SURFACE ENGINEERING - AN ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR MANUFACTURING-INDUSTRY

Surface Engineering (SE) - a term practically unknown even a decade ago - can be described as an enabling technology, applicable to a wide spectrum of industrial sector activities. The subject's emergence as a distinct, integrating discipline, encompassing many areas of engineering, physics and materials science, has been greatly influenced and driven by recent major developments in coating and treatment process technologies and by the realisation that the surface is the most important part of any engineering component. It is from surface initiated effects that most components fail. Technological advance is often constrained by surface demands. Commonly surfaces with enhanced friction, wear and corrosion resistance are required. The role of SE to satisfy these requirements, involving the design and creation of novel coating systems, is illustrated. The need for appropriate quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) procedures for advanced surface coatings is indicated.