A single conductive wire is used as feedstock for the system. A supersonic plasma jet—formed by a transferred arc between a non-consumable cathode and the wire—melts and atomizes the wire. A stream of air transports the atomized metal onto the substrate. The particles flatten upon striking the surface of the substrate due to their high kinetic energy. The particles rapidly solidify upon contact and can assume both crystalline and amorphous phases. There is also the possibility of producing multi-layer coatings via stacked layers of particles, increasing wear resistance. All conductive wires up to and including  can be used as feedstock material, including "cored" wires. Refractory metals, as well as low melt materials, are easily deposited.