Spray Track

Industrial Photonics

Spray Track

Background

Cold Gas Dynamic Manufacturing (CGDM) is a recently developed manufacturing process, which use the energy of gases flowing at supersonic speeds to accelerate metal powder. Such powder is therefore deposited on a substrate to form a "track", due to high energy impacts. Deposition is more efficient when substrate material and feedstock powder are characterized by similar mechanical and physical properties; on the other hand track geometries are highly dependent on the actual supersonic nozzle design. Current nozzles are capable of providing large track widths, due to high powder dispersion in the acceleration process.

Project description

This project is aimed at studying the compatibility of the CGDM process to create metallic coatings onto relatively low strength substrates such as polymers and composite materials. This would considerably extend the process potential, from the production of mask-less conductive tracks of metal without the necessity of post treatments, to the cheap manufacturing of electric circuits.

This project is also aimed at the design and development of innovative supersonic nozzles, capable of accelerating metal powder and and narrowing the beam geometry at the same time.

Objectives

Innovative CGDM nozzle solutions designed to obtain fine track geometries
Bonding characterization of metal powder when sprayed on non metallic substrates (polymers, ceramics and composites)