AMPO has been an active member of FUNCIONA 4 project for three years, in consortium with companies such as Orbea, Maier, ABB Niessen, Cikautxo, Mugape and Irurena as well as some R&D entities such as IK4-Cidetec, Mondragon University, Maier Technology Center, IK4-Tekniker and Cikatek R&D.
This consortium had the objective of developing new surface treatments, all of them customized according to each product’s service requirements. The main aim was to provide each consortium member with a customized surface technology that provides greater resistance to corrosion, mechanical wear, UV degradation, and foulding, as well as a greater aesthetic value adapted to its product.
The project, which was officially closed in December 2018, has been financed by the basque business development agency SPRI and has had a global budget of €6.5M for three years.
These project results have been very positive for AMPO since it has enabled the development of customized coatings for severe service valves for the mining industry, where the fluid or slurry contains a large number of particles in suspension during transportation and which generate erosion-abrasion, high pressure, and a corrosive environment. Moreover, the project has enabled a knowledge increase on the connection between the different technical characteristics of the coatings (particle size, porosity, mechanical properties, geometric characteristics,) and their influence on the resistance to severe service conditions.