Cost-efficient coatings with friction- and wearreducing properties for the valve industry

Cost-efficient coatings are of great interest for the competitiveness in the valve industry. Previous process developments have achieved dense coatings with high wear and corrosion protection and reduced surface roughness in the sprayed state. The higher surface quality reduces mechanical post-processing, enabling a more cost-efficient adjustment of the surface roughness required for the application. By integrating various solid lubricants into the established WC CoCr coating system the tribological behaviour should be modified aiming at longer service lives. In this project, by integrating homogeneously distributed fine solid lubricant nests, a reduction in friction of 56% and wear of 86% was achieved compared to a solid lubricant-free reference made of WC/CoCr.