Nov_Dec_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 3 6 iTSSe TSS iTSSe TSS CASE STUDY suitable for depositing a range of temperature-sensitive mate- rials in this application. The following tool issues can easily be fixed with SST cold spray technology: Machining errors – Quite often, there can be irreparable errors in the machining operation that render the tool useless. In these cases, it is possible to cold spray an equivalent materi- al to dimensionally restore functionality and then re-machine to proper tolerance (Fig. 4). Wear and/or snap-offs – Wear and/or snap-offs are anoth- er potential issue that can be easily repaired by SST cold spray technology: Simply fill in by cold spray with the appropriate material, then re-machine back to tolerance (Fig. 5). Fig. 4 — Machining errors dimensionally repaired with SST cold spray, before (top) and after (bottom). A local manufacturer of high-precision aluminum gaug- ing fixtures saved thousands of dollars by using the SST cold spray technology to salvage a number of high-value fixtures that were either incorrectly machined or simply worn beyond their useful life. ~iTSSe For more information : Julio Villafuerte is a corporate tech- nology strategist at CenterLine (Windsor) Ltd., 595 Morton Dr., Windsor, ON N9J 3T8, 519.734.8464, julio.villafuerte@cntrline. com, www.cntrline.com or www.supersonicspray.com . Fig. 5 — Snap-off defect dimensionally repaired with SST cold spray, before (top) and after (bottom). 6