The HVOF colloquium of the GTS Gemeinschaft Thermisches Spritzen e.V., which normally takes place every three years, was held for the first time after a five-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic, from October 26 to 24 in the Stadthalle in Erding. The agenda included 22 presentations on a wide range of thermal spraying topics. With 220 participants, the event was able to almost immediately build on the pre-corona period, with only 20 more participants at the 2018 event. The trade exhibition was also fully booked with 20 exhibitors. The Managing Director of GTS, Werner Krömmer, was very pleased with the positive response to the event from participants and exhibitors. This showed that the HVOF Colloquium is an important networking platform for the industry. Thinner coating systems in particular, which can be achieved by suspension spraying, are emerging as promising topics for the future. Very fine powders can be processed, so that the layer thickness can be reduced from around 200 µm to 50 µm. At the same time, the roughness drops significantly from Ra 10 to Ra 2 or Ra 3, which reduces the need for mechanical reworking accordingly. Another important topic is internal coating, where new torch technologies were also presented at the trade exhibition. The topic of process control of the spraying process, even during the ongoing coating process, was also the subject of the exhibition and a presentation. Ultimately, the topics and presentations at the event showed that surface technology is an important element in the field of sustainability, on the one hand to realize higher mechanical or thermal load capacity and at the same time to reduce wear and extend the service life of components.
You will soon find a video with news and statements from participants and exhibitors here.
