Spray coating apparatus and fixtures

Abstract

A system for applying a sprayed coating includes a spray mechanism operative to spray a liquefied coating material; a target system including a rotatable spray target wheel; and one or more device-holding fixtures configured to be mounted onto the spray target wheel without requiring either an unattached threaded fastener or a locking pin. Preferred embodiments of the system are configured for thermal spray application of Tamper Resistant Coatings (TRCs).

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 339,800, filed Jan. 10, 2003 by Curtis Wayne Anderson, the respective disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, for all purposes.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Technical Field [0003] The present invention is related to devices and fixtures for coating objects with a sprayed material. More particularly, but no exclusively, the invention relates to devices and methods for thermal spray processes. [0004] 2. Background Art [0005] There are many applications in which it is desired to apply a coating to a part or form a product layer using a spray process. Such applications may include applying primers, paints, and / or other types of coatings. Once such coating for which the present invention may used, but is not limited to, is the application of a tamper resistant coating (TRC). A TRC is a layer applied to a pr...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a spray wheel that can accommodate device-holding fixtures with standard geometric shapes, such as rectangular or square, which can be used in other processing steps. The fixtures can hold multiple devices, minimizing handling of individual devices. The invention also ensures repeatable and reliable application of a thermal spray coating to parts, which allows for coating of expensive parts in large batches without requiring substantial reworking. The spray wheel is designed for quick loading and unloading of device fixtures without requiring threaded fasteners or lock pins. The spray surface is free of design features that may trap sprayed coating material, promoting simpler removal of unwanted over-spray. The invention also includes a spray wheel and accompanying device-holding fixtures designed to coat parts without the need for forced cooling air or other coolants and able to maintain substantially uniform substrate temperatures. The system includes a fixture mounting system for simplified addition / removal of device-holding fixtures to and from the wheel and a spray gun centering mechanism for machine alignment of a spray-coating gun.

Problems solved by technology

Because of the high cost associated with these types of devices, parts are usually reworked rather than disposed of when found to be defective.

This has conventionally limited their throughput due to the need to process these devices correctly the first time through.

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