Our Process
APS Materials employ a refined, end-to-end thermal spray coating workflow honed over 40+ years.
It begins with precision in-house surface prep including cleaning, degreasing, sand or bead blasting to ensure optimal adhesion.
Parts then enter fully automated thermal spray systems within advanced cleanroom environments, where coatings of metals, ceramics, polymers, or hybrids are applied using methods like plasma, HVOF, or electric-arc spraying.
Every batch undergoes rigorous quality control, from thickness and adhesion checks to visual inspections and destructive metallurgical testing, backed by ISO certification and FDA registration.
Rounding out the process is a dedicated R&D capability – where custom materials are isolated and spray processes developed for challenging applications across semiconductor, biomedical, aerospace, and industrial sectors. The result is a tightly controlled, reliable coating solution built for precision and performance.
Uniform Coatings
The arc plasma spray process is a thermal spray technique that uses a high-temperature plasma jet to melt and propel powdered materials such as commercially pure titanium, Ti-6Al-4V alloy, and hydroxyapatite onto orthopaedic implant substrates, typically made from titanium or cobalt-chromium alloys.
The coating material is introduced in powder form and rapidly heated to a molten or semi-molten state. As the particles impact the substrate surface, they flatten, cool, and solidify, forming a mechanically interlocked, well-adhered coating layer. This method enables uniform application and precise control over coating thickness, porosity, and microstructure.
The plasma itself is generated by creating an electric arc between a cathode and an anode, which are housed within the spray torch. A high-flow inert gas commonly argon, helium, nitrogen, or hydrogen or a mixture is ionized as it passes through this arc, producing a high-enthalpy plasma plume with temperatures exceeding 10,000°C.
The resulting expansion of the gas accelerates it through a specially designed convergent-divergent nozzle, generating high-velocity flow that delivers exceptional energy to the spray particles.
Perfect Delivery
The coating material, introduced as a fine powder, is entrained in a secondary carrier gas and injected downstream into the plasma stream. This ensures optimal mixing and heat transfer, allowing the particles to reach a molten state within milliseconds. Upon impact with the substrate, the molten particles flatten into lamellae (splats), rapidly solidifying due to the temperature differential and forming a tightly bonded, roughened coating surface.
The deposition process can be carefully tuned by adjusting variables such as gas flow rate, current, powder feed rate, standoff distance, spray angle, and traversal speed allowing for customization of surface roughness, coating thickness, and mechanical properties to meet specific application or regulatory requirements.
Powerful Bond
What sets the plasma spray process apart is its ability to combine both thermal and kinetic energy for maximum adhesion strength. The molten particles impact the substrate at high velocities, embedding into microscopic surface asperities and forming a strong mechanical bond. This makes plasma-sprayed coatings particularly suitable for demanding biomedical applications where durability, wear resistance, and osseointegration are critical.
Plasma spray coatings offer excellent resistance to corrosion and delamination and can be applied to complex geometries with high repeatability. Whether used for enhancing biocompatibility with hydroxyapatite or improving structural performance with titanium based coatings, the arc plasma spray process remains a cornerstone technology in advanced orthopaedic implant manufacturing.
