Emissions and maintenance costs reduced
VTT's new coating reduces corrosion and wear in machine parts

VTT and the Technical University of Tallinn have developed new powders for durable surfacing of machine parts. These coating solutions, especially in demanding conditions, can reduce corrosion and wear on machine parts more than current commercial coating powders.

Samppa Ahmaniemi, Product Development Engineer at Metso Paper Oy says that the life of machine parts coated with the new products designed by VTT will be longer. The picture also shows the real grinding device for the paper machine. High resolution image (817 Kt) Photo: Metso Paper Oy

VTT, Tampere Technical University and several companies applied and optimised different thermal spray methods for the new powders to be able to spray the actual powders onto the machine parts. In addition to good temperature resistance, the new coating materials achieve low friction on the surface of the machine part.

The newly developed coating materials actually simultaneously offer good protection against corrosion and wear in demanding conditions. Thanks to the new coatings it is possible to raise the temperatures in various industrial processes, thereby reducing emissions. The competitiveness of the companies will also improve as good coatings means a reduction in maintenance costs and prolongs equipment life.

The Nordic Innovation Centre (previously known as the Nordic Industrial Fund) was the main source of funding for the new coating materials and coatings. The work was accomplished by VTT, the Norwegian SINTEF, the Technical University of Tallinn and Tampere University of Technology. Numerous companies in the Nordic countries and Estonia also participated.

Product development engineer Samppa Ahmaniemi from Metso Paper Oy says that the VTT methods and new ceramic-metal mixtures mean coating materials which are otherwise difficult to achieve. It is probable that in the paper machinery and process industries there are numerous applications in which the new coating solutions will lead to improved production efficiency and longer machine life. Thus the next step is to progress from laboratory scale to test the new coatings in industrial production.

More information:

Photo: VTT
VTT Processes Pertti Lintunen, Research Scientist Tel. +358 3 316 3701 pertti.lintunen@vtt.fi	VTT Industrial Systems Erja Turunen, Senior Research Scientist Tel. +358 9 456 5425, +358 50 380 9671 erja.turunen@vtt.fi	Metso Paper Oy Samppa Ahmaniemi, Product Development Engineer, PhD Tel. +358 40 046 1417 samppa.ahmaniemi@metso.com