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Still Time to Join the Hard Chrome Plating Alternatives JIP

Wed, 07 July, 2021

There is still time for Industrial Members to join our joint industry project investigating replacement coating technologies for hard chrome plating.

Traditional wear resistant coatings, such as tungsten carbide and chromium carbide, are expensive, and REACH legislation is becoming increasingly restrictive for the use of coatings based on Cr, Co and Ni alloys.

However, new developments in thermal spraying and high-speed laser cladding processes offer high quality alternatives to hard chrome plating in a wide range of coating applications.

Both high velocity air fuel (HVAF) spraying and the extreme high speed laser application (EHLA) processes claim to offer significant benefits as alternatives to hard chrome plating technologies.

The application of thinner/denser HVAF ‘flash carbides’ opens up cost/performance improvements over coatings produced using conventional HVOF spraying systems which are typically ~300µm thick. Cost savings are made with HVAF, due to the use of less material and process gases, and the elimination of grit blasting and dimensional grinding post spraying compared to traditional HVOF WC-CoCr and Cr3C2-NiCr coatings.

For all thermal spray processes, high quality, high adhesion coatings are applied directly to substrates without a heat affected zone. In contrast, the EHLA process offers capability of depositing fully fused metallic coatings, with minimal dilution of the substrate.

Both processes therefore offer new options of depositing high quality protective coatings, for demanding industrial applications where combined wear and corrosion resistance is required. Additionally, HVAF ID coating systems potentially offer an alternative to hard chrome plating for internal bore applications.

This joint industry project, ‘High Speed, Low Cost, Hard Chrome Replacement Coating Technologies for Improved Industrial Performance and REACH Compliance,’ is suitable for OEMs, Tier 1 and 2 suppliers and manufacturers.

Industrial Members who join the project will receive a technology review report, coating performance data, recommendations on the technology/manufacturing readiness of new coating processes and materials, an indication of the relative cost performance benefits compared to current technologies, and a final report detailing the results of each technical work package, along with recommendations on the technology/manufacturing readiness of new coating processes and materials.

With applications including hydraulic rods and cylinders, aircraft landing gear and actuation systems, piston rings and valves, machinery parts, sliding and rotating shafts, automotive drive trains and suspension, tools and dies, and internal bores, this two-year project has applications across a range of industry sectors.

You can find out more about the project, including registration details, here.

For more information please email:


contactus@twi.co.uk