The Peculiar Properties of Economically Effective Technology of Forming of the Ceramic Coating Based on Aluminum Oxide

Abstract

Increasing of the hardness and wear resistance of the working surfaces of parts made of aluminum and its alloys is achieved by modifying them by the method of micro-arc oxidation in alkalescent electrolytes. This technology consists in the formation of a highly hard and wear-resistant ceramic layer by means of the spark discharges and implies an enormous investment of energy and time. The finished product surface roughness in numerous cases fails to meet the requirements, and demands additional machining. High hardness of the hardened layer, at the same time causes an increased wear of the processing tool. A method in which the technological process is carried out in two stages allows improving energy efficiency of this technology. At the beginning, when using an electrolyte with a high content of liquid glass, a primary oxide layer, consisting predominantly of silicon oxide, is formed. At the next stage of micro arc oxidation, the content of the liquid glass in the electrolyte decreases, which allows the formation of predominantly high rigid aluminum oxide in ceramic layer. This technology can significantly reduce the time of formation of a coating and reduces energy consumption. To reduce the processing tool wear it is proposed to keep the surface of the modified by oxidation workpiece in hydrofluoric acid for 5 - 30 minutes. This operation allows to reduce the hardness of the upper layer, consisting mainly of silicates, without affecting the lower layer, formed mainly of aluminum oxide. As a result, it is possible to receive the required surface micro geometry with less tools wear, less time and energy. There was achieved a reduction of time for getting the finished product by 1.6 - 2.3 times, electricity by 2 - 2.7 times, tool wear by 8.7 - 12 times.