Research and Application Development

research and application development

Staying one step ahead

We were born out of innovation, and we continue to invest our time, talent and resources in it. Our world-class Product Discovery Labs™ are the source of some of the industry’s greatest advances and are made up of dedicated engineers and technologists who are working together towards a single goal: developing next-generation coatings and applications that solve the performance problems our customers face every day.

No matter your need, our team is committed to delivering the best solution. And while we have hundreds of standard options, if we don’t have the solution that best suits your unique challenge, we’ll develop it. To do so, we’ll work directly with you to understand the intricacies of your operations, components, environmental and operating conditions, and desired performance outcomes and cost. We can even simulate your operations to test and analyze coating performance to maximize results.

We coat parts that work at the bottom of the ocean and parts that travel to the moon. We coat parts that function at the super-cool temperature of liquid hydrogen and in the extreme heat of jet engine combustors. Whatever challenge you’re facing, we have the experience, creativity and dedication to deliver the optimal solution.

Product Discovery Labs

We provide access to the most renowned scientists in the coatings industry. These highly qualified professionals have published extensively and, in many cases, literally written the book when it comes to application techniques. Working with a staff of experienced lab technicians, specialists and research engineers, our scientists are continually developing new coating processes and products that are designed to find real-world, groundbreaking answers to even your toughest performance problems.

Processes that are the foundation of today's coating technology were invented by Praxair Surface Technologies, including:

Detonation gun (D-Gun) coating process*
Super D-Gun™ coating process*
High-velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) coating process
Plasma spray coating process
Tribomet™ electrodeposition coating process*

^{*Exclusive, proprietary Praxair Surface Technologies process}

Coating Design Optimization Unit

The first step to finding the right answer for your needs is determining how a surface coating can bring out the best in your component or part. That's where our Coating Design Optimization Unit comes in. It works with your engineers and designers, integrating more than a half-century of coating expertise with planning of the part's production.

Our team begins by identifying:

Function of the coating, including clearance control, thermal insulation, wear/corrosion resistance, etc.
Geometry, composition and properties of the substrate
Environmental and production impact, including corrosion, temperature and operating environment

Real-World Environmental Testing

Once we've narrowed down the possible coating alternatives, we test each coating on your part in environmental simulations that replicate your everyday operating environment. When this exhaustive testing process is complete, you'll have more confidence knowing exactly how each coating will perform on your part when it's in the field.

Environmental testing simulates: