Impressive gains have been made in optimizing coatings through material development and coating parameter selection.  However, it is usually up to shop personnel to develop a robot program to achieve the final coating.  Coating programs are developed using trial and error.  While some motion and deposit analysis programs are available, they tend to be costly and require a level of expertise that is generally not available to the typical coating shop.
This paper discusses how Excel can be used as an aid for off-line development of a robot program for coating application.  It starts with a discussion of the Normal Distribution characteristic of thermal spray patterns (or two overlapped Normal Distribution curves in the case of dual powder feed ports).  It then goes through program development using standard Excel mathematical and graphical tools for rapid visual feedback of the coating layers.  Also included is a discussion on the use of the program for sensitivity analysis regarding changes to the spray pattern.