Tribological Tests of Nanometric Coatings Used for Mechatronic Components with Increased Wear-Resistance

Choosing a material or a combination of materials that is light and features a high resistance to wear and tear is a main concern of tribological studies undertaken worldwide nowadays. By integrating revolutionary combinations of a substrate and a thin layer deposited on top of it or just adding several layers of the same material as a coating, the objective of increasing the lifespan of the mechatronic applications can be attained. Thus, several studies were conducted to find better material combinations or the number of layers needed for building a certain part that will be embedded in a mechatronic system subject to intense mechanical wear. Using electronic beam evaporation, several types of materials were used to deposit thin layers on a number of types of substrates and latter, the resistance of the coatings, situated in the nanometer range (from 50 to 100 nm), was studied. The materials used for the coatings were Cr, Ti, Al, and Ti + Al multilayered, while those that served as substrates were RUL1, OLC45, C120, and OSC8 steel. A complex tribological study and physical-mechanical characterizations were undertaken, both dynamically and in real conditions, in which the authors demonstrated that the Cr deposited layer displayed the best resistance to wear regardless of the materials used as substrates even if its thickness had a twice smaller value than that of the Ti layer (second-best choice).