Thermal Spraying
in China
By
Professor Huang Xiaoou, General Secretary
Thermal Spraying
Committee of China Surface Engineering Association
Chinese
thermal spraying industry has experienced nearly a fifty-year history and has
seen a great development in recent twenty years.
According
to incomplete statistics, in 1998, the total output of China thermal spraying
industry amounts to about 40 million RMB (the current exchange rate of RMB/USD:
8.3/1), including thermal spraying equipment, materials, job shop and
supplementary equipment and materials, etc. The total national thermal spraying
employees accounts to about 3,000 people (the construction team and casual labor
are not calculated) and 300~350 organizations, including equipment, materials
and other suppliers, construction works, job shops as well as R&D societies,
institutes and trading companies. The thermal spraying organizations are mainly
medium and small sized, with an average output of 100,000 RMB per person each
year, ranking the upper standing in Chinese machinery industry. However, the
thermal spraying output in China only accounts to 11% of USA and 17% of Japan,
which proves that Chinese thermal spraying still stays on the developing stage
and is far from matured and saturation, while bearing a lot of opportunities and
a potential huge market.
Having
experienced independent development and introduction of overseas technology for
scores of years, at present, China has developed and manufactured equipment
including vacuum plasma, air plasma, detonation spray system, PTA, arc spraying,
powder flame, wire flame; materials including metal powder (Ni, Co and Fe based,
totally 300 tons/year), ceramic powder, cement powder (Al2O3,
Al2O2, Cr2O3, WC-Co, etc., totally
200 tons/year), wires (Al, Zn, Cu, stainless steel, etc., totally 2,000
ton/year). China has become one of the several countries, which can basically
fulfill the equipment and materials self supply.
Thermal
Spraying technology has been broadly applied to aerospace, aircraft, iron &
steel, petroleum chemical, steel anti-corrosion, machinery, light industry,
textile, paper, power, shipping and many other industries, with a total output
of approximately 200 million RMB per year. However, the main problem of
applications is the small-scale production, uneven quality and backward
management. It is very difficult to form a significant leader enterprise.
The main
force of R&D still comes from institutes and universities. The Chinese
R&D level is below that of Japan in Asia, and belongs to the second group in
the world. The R&D of equipment concentrates on the research and manufacture
of vacuum plasma, HVOF, high velocity arc spray, the development of detonation
spray system, plasma spray, flame plastic spray. R&D of process mainly puts
the emphasis on compound process, such as spraying+laser/induction/vacuum
deposit, self-combustion process. Regarding to the materials, researches are
mainly made on the ceramic powders, such as Al2O3+TiO2,
and MCrAlYs. For the coating design, performance, organization, inspection,
measurement, evaluation and quality control, the researches are emphasized on
the TBC coating, high temperature and oxidation resistance ceramic coating,
genetic engineering coating for their composition, stress distribution,
microstructure and interface reactions. Main problems of R&D are the
shortage of budget, wear out of
research equipment, repeating choice of research project, low level of
“pure” academic project and no close connections between the demand and
application and market. These problems should be urgently solved.
The
Thermal Spraying Committee of China Surface Engineering Association (TSCC), as
the most authoritative and most attractive thermal spraying organization in
China, has about 400 members (from aerospace and aircraft, chemical, petroleum,
machinery, shipping, automobile, energy, light industry, etc.), with its own
publications of “Thermal Spraying Technology” and Thermal Spraying
Newsletter”. Especially in recent years, it frequently held activities of
thermal spraying, upgrading the exchange and cooperation with overseas and
domestically, and improving the development of thermal spraying in China. It
mainly undertakes the following international cooperation:
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Promote
the sales and expand applications of overseas advanced thermal spraying
technical equipment and materials. The Committee can be agent of overseas
companies, which are interested
in Chinese market and welcomes the overseas membership as well as the
advertisements on “Thermal Spraying Technology”.
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Assist the
foreign companies to introduce their technology in China, e.g., holding
seminars, discussions, market investigations, customers visit, etc. The
Committee is able to carry out the above jobs effectively, with a strong
staff team, mastering fluent English, Japanese, Germany languages and
technical matters.
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Assist
foreign companies to establish factories in China (equipment and materials
jointly ventured, or solely owned), job shops, etc., to select partners; and
to involve in the initiative feasibility study, management and technical
issues.
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Upgrade
the export of Chinese competitive thermal spraying products to the
international market, e.g., plasma spraying equipment, such as PTA
equipment, detonation spray system, HVOF system as well as materials, e.g.,
Ni-base and Co-base powders, WC powders, RE powders, ceramic powders, Al and
Zn wires, etc. On this aspect, we welcome the overseas company for
cooperation, to become our agent or partners in your country.
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Jointly
develop thermal spraying projects by China and overseas thermal spraying
companies, taking advantages of each side, e.g., the overseas strong finance
and technology and domestic low cost of technical, materials and labor in
Chinese side, to develop the common market in Southeast Asia, Middle Asia,
Africa and South America.
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For
information on this article or the Thermal Spraying Committee of China
Surface Engineering Association, please contact Professor Huang Xiaoou, the
General Secretary, TSCC, Tel: 86.10.64882554, Fax: 86.10..64872316, Email: Xiaoou@public.bta.net.cn
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