In the agricultural industry, there’s a necessity for cutting, slashing and ploughing, which means equipment and components are subject to abrasive and corrosive conditions. Maintenance is essential, and sadly, the costs can add up.
Metal and thermal spray coatings, along with hard-facing, can provide an economical solution for the wear and corrosion of agricultural machinery and components. Metal spraying provides increased resistance to corrosion and wear, resulting in extended life and increased performance.
It can also help to ensure crop irrigation pumps can withstand the hardness and ph values of water and fertilisers by applying ceramics to pump seal areas. This repairs and protects OEM components.
Metal Spray Engages Growth in Agricultural Applications
The necessity for cutting/slashing and ploughing means that the components used are subject to very abrasive and corrosive conditions. Metal/thermal spray coatings and hard facing can provide the solution for wear and corrosion resistance as well as extended life and increased performance. The necessity for the irrigation of planted crops requires pumps that will withstand the hardness and PH values of the water and fertilizers.
The metal spray process can apply ceramics to pump seal areas to repair and protect OEM components, such as:
- Agricultural: Knives and blades, Threshing components, Ground engaging machinery; Forestry: barking blades & tools, wear parts for farming tools, feeding screws for fertilizers, feeding screws for wood barks
- Sugar cane: sugar cane crusher, sugar cane cutters
The metal spray and hard-facing processes use various forms of equipment that employs wire, powder and cord to deliver the required solutions.
Every problem of abrasion does not involve the same solution and requires a careful study of each application according to:
- Type and size of the abrasive material.
- Abrasion rate, temperature, impact occurrence.
- Geometry, size and the weld ability of the part.
Saint Gobain TufCote®
TufCote® “rope like” hard-facing electrodes to improve ABRASION & EROSION resistance. TufCote® is brazed using an oxygen-acetylene torch It can be weld on mild steel, low carbon steel, low alloyed steel, stainless steel, lamellar grey cast iron, spheroid cast iron. It can also be brazed on certain alloys of manganese steel with precautions. TufCote® is weld-able on itself, making local repair or recycling of parts possible.
MSSA Puddle Torch / Powder Torch
The powder welding process utilises an Oxy-Acetylene flame is ideal for the deposition of smooth, thin, well bonded layers on a wide range of substrates, including cast iron. The hard-facing takes place at lower temperatures, which minimises oxidation and distortion of the workpiece and enables easy surfacing of edges.
Oxy-Acetylene flame Spraying followed by Fusing as a two stage process where after spraying the coating is fused with an oxy-acetylene burner or for mass production by using induction heating or in a vacuum furnace allows the coating to be metallurgically bonded, extremely hard, corrosion resistant and resistant to impact and chipping. The powders used for Spray and Fuse Hard-facing are typically compositions of Ni, Cr, Co, Bo, Fe, W and WC in varying blends.
The application of Chrome Oxide ceramic powder or cord allows various pump parts to be either repaired or have their life expectancy increased with a very hard wearing coating.
Pumps can also be coated with Monel®, Inconel®, Stainless Steels by Flame Spray and Arc Spray methods.
Pictured from left to right are Mechanical Seals, Pump Impellor, and Pump Shafts.
With Australia looking to be the market garden of the world the Metal Spray and hard-facing processes will be playing a large part in its success.
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For more information on Metal Spray equipment or consumables, call us on (07) 3823 1004 or email using our contact form.