This work presents the results of research conducted with an aim to improve the surface quality, hardness and wear resistance of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V, obtained via the laser powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) process of additive manufacturing (AM) known as the 3D printing of metals. The 3D surfaces were coated via reactive electrospark deposition (RESD) with low-pulse energy and electrode materials of low-melting metals and multi-component hard alloys. The relationship between the electrical parameters of the RESD process and the quality, composition, structure, microhardness and wear resistance of the treated surfaces were investigated and analysed. It was found that the roughness and thickness of the resulting surface layers could be changed by changing the RESD modes within the limits of 2.5–5 µm and 8–20 µm, respectively. RESD processing allowed us to achieve two to five times lower roughness than that of titanium AM surfaces. The microhardness and wear resistance of the RESD surfaces are two to four times higher than those of the titanium substrate. Possibilities for the purposeful synthesis of new wear-resistant phases and compounds and for obtaining surface layers with predetermined thickness and roughness were established. It was shown that the subsequent reaction’s electrospark processing helped to simultaneously reduce the roughness and increase the hardness and wear resistance of the modified surfaces, and can be successfully used instead of the material-energy-labour and machine-intensive finishing treatments of the titanium surfaces obtained after 3D printing.

In the present work, abrasive and erosive wear of wear-resistant composite coatings with a complex structure and different phase compositions deposited on titanium surfaces was studied. The coatings were obtained by electrospark deposition (ESD) using two types of hard-alloy compositions: WC–TiB₂–B₄C–Co–Ni–Cr–Si–B and TiB₂–TiAl reinforced with dispersed nanoparticles of ZrO₂ and NbC. The influence of the ESD process parameters on the roughness, thickness, composition, structure and coefficient of friction of the coated surfaces was investigated, and their role in protecting the titanium surfaces from wear was clarified. Dense coatings with the presence of newly formed wear-resistant phases and crystalline-amorphous structures were obtained, with roughness, thickness and microhardness that can be varied by the ESD modes in the range Ra = 2.5 ÷ 4.5 µm, δ = 8 ÷ 30 µm and HV 8.5 ÷ 14.0 GPa. The new coatings were found to reduce the abrasive and erosive wear of the coated surfaces by up to four times. The influence of the geometric characteristics, composition and structure of coatings on the wear intensity and wear resistance of coatings was studied.

In the present work, a new type of wear-resistant coatings obtained on steels by contactless electro-spark deposition using a rotating electrode and by ele

In the present work, a new type of wear-resistant coatings obtained on steels by non-contact Electrical Spark Deposition (ESD), using a rotating electrode has been studied. Multicomponent electrodes for ESD containing WC-Co, Ni-Cr-B-Si semi-self-fluxing alloys and additives of superhard and refractory compounds of B₄C and TiB₂ have been obtained by the methods of mechanochemistry and powder metallurgy. The phase composition, microhardness and structural peculiarities of the coatings have been studied using methods of XRD, optical microscopy and SEM. The influence of the electrode composition and parameters of the deposition process on the structure, roughness, thickness, and abrasion wear of coatings have been studied. Tribological properties and wear resistance characteristics of coatings have also been examined. Coatings obtained using examined electrodes show higher friction and abrasion wear resistance than that obtained by conventionally used materials.

This paper discusses the essence and technological characteristics of the process of electrospark deposition (ESD), its advantages and disadvantages with a

In this work, coatings of composite carbide materials applied via electrospark deposition (ESD) with a low pulse energy on the most widely used titanium al