Cold Spray Economics

As an emerging technology, cold spray has proven to be useful for many applications, many of which are described in this book. While cold spray equipment designs and operating techniques are approaching optimal forms, the benefits and costs of its use for specific purposes must be quantified before it can be considered to be commercially viable. This chapter presents an organized, cost estimating framework that can be employed prior to commitment to any well-defined application. The cost framework includes feedstock usage, such as gas and powder, as well as economic factors, such as utilization and depreciation. A method of organizing these factors within a convenient spreadsheet is described.