 Indestructible Paint's Brian Norton with an aeroengine compressor disk that has been coated with Ipcote. |
"The Smart awards have been fundamental enabling us to do the R&D
necessary to create the new range of sacrificial coatings. They also helped
us break an American monopoly on certain coatings."
Aero-engines present one of the most damaging environments imaginable for coatings. At one time the aero-engines may be sitting on a runway in Alaska at -60°C, then later fly through cloud formations, sandstorms, or even volcanic. dust, with engine temperatures rising to 2000°C. In a bid for greater efficiency, a small UK company has tackled the complex coatings developments with the help of a Smart award.
Specialist paint manufacturer Indestructible Paint Company was founded in 1978 when Douglas Norton took voluntary redundancy as chief chemist from a major paint company. Initially marketing the Rockhard range, within a short time the company started producing special, small volume coatings primarily for Rolls-Royce aircraft engines, which it continues to today. In the 1990s, the company developed new organic coatings for maximum heat and chemical resistance, which are becoming standard products globally.
In 1990 Brian Norton, now Managing Director joined the company to review its position, help relocate the firm to its current site in Birmingham, and determine new product directions. He recognised there was a short-coming in existing coatings, 'because in the race for efficiency aero-engines were running hotter and hotter, so our paints were being out-performed.'
In 1991 he applied for a Smart award to develop a new range but failed at the first attempt. In 1994, Brian submitted another application and secured a Smart award which allowed the company to research a new range of inorganic coatings known as the lpcote range, as opposed to their traditional organic coatings. A further SPUR award helped develop the range further and bring commercial production on stream.
According to Brian, 'We felt that our organic coatings would eventually be superseded by inorganic coatings in the pursuit of engine efficiency.' As inorganic coatings have the benefit of operating at higher temperature ranges, and have more potential in the increasingly efficient aero-engine markets, which tend to run hotter and hotter. The coatings are also very erosion and corrosion resistant.
'The Smart awards have been fundamental enabling us to do the R&D necessary to create the new lpcote range of sacrificial coatings. They also helped us break an American monopoly on certain coatings,' says Brian. Four years ago, the company established that there was a market niche for products, which were imported and exclusively applied by an American company. At first even Indestructible Paint had difficulty sourcing raw materials for the new range. 'The Smart award allowed us to develop new processes, which got over those supply problems. And we've brought British expertise into this part of the aero-engine coatings application business world-wide.'
IPC now offers a wide range of products including erosion coatings, dry film lubricants, abrasion and high erosion resistant coatings for steels, magnesium, aluminium, titanium composites and other materials. All of these require totally different technologies to handle increasing operating temperatures, and avoid stress, corrosion, and pollution problems.
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Customers include Rolls-Royce, Pratt and Whitney, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Singapore Aerospace, the Royal New Zealand Airforce, and many others. 'In fact, anywhere a Rolls-Royce engine lands and is overhauled can become our customer,' says Brian.
