Aluminum Company of America

Alcoa Inc.

A Victor Pajerski

Edward P Patrick

Roger W Kaufold

Stephen F Baumann

Gerald E Carkin

Robert J Speer

William G Truckner

Robert A Cargnel

Ronald W Gunkel

Ronald Bachowski

Donald J Clements

William R Sharkins

Philip C Scheble

Frank P Swigon

Stephen J Rennekamp

Kevin S Papich

Larry G McKinney

Donald J Spinella

Charles B Wolf

Neville C Whittle

William H Hoffman

Christopher M Seaman

William W Hoffman

John P Palko

Regis J Huth, Jr

Philip J Blakeley

John J Palko

Neville C Alcoa Inc Whittle

Roger W Alcoa Inc Kaufold

A method of coating a vehicle wheel to increase wear and corrosion resistance of the vehicle wheel, includes the steps of providing a vehicle wheel and applying a wear and corrosion resistant coating onto a surface of the vehicle wheel. The coating is applied to at least a tire bead retaining flange of the vehicle wheel. The coating is of particular use with vehicle wheels made of forged aluminum. The coating is selected from tungsten carbide, optionally including cobalt or chrome, a nickel-based superalloy, aluminum and silicon carbide, or stainless steel. The coating is typically applied to a thickness of about 0.004-0.01 inch. The surface of the vehicle wheel may be prepared by mechanically abrading the surface or chemically etching the surface of the vehicle wheel. The coating may be applied by cold spraying, thermal spraying, or triboelectric discharge kinetic spraying and other similar processes.

Coated vehicle wheel and method

A friction-wear aluminum part which includes a metal substrate and an outer friction-wear, ceramic-free coating applied to at least a portion of the outer surface to said substrate. The coating is a mixture of both aluminum and stainless steel. On a preferred basis, the surface of the substrate is intentionally grooved to facilitate bonding of the coating thereto. An associated method is also disclosed.

Friction-wear aluminum part and associated method

A friction-wear aluminum part which includes a metal substrate and friction-wear coating applied to at least a portion of the outer surface to said substrate. The coating is a mixture of both aluminum and stainless steel. On a preferred basis, the surface of the substrate is intentionally roughened or grooved to facilitate bonding of the coating thereto. An associated method is also disclosed.

Method for manufacturing a friction-wear aluminum part

A method and apparatus for graining a surface having a substantial area traveling at a substantial rate of speed. The method includes directing the surface past an array of electrical arcs traveling about a plurality of loop electrodes arranged to provide overlapping arc loop paths as the surface travels past the array of arc loops. The arc loops are established between the loop electrodes and the traveling surface, and thus contact the surface to grain the same. When each arc is struck between its loop electrodes and traveling surface, it is magnetically impelled about the loop of its electrode by a magnetic field established perpendicular of the direction of arc current flow. An annular sheath of gas is provided on each side of the electrode loop and the arc struck between the electrode loop and the traveling surface.

Arc treatment of metal surfaces

A composite metallurgical product includes a roll cast aluminum alloy core and a filler material bonded on the core. Assemblies joined by filler material are formed from this product by heating to flow the filler material into joints and subsequent solidification of the filler material in the joints. The composite product is made in several ways, including lamination at roll caster rolls, and lamination or thermal spraying at the exit side of a roll caster. The invention additionally provides for an angulation rolling method for varying percent of cladding on the composite, and a high-manganese aluminum alloy useful as core material in brazing sheet clad with aluminum-silicon brazing alloy.

Method of continuously casting composite strip

Apparatus for electric arc graining the surface of a traveling electrically conductive workpiece, the surface having a substantial area. The graining is effected by a continuous loop electrode having an elongated main body portion and an elongated continuous loop tip edge projecting laterally from a general plane of the main body portion for establishing an arc between the tip edge and the workpiece surface. The arc is moved about the continuous electrode tip by elongated magnetic means located in close proximity to the electrode, the magnetic means including a continuous loop pole member spaced outwardly of and concentric with the continuous loop tip edge. A second pole member of a polarity opposite the outer pole member is located in the general center of the closed loop tip edge.

Apparatus for extending broad metal surface areas with a magnetically

Substantial surface areas can be treated by continuously magnetically moving an electric arc around a general loop direction such as a circle, ellipse or oval and moving the surface so that the arc treats a substantial surface area. The arc treatment can be used to clean or increase surface area, or both, and a reactant or treatment agent can be brought to the arc contact site to alter the surface treated with the arc. Auxiliary treatments for the surface can precede or follow the arc treatment, or both. The invention produces very desirable surface properties including a mild roughness or matte condition suitable even for critical applications such as aluminum lithoplate. Other surface characteristics can include one or more of: capillarity, adhesion, emissivity, stable oxide, paintability, and others. Applications and advantages are believed to include lithoplate, hydrophilic heat exchanger finstock, capacitor foil, can sheet, venetian blind stock, adhesive bonded laminates and other bonded structural materials or structures, welding rod, aluminum brazing sheet, interrogatable strips for optical control instruments, enhanced, high current contacts, improved, controlled or differential friction characteristics for forming and shaping, automotive and other sheet, hot roll bonding, galvanizing and zinc coating of steel, texturing mill rolls, pretreatment for thermal spray treatments, organic coating adhesion, improved paint hiding performance, prosthetics, biohost or catalyst support and others. The process is applicable to aluminum, steel and other metals and other materials capable of carrying current sufficiently to maintain an electric arc.

Method for treating a surface such as a metal surface and producing

Clad metallurgical products and methods of manufacture

An essentially flat 'arc-grained' surface of a sheet of aluminum alloy is produced with a coarse and non-uniform microstructure which, after it is coated with a durable phosphate-free coating, provides excellent lithoplate. Though such arc-grained microstructure is much coarser than an electrochemically etched surface typically used on lithoplate, the very coarse surface is peculiarly well-adapted to provide durable lithoplate after it is coated with a phosphate-free protective surface. After the coated surface is coated with a photoresist the excellent resolution of prints is maintained over a large number of repeated uses in an off-set printing press. A method of producing lithoplate comprises, controlledly rastering an A-C, or D-C reverse polarity plasma-generating electric arc on an aluminum sheet less than 30 mils thick, kept distortion-free on a mounted surface such as on a cylindrical drum; then coating the arc-grained surface with a hard and durable, inert phosphate-free coating while maintaining a capillary microstructure in the surface adapted to provide a support for a photoresist for use in lithographic printing of adequate resolution.

Electric arc method for treating the surface of lithoplate and other

Arc-grained lithoplate

Growing community of inventors

New Kensington, PA, United States of America

A Victor Pajerski