Plasma Technology TRIPLEX for the Deposition of Ceramic Coatings in the Industry

Abstract As a new plasma gun technology the TRIPLEX system has been introduced in the industrial field two years ago. The core of the TRIPLEX technology is a plasma gun with three cathodes and a long cascaded nozzle consisting of several insulated rings. Only the last ring with a relatively long distance to the cathode is operated as anode. Because of the equal and constant lengths of the three independent arcs, stretching from the three cathodes to the common anode, a stationary plasma jet is generated. Compared to conventional torches, the improved stability of the plasma jet allows a more uniform powder treatment and a higher deposition efficiency as well as the powder feed rate can be increased using a triple injection system. A significantly longer life time of the electrodes reduces the cost for quality control in the coating process. The characteristic properties of oxide ceramic coatings are improved in comparison with the coatings produced by conventional plasma torches. The results of two years industrial application of the innovative torch system TRIPLEX are presented in the paper.