Abstract
Thermal Spray processes are widely used to fabricate corrosion and wear resistant coatings respectively. However, these coatings have to be finished generally in subsequent steps, for example by turning, milling or grinding, to adjust the the required properties, e.g., surface roughness and accuracy. Up to now grinding is the most common post processing for wire arc sprayed coatings, but in recent years the hard turning technology gained high interest for coating treatment due to high machining efficiency. The aim of the present work is to enhance the machinability of different thermal sprayed coatings. DoE-based experiments regarding surface roughness, cutting forces and temperatures in the cutting zone had been carried out. Within the investigations a significant increase of hardness due to the hard turning process at Fe-Mn coatings had been verified. This effect, the force induced martensitic transformation, could improve the mechanical properties of the coating considerably. Based on the investigations presented in this paper, a deeper understanding of post processing of thermal sprayed coatings is given.