University of Nottingham launches UK’s highest pressure cold spray AM facility

Cold spray is an advanced manufacturing process that builds or repairs metal components by accelerating fine metal powders at very high speeds onto a surface. Unlike traditional methods, the material does not melt during deposition. This avoids heat damage and preserves the original properties of the material.

Experts from the Faculty of Engineering with support from an international Japanese technical team at PlasmaGiken have designed and installed the High-Pressure Cold Spray system that allows higher particle impact speeds, stronger bonding between deposited material and substrate and the processing of harder and more demanding materials.

This technology enables the repair and remanufacture of high-value components in aerospace, fusion energy, nuclear and defence sectors, lowering costs and improving sustainability through reduced material waste compared to conventional manufacturing.

Housed in the Centre of Excellence in Coating and Surface Engineering (CE-CSE) the facility will be a national hub for collaboration with industry and research partners, supporting the UK’s ambitions in advanced manufacturing and clean energy technologies.

Tanvir Hussain, Professor of Coatings and Surface Engineering at the University of Nottingham has led the project, he said: “After three years of proposal development and industrial collaboration, we are proud to commission the UK’s highest-pressure cold-spray additive manufacturing facility. This is not simply a new piece of equipment added to the UK cold spray landscape, but it represents a national capability that will support advanced manufacturing research and industrial innovation for years to come for the UK for all engineers and technologists.

“The Cold Spray facility combined with the expertise of academics in Nottingham, alongside industry partners will allow this National Facility to drive innovation at pace and allow exploration and testing of new techniques and applications.”

The project has been funded through Research and Innovation and the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham, PlasmaGiken Co., Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Engineers at the University of Nottingham are already leading innovation in spray technology and  recently developed a new high-performance tungsten-copper metallic coating in one step using plasma spray, for future high heat flux (HHF) plasma facing components (PFC), specifically in the divertor target plate.

www.nottingham.ac.uk