What is hardfacing?

Most welding services will offer hardfacing to clients, but often people are confused as to what it is. It is confusing to weigh the benefits of a service when you aren’t sure what it’s for. If you are unsure what hardfacing is, read all about it below:

What is it

Hardfacing is the act of spraying materials, in the form of powder, welding rods or tubular rods, onto a surface. These materials include nickel-based alloys, chromium carbide alloys, cobalt based alloys and more. These materials are used because they are durable. They are sprayed onto surfaces that are already worn or are prone to wear. Hardfacing applies thick layers of these durable materials onto the wear-prone surface in order to increase the longevity of the component by protecting it.

Applications

Hardfacing is generally applied by means of thermal spraying, welding processes and more. thermal spraying can be used for hardfacing components that have already undergone wear. It is preferable for use on materials that should not undergo major heat distortion. The layer of hardfacing applied by means of thermal spraying is usually 0.3 mm. Welding process such as arc, MIG and TIG can be used for hardfacing. These processes can be used to apply coating between 1 to 10 mm thick. After the welding processes have been used for hardfacing, a finish should be applied to the component.