An usual material, EN-GJL-250 cast iron, used for automotive braking systems, was covered with a ceramic material (105NS-1 aluminium oxide) using an industrial deposition system (Sulzer Metco). The main reason was to improve the corrosion and wear (friction) resistance properties of the cast-iron. Samples were prepared by mechanical grinding and sandblasting before the deposition. We applied two and four passes (around 12–15 µm by layer) each at 90° obtaining ceramic coatings of 30 respectively 60 µm. The surface of the samples (with ceramic coatings) was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dispersive energy spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scratch and micro-hardness tests were performed using CETR-UMT-2 micro-tribometer equipment. The better corrosion resistance of the base material was obtained by applying the ceramic coating. The results present a better corrosion resistance and a higher coefficient of friction of the coated samples.

Ceramic coatings have many advantages for industrial and medical applications due to their exceptional properties. Ceramic coatings with a thickness of approximately 45 μm, after grinding, were grown using a robotic arm that used the atmospheric plasma spraying procedure. The thermal shock stresses—a common situation in applications but difficult to reproduce under laboratory conditions—of the ceramic layers on top of the metal substrate was achieved using solar energy focused by a concentrating mirror, based on experiments conducted in the CNRS-PROMES laboratory, UPR 8521, belonging to the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). The ceramic layers showed excellent stability at 1000 °C, even at high heating or cooling rates. At high temperatures (above 1800 °C), the exfoliation of the complex ceramic layer was observed. No differences in the structural, phase, mechanical or adhesion properties of the ceramic layer were observed after the thermal shock cycles (in the literature, there have been quite few reports regarding the properties of the ceramic layers after the thermal shock application). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to characterize the complex ceramic coating and the effects of thermal shock cycling. The phases and chemical composition of the complex coatings remained similar, insensitive to thermal shock at 1000 °C, consisting of a mixture of crystalline yttrium zirconium oxide and α and γ alumina. For all cases, the main residual stress state was tensile. After 5 or 10 cycles of thermal shocks, a smoothing of the residual stress state was observed in the investigated area. A higher temperature (above 1800 °C), applied as thermal shock, led to higher residual stresses and resulted in large cracks and the spallation of the coating layer.

The high yttria content of a stabilized zirconia (YSZ) (38 wt% Y₂O₃) coating was deposited by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) from Metco 207 powders on an Inconel 718 (Ni-based superalloy) substrate. As a metal coating connection, a layer of cermet powder (Ni-20% Al—410NS) was used before the ceramic layer deposition. The electro-chemical corrosion resistance of these materials was tested using Inconel cylinders with a diameter of 10 mm and a thickness of 1 mm, with and without the ceramic layer. Linear and cyclic measurements were obtained in H₂SO₄ electrolyte media at pH = 2. Electro-impedance spectroscopy (EIS) experiments were performed on the sample covered with the ceramic layer to evaluate the interface behavior. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), along with equipment to determine chemical composition, and an energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) detector were used to characterize the material surface before and after corrosion tests. It was observed that the corrosion resistance of Inconel was influenced by the bonding layer and the ceramic coating.

Some parts made of polymeric materials are used in abrasive environments. Any damage to their integrity by abrasive environments could have a negative effect on the operation of those parts. In the paper, it is proposed to use a process and equipment for evaluating the resistance to abrasive erosion based on the application of a process of enlarging a previously made hole in the polymer material specimen using a conical abrasive tool. The feed movement of the conical abrasive tool takes place under the action of a counterweight of known size. The duration of the process of enlarging by abrasion provides information on the resistance to abrasive erosion of the specimen material. An experimental study of the resistance to abrasive erosion of a polymeric material using the enlarging process with a conical abrasive tool was designed and implemented. The experimental results were processed mathematically, and an empirical mathematical model was obtained that highlights the influence of some input factors in the abrasive process on the resistance to abrasive erosion evaluated through the duration of the enlarging process with a conical abrasive tool. The possibility of using enlarging by abrasion as a procedure for evaluating the resistance to abrasive erosion was confirmed.

This paper reviews computer numerical control wood machining research published between 2020 and 2025, exploring how to choose cutting parameters so that surface quality, energy use, tool wear, and environmental impact are balanced. Wood’s anisotropy, hygroscopicity, and biological variability make it so different, even for the same species or board. Two clear shifts have emerged. Optimization work is moving from one-factor-at-a-time experiments toward multi-objective methods built on neural networks, genetic algorithms, and hybrid artificial intelligence schemes. In parallel, edge computing and predictive maintenance are bringing real-time decision-making down to the machine itself. Two gaps also stand out: few studies test sensors and artificial intelligence models under dusty, high-vibration conditions, and existing digital twins remain static and ignore the internal stresses, knots, and grain irregularities revealed during cutting. The paper closes by arguing for a total-process view of sustainability, optimizing surface quality, dust emissions, auxiliary energy use, and tool life simultaneously.