Below are answers to common coating questions. If you don't find the answer to your question here, fill out our personal assistance form. We guarantee a fast response.
Yes! Contact your customer service representative and request a user ID and password and you will be able to view when your parts were received, estimated shipping dates and even leave notes for us any time, day or night.
Yes! Please contact your purchasing agent and request a user ID and password. In the system, you will be able to see new PO’s as they are generated for you and requested delivery dates. You can also leave notes for your purchasing agent 24/7.
At the moment we are not listing job openings via the web site. That may change soon. However, we welcome submission of your resume via this form. Every resume will be logged and automatically forwarded to the folks responsible for hiring within our organizations. Please indicate on the form what position you are interested in and at which location.
For questions about technical sales and quotes, we have three web options on the "Contact Us" page.
Absolutely! We welcome your information. To keep it from getting mixed up with sales inquiries, we built a separate form called "Commercial/Vendor Inquiry" located on our Contact Us page. You may attach a brochure or resume along with your contact information.
We have tried to make contacting us easy and flexible. All the options are located on our Contact Us page. Let's review the options:
- About Us! We welcome visitors to our facilities! These pages have location informations and links to Google maps for the various locations. Please call before visiting. (Best option if you want to sit with our folks and discuss a coating solution or a business prospect.)
- Talk: You can call any location during business hours (Hitemco - Eastern Time Zone, Hitemco Southwest - Central Time Zone). This option works best if you already have a contact at one of the locations and want to discuss a particular issue. (Best option if you have to discuss a specific or time sensitive issue.)
- Chat: A new option for us. The chat function will be staffed during business hours and sometimes in the evening and weekends. There will be an indication on the web site if chat is active. If the chat becomes very complex or involves serious technical questions, we will call you back after gathering more information. (Best option if you have a very quick question about our offerings or a question about our web site.)
- Coating Inquiry: If you have a possible application for coating, this is the best option. You fill in some background information about the problem, the desired outcome, the part, and the end service and our technical sales person will review before calling you back. (Best option when the answer is not known and there is significant technical data to convey)
- RFQ: If you already have selected a coating system and want us to quote on a job, use this form. Please submit a drawing whenever possible. After receipt, our technical sales folks will contact you with questions or a quote. (Best option when you know what you want and there are no known technical issues).
- Upload a file: If you want to send an electronic file that is too big for email (over 10MB), you can use this web based option. (Best for sending a large document to a contact within our company).
- Commerical/Vendor: If you want to make us aware of your offerings as a supplier, or a potential supplier, submit a business proposal, or just make a general submission, you can use this form. Feel free to upload an electronic version of your catalogue. Please do not use the sales inquiry form for vendor submissions. (Best option if you want to contact us and make us aware of your products or services).
As a first choice we would recommend filling out the "Coating Inquiry" form and submitting it to us. On that form you will answer some questions about the problem, the part, the expected outcome, and the operating environment. That will give our technical folks some background information before they contact you to discuss the application in further detail.
Diffusion is a process whereby one or more elements (typically Cr, Al, Si, Ni, Co, or B) are applied to an alloy or pure metal surface predominantly by vapor deposition and under the proper kinetics are exchanged or substituted for another forming a resultant coating which penetrate into the parent alloy. The coating is 100% dense, metallurgically bonded, relatively hard, and impervious to oxygen providing excellent high temperature oxidation, corrosion and erosion resistance.
Any metallic part that could typically be welded or brazed can be coated. However the there are limits to our process. Typical process temperatures are high so the component must be able to withstand temperatures in excess of 1600F or higher. The coating is relatively thin, only several mils total, and while environmentally protective, it is relatively brittle. The process can be applied as a vapor so it is not limited to line of site, but is limited to Ni, ferrous, cobalt, copper, and refractory alloys.
Blasting typically refers to cleaning or roughening the surface of the work piece by utilizing a grit media that is forced onto the area being coated. Successful Thermal Spray methods rely on a clean, rough surface profile.
HVOF is High Velocity Oxygen Fuel. A high velocity flame spray process typically used to apply very hard, dense coatings with extremely high bond strengths.
A process utilizing heat from a non-transferred arc to create ionized gas that is capable of melting and propelling the coating material onto a substrate.
No, our process creates a very high mechanical bond. 5000 lb psi - 12000 lb psi bond strength. Coating or Hard Surfacing allows for very low heat applications that do not compromise the integrity of the work piece.
Welding creates a metallurgical bond that also transfers extreme heat into the work piece and would typically change the molecular structure of the work piece that would require a heat treat operation be performed on the work piece after the weld overlay
Thermal Spray is a generic term used to describe a group of processes that deposit molten or semi-molten material particles onto a substrate. The material being deposited can come in powder or wire. The powder or wire is fed or forced into a specific area of the flame where is melted and propelled onto a work piece.
Any metallic part that could typically be welded can be coated. However the there are limits to our process. The area of concern must be in a " line of sight " and durable enough to endure the blast operation as well as high kinetic energy forces. Also, the part geometry requires consideration. Some types of polymers can be candidates for a coating application also.
Electrostatic powder coating, liquid spray coating, fluidized bed, hot flocking. Depending on the coating system the part may be cold, warm or hot when applied.
Any part that can withstand the curing temperature of the polymer coating (up to 800F). Most coating systems require a roughened, cleaned surface which is created using an abrasive blast so, the part must be durable enough to withstand this process. Deeply recessed areas can cause difficulty in achieving a continuous coating (please request a fabrication guide book).
While technically possible, we are not set up for these one-time items.
Usually the thickness range is limited to very low rates when utilizing the HVOF or Plasma process. As a reminder, thickness doesn't mean harder or stronger. Max. .025" for most materials.
Thickness range can be much higher when utilizing the Wire Arc process. Max. .150"
Surface treatments provide many benefits, and there are many considerations when choosing to coat your component. From an economical standpoint, it is usually less expensive to design and build your component using a lower grade material for the substrate and then utilize a specific surface treatment on the areas that actually require the enhancements our materials and processes provide. This design also allows for several repair cycles of the component with repeated used of the original part.
When designing and building components that must perform in severe service applications, we have a solution or can create one. For instance, extreme environments where corrosion is present, or part(s) that are being tested in a very abrasive atmosphere containing fine, hard particles that tend to cause erosion and engender short expensive life cycles, we have solutions.
Coatings applied via the Plasma method can provide an array of materials that provide extreme heat protection as well as providing an inert surfacer that is also insulating, and sometime non-magnetic. The benefits are almost limitless.
