Thermal Spray Operator Certification: An Update on the Certified Thermal Spray Operator (CTSO) Exam

ASM International’s Thermal Spray Certification Committee (TSCC) has developed and fielded North America’s first ever Certification Exam for Thermal Spray Operators. Development of the CTSO exam has involved representatives from over thirty leading organizations in the thermal spray community. Thermal spray operators can now be certified in Air Plasma Spray, Wire Arc Spray, Cold Spray, HVOF, and Flame Spray processes. This presentation is intended to provide an update on the CTSO exam as well as an opportunity for feedback from the thermal spray community. The CTSO update will include a discussion of the exam process, study materials, grading policies, and lessons learned. Current activities and future efforts of the TSCC will be reviewed. In addition, some CTSO practical exam data will be presented and mechanisms for its use by the thermal spray community will be discussed.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.