Fast Regime Fluidized Bed Machining (FR-FBM) of Thermally Sprayed Coatings

Finishing of thermally sprayed metallic, ceramic, and cermet coatings is required to meet tolerances and requirements on surface roughness in most industrial applications. Conventional machining is a costly and time-consuming process, and is difficult to automate. Therefore, this study investigates and develops a new technique highly amenable for automation: fast regime - fluidized bed machining ( FR-FBM). Atmospheric plasma sprayed TiO(2), Cr(2)O(3), and HVOF-sprayed WC-17%Co and Tribaloy-800 coatings, deposited on AISI 1040 steel substrates, were subjected to FR-FBM treatment. The effects of the leading operational parameters, namely, abrasive size, jet pressure, and processing time, were evaluated on all coatings by using a two/three-levels full factorial design of experiments. The FR-FBM treated surfaces were observed by FE-SEM and their surface finishing was evaluated by contact profilometry. Significant improvements in surface finishing of all the machined thermally sprayed coatings can always be detected, with FR-FBM being able to guarantee the precision and to ensure the closest geometrical tolerances.