ACCELERATED ELECTROSPARK DEPOSITION AND THE WEAR BEHAVIOR OF COATINGS

Electrospark deposition (ESD) is a coating process that is featured by low heat input to the substrate. Low coating efficiency and other lim itations influence its wider application, The present paper introduces newly designed ESD equipment, by which a higher coating rate earn be reached, The relationship among coating thickness, surface roughness, and process parameters such as pulse energy, pulse frequency, and depo sition lime are presented, Electrospark deposition coating by the new equipment on AISI 1045 steel (with WC-8%Co as electrode) increases the wear resistance by 5 to 8 times, The micromechanism is investigated b y scanning electron microscopy observation.