M. Watson, HFW Industries Incorporated, Buffalo, NY; R. Gansert, AMTS Incorporated, Simi Valley, CA
Twin wire arc sprayed coatings are used extensively in the semiconductor/electronics industries. In certain applications, such as precious metal reclamation, the roughness of arc sprayed aluminum that is obtainable with an arc spray system is desirable. There are many factors that affect the surface roughness in twin wire arc sprayed aluminum. This study will focus on whether the parameters that enable the applicator to obtain the rough texture desired, have a negative impact on the bond strength of the coating.
Traditional theory of arc spray coatings has been that to obtain a rough coating, the velocity of the particles should be lowered by decreasing the atomizing air pressure of the arc spray system. Decreasing the air pressure, however, may have a negative impact on the bond strength of the aluminum coating based on traditional thermal spray theory. It is our belief that this inverse relationship does exist, and that applicators and end users should be aware of the parameters that affect the major properties of twin wire arc sprayed coatings.
Summary: Twin wire arc sprayed coatings have been utilized in the semiconductor/electronics industry for a variety of reasons over the last several years. Coatings are used for corrosion resistance, thermal barrier protection, and precious metal reclamation. This study will focus on the application of twin wire arc sprayed aluminum and the parameters that affect such properties such as bond strength and surface roughness.
