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In this research activity, the manufacturing of metallic coatings on polymer-based panels through the low pressure cold spray technique was studied. Aluminium particles were sprayed for the metallization and carbon fibre composite materials with thermoplastic matrix (PP, PA66) were used as substrates. Different deposition parameter combinations have been set to investigate the feasibility of the process; SEM analyses were carried out to study the coating surface morphology and the interface interaction between particle and substrate. The results showed that the CS process is an effective technique to create aluminium coatings on polymeric matrix composite materials: compact coatings can be obtained if the process parameters are properly set.

Cemented carbides present some characteristics that ensure high performances for cutting and wear-resistant tools. The aim of the work is to evaluate the influence of Chromium Carbide and Nickel on the properties (wear and friction) of a cemented carbide constituted by a hard phase of tungsten carbide and a binder phase of cobalt. Different tests were carried out by varying the percentage of Cr3C2 and, for one only case, also Nickel was added. The tests were carried out by a pin-on-disk apparatus and diamond abrasive sheet. The experimental campaign provided tests for different values of load and relative velocity. Friction coefficient was directly evaluated by the apparatus and data on the wear were obtained by measuring the loss of weight of the samples (parallelepipeds with hemispherical head). The tests allowed to determine the percentage of Cr3C2 that ensure an improvement of the aforementioned properties and to highlight the irrelevance of Nickel.