The High Velocity Oxygenated Fuel (HVOF) coating process has been developed and qualified by a DoD and Industry consortium to apply tungsten carbide cobalt thermal spray coatings to high strength steels. This process is particularly well-suited for applications requiring wear, heat, and corrosion resistance or dimensional restoration—applications such as those on landing gear which were traditionally hard-chrome plated. HVOF will enable the Air Force to meet their adopted environmental restrictions associated with hexavalent chrome waste streams.

ES3 is currently under contract with the US Air Force to define component-specific parameters and procedures for applying environmentally benign structural coatings to repairable landing gear coatings. A significant engineering investment is underway to implement HVOF facilities at the Hill AFB landing gear overhaul facility.

Specific components are being identified and benchmark tested for HVOF coatings. These components will be approved for production coating once successful benchmark tests are complete. It is estimated that more than 400 landing gear components (with line-of-sight access) will be converted from hard-chrome plating to HVOF coating. Each of these components will require process/fixture development and technical data revisions.

ES3 has several open positions on our HVOF program. Please visit the employment opportunities postings on our website.