Spraytime

ITSA’s Annual Meeting Scheduled for August 9–10

The annual meeting of the International Thermal Spray Association (ITSA) will be held August 9–10 in Buffalo, N.Y.

The event will include ITSA’s first formal business meeting since November 2022 along with a visit to the Buffalo Manufacturing Works Cold Spray Center of Excellence and its new cold spray research center, operated by EWI. In addition to presentations by EWI’s team, the agenda will also include a meeting of the AWS C2 Committee on Thermal Spraying and a group dinner.

Visit thermalspray.org to register and for more information about the event.

Apply for a $2000 ITSA Scholarship

Applications for the International Thermal Spray Association’s (ITSA’s) Scholarship Program will be accepted until July 16. Up to three one-year scholarships worth $2000 each may be awarded. Since 1991, the ITSA Scholarship Program has contributed to the growth of the thermal spray community, especially the development of new technologists and engineers. To be considered, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be actively pursuing a postgraduate degree in thermal spray processes (plasma, flame, arc, high velocity oxygen fuel) or materials at an accredited U.S. university;
• Have at least one year of studies remaining after this year;
• Be recommended by a supervisor/professor of the university they are attending (The student’s financial need must be verified by a professor. The student must also be recommended by at least one industrial source); and
• Present an essay about their interest in pursuing a career in thermal spray (maximum of three typed pages).

The application can be accessed at aws.org/foundation/page/itsa-graduate-scholarship-application. Winners will be announced in August.

Distribution Deal Brings Farsoon 3D Printers to Canada

Farsoon America, the Austin, Tex.-based subsidiary of China-based plastic laser sintering and metal laser melting systems supplier Farsoon Technologies, has entered into a distribution deal with Canada-based Indurate Alloys Ltd., a supplier of thermal spray, laser, and plasma transferred arc powders. The deal will allow Indurate to sell Farsoon’s additive manufacturing (AM) hardware to Canadian customers.

“Farsoon America is looking forward to building a strong relationship with Indurate Alloys’s professional technical sales team,” said Jim Braddick, sales director of Farsoon America. “We are dedicated to advancing AM in the Canadian region.”

Indurate Alloys was founded in 2011 to serve Western Canadian thermal spray and hardfacing customers. Its customer base is primarily composed of businesses in the oil and gas, petrochemical, and mining industries.

Höganäs Opens ArcX Facility in Houston

Höganäs, a manufacturer of metal powders, unveiled its new ArcX facility in Houston, Tex. From the 12,000-sq-ft building, which is located close to many large original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in various industries, the company will provide customer support, application development, technical solutions, and training to its surface coating customers. It’s the fifth ArcX facility opened by Höganäs worldwide.

“Our new ArcX facility in the United States is an important strategic move for Höganäs, particularly in North America with many OEMs as driving forces to develop technological breakthroughs,” said Hans Keller, president of surface and joining technologies. “This expansion is part of our company’s continued commitment to serving our customers in the Americas.”

The Höganäs team will offer services for customer application development and process optimization for laser, plasma transferred arc welding, and thermal spray applications, including concept development, prototyping, process optimization, and taking products to the market.

IGS and Iberfluid Forge Distribution Partnership

International Global Services (IGS), Richmond, Va., a provider of surface protection solutions, announced an exclusive long-term distribution partnership with Iberfluid Instruments, a Spain-based industrial instruments and services company. The deal will increase the availability of IGS services in Spain and Portugal.

Under the new partnership, Iberfluid, which has offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, and Seville as well as Lisbon, will distribute the full portfolio of IGS solutions to the Spanish and Portuguese markets. These will include a high velocity thermal spray (HTVS) solution to stop corrosion and erosion; the Hot-tekTM portfolio of online maintenance solutions; and Cetek ceramic coatings and Tube Tech fouling removal solutions, both designed to improve heat transfer efficiency and reduce emissions in fired heaters.

“Spain and Portugal remain important markets for IGS in Europe,” said Colin Bateman, IGS’s director of business development for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. “The partnership will allow IGS to increase its reach through Iberfluid’s five hubs in the region whilst nurturing its strong relationships and technical capabilities across a range of industries and applications.”

SBTi Approves Bodycote’s Emissions Target

Bodycote, a provider of heat treatment and special thermal processing services located in Macclesfield, United Kingdom, had its near-term science-based emissions target approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

SBTi is an independent global body that enables businesses to set and validate emissions reduction targets in line with the latest climate science and strict criteria. Targets are considered science-based if they are in line with what the latest climate science deems necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement: limiting global warming to well-below 2°C (35.6°F) above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C (34.7°F). 

“Managing energy and reducing our environmental impact have long been part of our corporate culture,” Bodycote Chief Executive Stephen Harris said. “Bodycote is focused on ethical and sustainable growth and proud of our commitment to setting an ambitious target. Bodycote encourages other businesses to commit to science-based targets.”

With more than 165 facilities in 22 countries, Bodycote has committed to reducing its absolute scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 28% by 2030 from a 2019 base. Scope 1 includes all emissions directly linked to and emitted by Bodycote facilities. Scope 2 includes all emissions linked to purchased inputs associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, or cooling.

SBTi is a collaboration between the Carbon Disclosure Project, United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute, and World Wide Fund for Nature.

Oerlikon AM Helps Students Launch Rocket at Spaceport America Cup

Oerlikon AM, an international provider of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies to high-tech industries, played an integral part in the Academic Space Initiative Switzerland’s (ARIS’s) launch of a supersonic sounding rocket at the 2022 Spaceport America Cup in New Mexico.

ARIS brings together students from Swiss universities who are interested in space exploration. Oerlikon AM supported ARIS’s HELVETIA team with additive manufacturing expertise and production capabilities to develop and 3D-print various components for the rocket, including the injector and nozzle. The rocket, which is 5.3 m (17 ft) long, carries avionics and 4 kg (8.8 lb) of payloads to an altitude of 30,000 ft.

Through AM, parts of the rocket were produced for sustainability and cost efficiency. Using selective laser melting, the injector’s weight was reduced by 1.2 kg (2.6 lb), and the complexity of its assembly was greatly reduced. The additively manufactured nozzle was made with MetcoAdd 718C (Alloy 718) to withstand the high temperatures and stresses of a launcher firing.

Using 3D printing technology, the HELVETIA team produced a nozzle that met the industry standard and reduced its weight by about 21 lb compared to a conventionally manufactured nozzle.