Polymet’s industrial line of hardfacing and welding wire is utilized heavily in the valve industry. Hardfacing material is applied to the contact surfaces and moving areas of the valve to provide wear resistance and corrosion resistance. Our wire is used to hardface valves in markets such as nuclear power, oil & gas, chemical, mining, and refining.
Valve components are hardfaced with Polymet’s POLYSTEL wire. This cobalt-based material is hot extruded to produce rod and small diameter wire. The rod is used for Tungsten Inert Gas welding operations while the small diameter wire is typically spooled, suitable for automated and robotic welding. Automation has significant consumable advantages over traditional methods, allowing reduced downtime due to switching out material, diminished excess labor, and minimized waste of the valuable cobalt-based material. The rod POLYSTEL material may also be coated and is then used for Shielded Metal Arc Welding processes.
Polymet’s POLYSTEL wire is primarily applied as an overlay for carbon steel, stainless steel, and nickel-based alloys. For example, valve seats and plugs can be hardfaced with POLYSTEL 6, a cobalt-based material with nominal composition of Co (Bal), Cr (27), Cr (4), and C (1) that will produce a wear and corrosion resistant coating extending the life of the application. Many valves that involve high pressure, high temperature steam require alloys such as POLYSTEL to withstand their harsh operating environment.
Typical valve applications include:
- Ball valves
- Gate valves
- Butterfly valves
- Diaphragm Valves
The POLYSTEL products demonstrate the necessary hardness characteristics and wear resistance properties to be used in valve applications. Resistance to high temperatures is also a critical property of these hardfacing alloys.
Polymet’s rapidly growing POLYSTEL product line supplies most of the hardfacing demands of the valve industry. POLYSTEL products are ideal for adhesive wear, contact fatigue, corroision, and erosion. Their strength and ability to withstand these wear factors make POLYSTEL one of the most exceptional hardfacing consumables on the market. They are available in continuous cast rod (3.2mm and up), extruded rod (0.9mm and up), and extruded spooled wire (0.9mm – 2.0mm).
Products For This Market
| Item # | Description | Applications |
|---|---|---|
| Hardfacing & Welding Wire | ||
| POLYSTEL 6 | Stellite 6 | Dies, Extrusion screws, Gates, Valve Seats |
| POLYSTEL 12 | Stellite 12 | Bearing Areas, chain saw bars, Saw Teeth, Valve Plugs & Seats |
| POLYSTEL 21 | Stellite 21 | Chemical & Petrochemical valves, Dies, Hot shears, Steam valves |
