Saint-Gobain TUF-COTE Hardfacing Material

Since many years, Saint-Gobain Coating-Solutions manufactures and markets hard-facing Flexicords made of tungsten carbide particles mixed within a self fluxing nickel matrix. These Flexicords are sold under several trade marks such as TUF-COTE, TUF-COTE HR2.   TUF-COTE provides abrasion resistant coatings for many industries such as oil drilling, ore mining, power generation, dredging, waste treatment, foundries, steel making, bricks & tiles, cement, wood industries, agriculture, palm oil, sugar cane…

Every wear-problem does not necessarily involve the same solution and we carefully study each situation to offer the optimum product and application. Our range of TUF-COTE is periodically improved in order to improve the versatility and the ease of use and to provide the highest level of abrasion resistance. TUF-COTE ropes are now available with a larger core wire and TUF-COTE can be produced with or without organic skin as well.

The benefits of our range of TUF-COTE are:
• High mass percentage of Tungsten carbides allowing to improve the life-time and the durability of the coated tools.
• When brazing, it is easier to get the great pool of molten metal, improving consequently the weld-ability of TUF-COTE.
• The improvement of the weld-ability makes possible to get smoother and more accurate coatings. The deposition rate of TUF-COTE is also improved, thus higher productivity.
• During the brazing operation, the new TUF-COTE is easier to handle and has less breakage occurrence.

TUF-COTE Benefits 

TUF-COTE increases the life of the tools.  TUF-COTE contains large WC particles up-to 1.6mm, which show the higest abrasion resistance (not possible with TIG, MIG, electrodes).

• TUF-COTE shows the lowest volume loss under ASTM G65 test, compared to the main wear resistant metals.
• TUF-COTE decreases the maintenance frequency.
• The WC carbides are practically not affected with the torch method .
• TUF-COTE needs to be applied on construction steel (the use of hard steels, or special and expensive steels is not necessary). 
• No capital investment is required to apply the TUF-COTE brazing flexi-cord (only a flame torch is required).
• TUF-COTE application procedure is easy to learn. 
• TUF-COTE can be applied on the site or in any job shop.

Markets and Applications  

- Brick making: edges of molding screws, pulverizer mill scrappers, cones, combs, crushing hammers, mixer blades
- Drilling: stabilizer blades, roc drilling bits, guides/sleeves
- Steel making: fan blades, hopper liners, screens, dosing valves, guides, teeth and crushing hammers
- Foundries: hopper lining, screens, scrappers, dosing valves, of bucket scrappers, feeder screws, crushing hammers
- Dredging: scrappers & bucket teeth, scrapper blades, buckets liner, teeth of dredging bits
- Civil works: scrappers & bucket teeth, graders scrapper, buckets liner, drilling bits, blades of mixer for asphalt machine, wear plates, tunnelling tools
- Cement plants: feeding screws, fan blades, mixer blades, mixing scrapper, dosing valves
- Mines: scrappers and bucket teeth, hopper linings, screens, feeder rolls, crushing hammer
- Food: sugar cane crusher, screws edges for sugar beets, screws of palm oil press, mixer blades
- Agriculture, forestry: barking blades & tools, wear parts for farming tolls, screws for feeding fertilizers, feeding screws for wood barks
- Waste treatment: scrappers, blades of centrifugal machines and mixer, edges of screw for water treatment equipment
- Ceramic industry: mixer blades, scrappers of pulverizer mill, feeding screw, crushing hammers, extrusion dies, screws

Material Feature

The TUF-COTE flexicords are produced in diameter 3/16", 1/4" and 5/16".  For more information, please contact Patrice.Fournier@Saint-Gobain.com