The dynamics of the development of modern technology depends, to a great extent, on the possibilities of producing the innovative materials with high functionality parameters, which could be used in modern, highly advanced technological processes. Surface engineering plays a very important role in this area. This is mainly due to the fact that, for many structural materials, the possibilities of classical formation of their properties (e.g., by heat treatment or the selection of the microstructure, chemical and phase composition) have been practically used up. The material and technological achievements in the surface engineering area allow the modification of the properties of the surface layer of tool and machine components. As a result, they may be better suited to work in increasingly difficult and more demanding conditions. The hybrid technologies, combining several different methods of surface treatment in one complex technological process, are the most advanced solutions compared to already known surface engineering methods. In the article, the authors present the possibilities of shaping the functional properties of the surface layer. The authors describe problems associated with the development of the hybrid technology and provide the examples of physical modelling, design, technological development, and the practical application of a hybrid technology. In this work, the authors also identify the areas whose development is needed for more effective transfer of surface engineering innovations to business applications.

In this work, the authors present the possibility of characterization of the fracture toughness in mode I (K_IC) for TiB₂ and TiB₂ coatings doped with different concentration of W (3%, 6% and 10%). The Young’s modulus, hardness and fracture toughness of this coatings are extracted from nanoindentation experiments. The fracture toughness was evaluated using calculation of crack length measurement. An important observation is that increasing tungsten concentration in the range 0–10% changes the microstructure of the investigated coatings: from columnar structure for TiB₂ coating to nano-composite structure for Ti-B-W (10%) coating. It can be concluded that doping with concentration 10 at.% W causes an increase of the fracture toughness for the tested coatings.

Molds made of tool steels used in aluminum high-pressure die casting should routinely withstand tens of thousands of injection cycles, but repeated loading and temperature spikes result in their frequent premature wear. Extending their lifetime could be sought by nitriding or application of coatings of even higher hardness or both. Therefore, in the present experiment the arc-deposited Cr/(CrN)/n^x(CrN/CrAlN)/m^x(CrAlN/VN) or Cr/(CrN)/n^x(CrN/TiAlN)/m^x(TiAlN/VN) nano-multilayer stacks were deposited on glow discharge nitrided X40CrMoV5.1 steel. The scanning and transmission electron microscopy backed by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy measurements of local chemical composition helped to confirm that the coatings are built of nanolayers of respective nitrides of period less than 10 nm. They also showed that droplets being characteristic for arc deposition method were enriched either in chromium, aluminum or vanadium but not in titanium. Both coatings presented comparable hardness of ~25 GPa, but the one covered with TiAlN/VN was roughly twice as wear resistant as the CrAlN/VN. Simultaneously, they were ~200 and ~100 more wear resistant than X40CrMoV5.1reference steel.

The article presents a summary of many years of activities in the area of increasing the durability of forging dies. The results of comprehensive research work on the analysis of the destructive mechanisms of forging dies and the possibility of increasing their durability with the use of modern surface engineering methods are presented. Great possibilities in terms of shaping operational properties of forging dies by producing hybrid layers of the “Nitrided Layer + PVD Coating” (NL + PVD coating) type were confirmed. An analysis of changes in forging dies durability under various operating conditions was performed, i.e., forging—die—forging press—pressures. It has been shown that the variety of parameters of the forging process, including forgings’ geometry and weight, materials, precision, pressures applied, and, what is very important, quality of machines, makes it very difficult to compare the effectiveness of various PVD coating solutions in the process of increasing the durability of forging dies. Hybrid layers of the “NL + PVD coating” type create great possibilities in shaping the operational properties of tools and machine elements. However, in each application a precise diagnosis of the wear mechanism and the design of an individual PVD coating material solution is required.

In this work, AlCr and AlCrFe coatings were deposited via magnetron sputtering on technical substrates of carbon steel C45 and titanium grade 2. The coatings feature an amorphous structure, a thickness of 3–4 μm, and are uniform in terms of thickness and chemical composition. No major defects were visible at the interface; however, there is no diffusion at the interface, which indicates the adhesive type of bonding and results in relatively low adhesion. The coatings are characterized by a hardness of about 8–10 GPa and a Young modulus above 150 GPa. Both values are slightly higher for steel substrate. The coatings assure good corrosion resistance for steel substrate while underperforming those of Ti grade 2.