion are removed by the grit-blasting effect of the AC-HVAF process. In other words, changing the spray parameters will only affect the deposit efficiency, not coating quality.

AC-HVAF, another of the unique and extensive services offered at Harfords.

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