Abstract <p>The article presents the results of electron beam coating with titanium carbide (TiC) and silicon carbide (SiC) powders onto a titanium substrate (VT-1.0) in the fore-vacuum pressure range. The electron beam was generated by an electron source with a plasma cathode. It is shown that powder coating in a fore-vacuum is more effective than in a high vacuum due to a multiple increase in the proportion of powder absorbed by the melt from 2.5% (at 10^–3 Pa) to 11% (at 4 Pa). It was found that heavier SiC particles are less susceptible to scattering during radiation exposure. The application of both types powders significantly increases the microhardness of the surface layer from 1 GPa (base material) to 7–8.8 GPa.</p>