( Click image to enlarge )One of our ongoing projects here at Metalizing Specialists, LLC is processing cast iron draw blocks and plates for a client in the wire drawing industry. These cast iron plates serve as the dies through which the wire is drawn to make it thinner. Since they are subject to great mechanical stresses, they wear over time, and the slightest change in their physical dimensions has a great impact on their functionality.
These cast iron draw blocks come to us in a variety of sizes from 8″ up to 60″. Although they may have different surface finishing requirements, the metallizing process is essentially the same. Inside our shop, we have the technical capabilities to repeatedly produce high performance coatings using tightly monitored process controls and the latest spray techniques. The first step of the process always involves proper surface preparation, in this case blasting, to ensure optimal mechanical bonding of the metal layer to the substrate surface.
For this job, we utilize a high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) thermal spray process to apply tungsten carbide and 420 stainless steel finishes. The carbide coatings offer excellent protection against the sliding wear of the draw process as well as long term resistance to impact, abrasion, and other complex wear mechanisms, and we adjust the material matrix to achieve the customer defined wear properties. Our stainless steel coating also provides excellent wear resistance and is especially effective on areas that need dimensional build-up.
We employ several different surface finish test and inspection processes to ensure we meet the specific surface finish quality, anywhere from 79 Ra to 2500+ Ra. Turnaround time is always one week or less.
To learn more about this project or our metallizing capabilities, contact us today.
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