Arc Spraying on Textiles/Fabrics
The modern tennis ball is made of a hollow rubber core, covered in a wool or nylon shell and although thermal spray has never been utilised in mass production for textiles or fabrics, it has been utilised extensively for extended the service lifespan of the textile manufacturing equipment. Textile machinery components are subjected to intense wear and tear, the man-made fibres are usually very abrasive in nature (most notably polyester and nylon) and the additives that are commonly used in textile industry (lubricants for example) are additionally corrosive in nature. When combined, these two types of materials will deteriorate the processing equipment’s life to a great extent.
The versatility of thermal spray coatings means you can achieve flexible Aluminium or Zinc coatings onto a diverse range of textile fabrics such as a tennis ball for decorative, conductive or wear resistant applications.
The above image shows the tennis ball after being Arc sprayed with Zinc and then the polished top coat of Aluminium Bronze.
