3D printing is a technology used on an ever-increasing scale, which makes it easier to obtain parts with complex geometry. The printing process is very complex because, in addition to the variables introduced by the various materials that are used, there is a multitude of process parameters: printing direction, layer thickness, infill level, filament feed rate, printing temperature, printing bed temperature, etc. Each process parameter influences the mechanical properties of the 3D-printed structure, which is why it is necessary to define the range of possible values where the effect is maximum. In this paper it was studied the effect of process parameters variation on the roughness and mechanical properties of the 3D-printed samples. Using a commercially PLA filament (produced by Prussia), we made six sets of 3D-printed samples, using six different overflow (OF) values: 90%, 95%, 100%, 105%, 110%, 115%. The test samples (realized according to ISO 572-2) were subjected to tensile tests on an Instron 3382 machine, and the results were interpreted comparatively. It has been observed that there are variations of the mechanical properties, dependent on the chosen values of the overflow and, in addition, this process parameter has an important role for the achieving the desired structure.

In this study we analyzed the rolling contact fatigue behavior of two types of coatings made by thermal coating, by the method of atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) from two commercially available powders: Ni5Al5Mo and Al2O3 – 13 TiO2. The contact fatigue behavior was studied on an installation specially designed. The specimens were tested for 54 hours (at 1380 rpm), at a load of 944 N. For both types of coatings, the appearance of a wear path was observed, much more obvious in the case of the Ni matrix layer, also confirmed by profilometry. The mechanism of the wear phenomenon was predominantly of plastic deformation type (the material was pushed towards the edges of the wear path) in the case of NiAlMo coating. In the case of ceramic coating, the wear path width was very small (300-450 μm), with very few changes at the surface level of the coating, which recommends this type of material for applications that require wear resistance to rolling.

The mechanism in which the coatings made by thermal spraying adhere to the substrate is in most cases of a mechanical nature, thus being dependent on the morphology of the substrate surface. This paper study how the texture of the substrate influences the behavior of dry sliding wear, a behavior based on the adhesion to the substrate of the analyzed coatings. For this purpose, a Co – base powder, was chosen for atmospheric plasma spraying. For the substrate, a rectangular profile made of low-alloy steel was chosen, the surface of which was textured by mechanical abrasion, in order to obtain different degrees of roughness: sample S1 – Ra1 = 1.59 µm, sample S2 – Ra2 = 2.32 µm, sample 3 – Ra3.1 = 1.25 μm, Ra3.2 = 3.88 μm. In the case of sample 3, the texturing was done on one direction, with an elongated profile, so that the effect of the main direction of dry sliding wear on the quality of the coating could be studied. The tests were performed on an Amsler test machine, at constant load, for 1 hour. The samples were mounted in a fixed position, and the wear occurred on the basis of the rotation of the metal disc, without lubrication. It was found that the coating of sample 1 was the most affected, resulting even a partial delamination, and the best behavior was recorded in the case of sample 3.1.

Fulfilling the basic role of hard thermal sprayied coatings is closely related to the value of its microhardness. The quality of such a layer depends on several variables, the main categories being: spray method (flame spray, electric arc, plasma spray, cold spray, etc.), spray parameters (spray distance, voltage and intensity, working atmosphere, direction of the spray jet, etc.) and the materials used (chemical composition of the coating materials, quality and texture of the substrate). In this study, the microhardness, elastic properties and cohesion of a coating made of hard cored wire (Praxair – Tafa) by electric arc spraying process on a low alloy steel substrate, were analyzed. The cored wire has as main hard elements WC (about 26%) and TiC (about 6%), the rest of the chemical elements present being: Cr (14%), Ni (4.5%), B (1.87%), Si (1.25%) and the Fe balance. The micro-hardness was evaluated onto the surface of the coating, previously prepared by grinding to reduce the as-coated roughness. The method based on recording the forcess generated during the indentation with simultaneous measurement of the load – depth curve (with UMT 2MCETR microtribometer) were used for the microhardness evaluation. In order to analyse the cohesion of the coated layer, scratch tests with progressive loading (10N, 15N and 20N) were performed on the same microtribometer. Tests have shown that the metal matrix uniformly includes the hard particles arised from the core of the wire, and at the microstructural level, the microhardness varies significantly, depending on the hardness of the particles on which the indentor tip applies the loading forces. However, the overall behavior of the coatings thus realized is a satisfactory one, being, as a general behavior, in the average required by the applications of such a layer.