Okay, you’ve finished your design. And the engineering looks sound. Now, to be sure your build will last, you just need to add hardness to a few surfaces, right? Isn’t that what everyone else does?

But what about dry lubrication? Won’t that help with preventing wear too?

Don’t be overwhelmed. Just know all wear resistant coatings are not equal. Each has its own place. Plain and simple. In fact, do remember these universal truths:

1) No two wear resistant coatings perform exactly alike in the same environment.
2) No single wear resistant coating performs exactly alike in two different environments.

Be sure never to overlook these fundamental truths. Why? Because, ultimately, it will lead you down the path of lackluster performance, even catastrophic failure!

Often, surface failure is not the fault of the coating. It is misinformation relating to its suitability for the environment.

So, what makes a good wear-resistant coating? How do I choose?

Selecting a wear resistant coaitng right for you is easy. Once you understand the types of wear and their contributing factors:

Wear Adhesion -- visible by fretting, pits, holes or scales transfer, the result of softer materials dislodging from a widened hardness gap between two moving surfaces. Besides a drop in performance, look for visible changes in surface finish, dimensional or geometric distortion.

Wear Abrasion -- witnessed by scratches, grooves, or corrugations, caused by loose abrasive particles torn away from the wear surface. Also look for negative changes in performance, surface finish, dimensional or geometric distortion.

Wear Surface Scarring-- seen by tears or small holes, typically relates to shock or impact, and involves fatigue close to the wearing surface.

Wear Surface Erosion-- manifested by dimensional loss, but first by changes in surface finish, a natural form of polishing. Here, the mated surface consists of fine particles in the form of solids, semi solids, or liquid suspensions traveling at high rates across a surface.

Wear ‘Tribo’ Oxidation-- involves oxidation products from the wearing surface, usually in particulate form. Often harder than their parent metals, surfaces become rough which, in turn, leads to abrasive or adhesive wear.

Okay, so is increased hardness the answer?

Hardness is a term relative to other materials. By definition, we call hardness the ability to resist plastic deformation under contact stress or penetration. Other characteristics equally important can include flex strength, or resistance to mar, abrasion, or cutting.

We characterize hardness two ways:

Micro Hardness-- the individual hardness of each grain size or particle.

Macro Hardness-- an average hardness of individual grains or particles. Consequently, choosing a coating for its macro hardness, alone, can be unwise.

For Wear Surface Erosion, micro hardness, alone, is key.

But for Wear Abrasion, Wear Adhesion, Wear Surface Scarring or Wear Tribo Oxidation (sliding wear) consider adding lubrication, improvements, too, in surface finish! Because, it is here, in these wear mechanisms where surface contact can be localized and most severe.

Parent metal or other substrate you select plays an integral part of most any wear resistant coating’s success. So, be sure you consider its properties alongside your wear resistant coating.

Do you have sufficient structural support? What about plastic deformation? To avoid coating failure, fracture for example, be sure your coating resists plastic deformation more than its parent material.

Want to make a better product? Or simply, make your product faster, more reliably, with less scrap? We share your goal to improve surface performance!

Here, in the following articles, you’ll find the newest, state-of-the art advancements in wear resistant coatings. Plating. Anodizing. Nitriding. Vapor Deposition. Thermal Spray. Teflon. Dry Film Lubricants. Developments in composite, wear resistant coatings continue to emerge, we can assure you. Surface characteristics, when appropriately chosen, can perform like no other.

Imagine what that can do for your position in the marketplace!

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Because, for product designers and equipment manufacturers alike, there’s so much more to know.