Metal coatings are used to impart a variety of properties to components that aren’t otherwise present in the base metal itself. These properties can include improved wear, corrosion, or chemical resistance, they can be applied for aesthetic reasons, to help to reduce friction, fretting, and galling, or for a variety of other reasons. Coatings can be a cost-effective way of meeting performance requirements without having to resort to the use of an exotic or expensive base metal.
metal coating
metal coatings
Your Partners in Innovation
When modeling and lab-based validation testing don't provide enough certainty during hardware validation, having a research and development partner like the Armoloy Corporation is paramount.
Our team uses a collaborative process—acting as a single point of contact throughout—to understand your requirements and constraints to develop a professional summary outlining potential metal coating solutions.
Highlights
Solution R&D Highlights
- Full testing equipment and capabilities
- Highly experienced staff with years of experience
- Tooling rack design and fabrication
- Developing plating parameters
- Computer modeling to predict preventable issues
- Testing samples
- Failure prevention analysis
- Network of specialized testing labs
- Coating analysis
- Consulting services for proper surface treatment
- Spec Writing
- Product Application Development
- Material Testing
- Surface treatment performance modeling
- Prototyping
- Cost Engineering
Industries Served
Armoloy provides metal coating solutions in all of the following industries and more:
Aerospace
Nuclear
Packaging
Renewable Energy
Defense
Linear Motion
Injection Molding
Automotive
Food & Drug
Medical
Oil & Gas
Machined Components
Collaboration From the Start
The Armoloy team tailors our research and development process to your exact requirements, constraints, and specifications. Starting with an initial meeting, our consultants discuss those requirements and perform due diligence to understand your needs.
Our work doesn’t end there, either. Rather than simply offering recommendations and samples, our experts offer full turnkey research and development and use that research to begin process development. Here, we’ll use process, design, and production validation to determine the specific type of metal coating best suited for your requirements—even if those coatings and surface treatments aren’t ours.
Why Armoloy?
Partner With Us
Eliminate metal failure from your operations and elevate machine performance. Meet our group of curious, innovative engineers and learn how we can help improve your industry with science-based metal coating solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Metal treating is a broad term that refers to a variety of processes used to modify the surface and internal properties of metals to enhance performance in specific applications. This includes heat treatment, surface coatings, plating, and other chemical or mechanical methods. Metal treating is used to improve a metal’s hardness, strength, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and other characteristics.
Common methods of metal treating include:
- Heat Treatment: Processes like hardening, annealing, tempering, and quenching alter the internal structure of the metal to enhance properties like hardness and ductility.
- Surface Coating and Plating: Techniques such as electroplating, thermal spraying, and vapor deposition apply a protective or functional coating to the metal surface. These treatments are often used to improve corrosion resistance or wear resistance.
- Chemical Treatments: Methods like carburizing or nitriding involve adding elements like carbon or nitrogen to the surface of metals to change their surface composition, improving hardness and fatigue resistance.
These treatments are essential in industries like aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, and food processing, ensuring that metals perform effectively in demanding environments.
The frictional properties of metal depend on several factors, including the type of metal, surface finish, and the presence of lubricants. Generally, metal surfaces can exhibit significant friction when in contact with other materials, especially other metals. Key points include:
- Surface Roughness: Rough metal surfaces have higher friction compared to smooth, polished surfaces.
- Lubrication: Applying lubricants can reduce friction between metal surfaces. Low friction coatings like thin dense chrome can reduce friction significantly, especially when combined with the appropriate lubricant.
- Material Pairing: The combination of different metals or metal with non-metal materials can affect friction levels. For instance, metal-on-metal contact typically has higher friction compared to metal-on-plastic contact.
- Environmental Factors: Temperature, humidity, and the presence of contaminants can influence the frictional behavior of metals.
Understanding these factors is crucial for applications where controlling friction is important, such as in machinery, automotive components, and manufacturing processes.
Metals with low friction characteristics are essential in applications where smooth movement and minimal wear are required. One of the most notable metals with low friction is Teflon-coated aluminum. Here are a few more metals known for their low friction properties:
- Bronze: Particularly in the form of oil-impregnated or self-lubricating bronze, this metal is commonly used in bearings and bushings due to its low friction.
- Brass: Known for its excellent machinability and lower friction compared to many other metals, brass is often used in fittings and bearings.
- Copper Alloys: Certain copper alloys, like beryllium copper, offer low friction and are used in specialized applications.
- Stainless Steel: Certain grades of stainless steel, when polished or treated, can exhibit low friction properties, making them suitable for various industrial applications.
Choosing the right low-friction metal depends on the specific requirements of the application, including load, speed, environmental conditions, and compatibility with other materials.