How to unleash the remarkable potential of cold spray: a perspective

Cold spray is a solid-state, powder-based consolidation technique for deposition of coatings, component repair and near-net-shape additive manufacturing. Its unique attributes have propelled the development and commercialization, yet cold spray has only experienced limited deployment. In fact, cold spray technology could be extended to a considerably broader range of applications and achieve a much higher level of industry adoption by focusing on innovative ways to unlock current roadblocks that prevent it from reaching its full potential. Cold spray R&D efforts have doubled during the last decade and along with new industry applications and novel demands provide both a strong body of knowledge and market pull to identify and address these roadblocks. This paper offers the authors’ perspective on what are the next steps to be taken in cold spray R&D to unleash its remarkable potential.