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In this article, we analyse five types of coatings, in terms of their microstructure, hardness, porosity, and wear resistance, in the as-sprayed state. The coatings are WC-based (WC-FeCrAl, WC-WB-Co, and WC-NiMoCrFeCo), alloy-based (Co-MoCrSi), or nanoWC coating-based (nanoWC-CoCr). Two tests were applied to assess the wear resistance of the coatings: a dry-pot wear test with two impact angles and an abrasive test using an abrasive cloth with two grit sizes. Porosity was determined by image analysis. Vickers impression was performed on cross-sections of the coatings, in order to determine their indentation fracture toughness. The highest hardness of the tested coatings was recorded for the nanoWC coating, followed by the rest of the WC-based coatings; meanwhile, the lowest hardness was recorded for the alloy coating. Minimal porosity was achieved by the alloy coating, due to its different nature and the absence of hard particles with a higher melting point. The NanoWC coating and other WC-based coatings had a higher porosity; however, porosity did not exceed 1% for each coating. The best wear resistance was achieved by the nanoWC coating, followed by the other WC-based coatings, with the lowest obtained by the alloy coating. The same tendency was recorded when determining the indentation fracture toughness. From a microscopic point of view, the structure of the evaluated coatings is not compact; nevertheless, their properties are excellent, and they act as compact coatings under load.

The present article highlights failure investigation of the pulleys during a press-fit assembling process. Pulleys are used to transmit power between rotational mechanical elements. Failure analysis was performed by metallographic evaluation using light microscopy, SEM and EDX, and chemical analyses. It was found that cooperative influence of higher carbon content with combination of elongated sulphides is reason for pulleys cracking. Steel cleanliness and homogeneous structure is an important factor for users of steel. The success of production process is connected with the optimal quality of steel

The conventional and innovative surface technologies are applied to sheet metal stamping dies in order to produce a composite material with properties unattainable in either the base or surface material. To select proper materials for forming dies the systematic evaluation of dies materials, their heat treatment and coatings are required. This paper deals with evaluation of plasma sprayed coatings Cr₂O₃, Al₂O₃ and WC12Co by pressure plate-ring test (tester T 05) and deep drawing process. Friction coefficients and seizure of these coatings were studied under dry and wet friction conditions. For different types of die rings (with and without ceramic coatings) the punching forces were measured during deep-drawing process. The results show that the main advantage of application of plasma sprayed coatings on the die contact surfaces under wet friction conditions compare to dies made of the tool steel may be the increase of seizure resistance of stamped part surface. The more significant difference in the friction coefficient values was not observed.