Wear Behaviour of Non-Heat Treated, Hardened and PVD Coated Steel Cams

In this experimental study, the wear behaviour of AISI 1050 steel camshaft cams subjected to different surface treatments was systematically investigated. The cam samples were divided into three distinct groups: non-heat treated, induction hardened, and CrN coated using the physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. The aim was to evaluate and compare the tribological performance of each treatment type under dry sliding conditions. As the counterface material, HS10.4-3-10 high-speed steel, commercially known as lathe tool steel, was selected due to its high hardness and abrasion resistance, making it suitable for simulating real-life contact conditions. Wear tests were carried out using a cam profile measuring device adapted as a wear tester. Each cam sample was subjected to abrasion for a total duration of three hours under varying test conditions, specifically under three different normal loads (4 N, 8 N, and 12 N) and three different rotational speeds (85 rpm, 100 rpm, and 115 rpm). This setup resulted in nine test configurations per sample group. During the tests, the weight loss of the samples was recorded at one-hour intervals using a high-precision analytical balance. The experimental results revealed that the CrN-coated samples exhibited the lowest amount of wear, demonstrating the effectiveness of the PVD coating in enhancing surface durability under dry friction conditions.