Electric arc spray is also known as twin-wire arc, arc spray, or wire arc spray. Unlike the other thermal spray processes, which indirectly heat the particles using heated gas jets, EAS uses a direct-current electric arc to melt the feedstock.
With EAS, two wires are fed together through wire guides or contact tips in a gun head. An arc is struck between the two wires, causing them to melt. Compressed air from behind the arc is used to atomize the molten material and propel it through a nozzle, which shapes and accelerates the spray stream.
Because the wires are melted directly by the arc, the thermal efficiency of the EAS process is considerably higher than that of any other thermal spray process. For example, it takes approximately 2.5 kW to spray 4.5 kg (10 lb) of stainless steel per hour, where plasma arc spray would require approximately 40 kW to spray the same amount of material.
Volume 5A, Thermal Spray Technology -> Thermal Spray Processes and Coatings -> Thermal Spray Processes -> Thermal Spray Processes
