When Small Scrapes Can’t Stand: Why Abrasion Resistance Matters

Most manufacturers know when they have a wear problem. Fewer know exactly what’s causing it.

A metal-forming die that gradually loses dimensional accuracy, an aircraft component subjected to repeated sliding contact, and an agricultural part operating in a dusty field may all be described as “wearing out.” Yet the underlying wear mechanisms can be very different.

This distinction matters because successful wear mitigation rarely begins with selecting a coating. It begins with identifying the dominant failure mechanism.

In many industrial applications, that mechanism is abrasion.

While abrasion cannot be completely eliminated, its impact can be dramatically reduced through advanced surface engineering technologies. By understanding how abrasion occurs—and why some coating solutions perform better than others—manufacturers can significantly improve component life, reliability, and long-term operating costs.

What Is Abrasion?

Abrasion is a form of mechanical wear that occurs when hard particles, rough surfaces, or repeated contact remove material from a component’s surface.

In surface engineering terms, abrasion gradually changes the surface itself. Material is removed, roughness increases, tolerances begin to shift, and performance can deteriorate. Left unchecked, abrasion can eventually lead to premature failure of critical components.

Two-Body Abrasion

Two-body abrasion occurs when one surface directly scratches or cuts another.

Common examples include:

• Bearings
• Bushings
• Shafts
• Sliding machine components
• Metal-on-metal contact applications

In these situations, the wear mechanism is relatively straightforward: one surface repeatedly interacts with another until material loss occurs.

Three-Body Abrasion

Three-body abrasion occurs when loose particles become trapped between two surfaces.

Dust, sand, metal chips, oxides, and process debris can all act as microscopic cutting tools. Rather than two surfaces interacting directly, these particles become an additional wear agent that accelerates material removal.

This type of abrasion is particularly common in industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and heavy equipment operation.

What Causes Abrasion in Industrial Applications?

Although abrasion appears differently from one application to the next, several factors commonly contribute to wear-related failures.

Hard Particle Contact

One of the most common causes of abrasion is contact with particles that are harder than the underlying surface.

These particles may include:

• Sand
• Metal fragments
• Oxides
• Process contaminants
• Environmental debris

As these particles move across a surface, they create scratches, grooves, and material loss that accumulate over time.

Sliding Friction

Repeated sliding motion can gradually erode component surfaces, even when parts appear smooth to the naked eye.

Applications involving actuators, valve systems, aerospace hardware, and production tooling frequently experience this type of wear. Over thousands or millions of cycles, microscopic interactions between surfaces can eventually become a significant maintenance concern.

Repeated Mechanical Motion

Even highly polished components are subject to wear under repeated movement.

Surface fatigue, material transfer, and micro-scratching often develop slowly, making wear difficult to detect until performance begins to suffer.

Harsh Operating Environments

Operational conditions can significantly accelerate abrasion.

Factors such as:

• High loads
• High speeds
• Dusty environments
• Corrosive exposure
• Inadequate lubrication

all increase the likelihood that abrasion will occur and shorten the service life of components.

Why Is Abrasion Such a Problem?

Abrasion is more than a surface-level issue. It can have substantial consequences for equipment performance, maintenance budgets, and operational efficiency.

Reduced Component Life

As material is removed from a component, its useful life naturally decreases.

Components may require more frequent replacement, refurbishment, or repair, increasing maintenance costs and inventory requirements.

Increased Downtime

When wear reaches unacceptable levels, equipment must be serviced or taken out of operation altogether.

For facilities that depend on continuous production, even a relatively small wear issue can result in costly downtime.

Reduced Efficiency

Abrasion frequently increases friction within a system.

Higher friction can lead to:

• Increased energy consumption
• Reduced operating efficiency
• Greater heat generation
• Accelerated wear elsewhere in the assembly

Quality and Reliability Concerns

Many industries depend on maintaining precise dimensions and consistent performance.

Abrasive wear can cause:

• Dimensional drift in tooling
• Reduced process consistency
• Tolerance issues
• Product quality concerns

In aerospace, defense, and precision manufacturing environments, even minor surface degradation can create significant reliability challenges.

Because abrasion affects both performance and profitability, manufacturers increasingly rely on engineered surface treatments to improve wear resistance and extend component life.

A Common Misconception About Abrasion Resistance

One of the most common assumptions in wear engineering is that harder always means better.

In reality, abrasion resistance is rarely determined by hardness alone.

A successful wear-resistant surface often depends on balancing several factors:

• Hardness
• Toughness
• Coefficient of friction
• Coating adhesion
• Substrate compatibility
• Operating environment

An extremely hard coating that cracks, chips, or delaminates under load may ultimately perform worse than a slightly softer coating that maintains its integrity throughout the component’s service life.

This is one reason why experienced surface engineers focus on understanding the entire application rather than simply pursuing the highest hardness value available.

Another important consideration is that abrasion rarely occurs in isolation. Components often experience multiple wear mechanisms simultaneously, including abrasion, galling, fretting, erosion, and corrosion.

The most successful coating strategies account for this broader operating picture.

Aluminum, for example, offers an excellent strength-to-weight ratio and is widely used throughout aerospace and defense applications. However, it is relatively soft compared to many engineering materials and can benefit greatly from specialized surface treatments in abrasive environments.

This is where advanced coating technologies become valuable.

How Advanced Coatings Improve Abrasion Resistance

Rather than replacing an entire component with a harder alloy, manufacturers can often improve performance by engineering the surface itself.

Advanced coating technologies can:

• Increase surface hardness
• Reduce friction
• Improve wear resistance
• Extend service life
• Lower maintenance requirements
• Enhance corrosion protection

More importantly, coatings allow engineers to tailor surface performance to the specific operating conditions of an application.

A component experiencing sliding wear may require a different solution than one exposed to abrasive particles, corrosive environments, or repeated impact loading.

How Surface Engineers Evaluate Wear Problems

Before recommending a coating, surface engineers typically ask several questions:

• What is the primary wear mechanism?
• Is the wear caused by sliding contact or abrasive particles?
• What material is the component made from?
• Are corrosion concerns present?
• What temperatures will the component experience?
• Is friction reduction a priority?
• What service life expectations exist?

The answers to these questions often determine whether technologies such as DLC, PEO, PVD, nitriding, or other surface treatments will provide the greatest benefit.

In practice, identifying the wear mechanism is often just as important as selecting the coating itself.

Comparing Abrasion-Resistant Coating Technologies

Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) Coatings

Diamond-Like Carbon coatings are carbon-based coatings that exhibit many of the characteristics associated with diamond surfaces.

Their unique combination of hardness and low friction makes them particularly effective in applications where sliding wear is a primary concern.

Key benefits include:

• Extremely high hardness
• Very low coefficient of friction
• Excellent sliding wear resistance
• Strong resistance to galling and fretting

In some operating conditions, DLC coatings can achieve friction coefficients as low as approximately 0.05. [sbir.gov]

Common applications include:

• Bearings
• Valvetrain components
• Precision assemblies
• Aerospace mechanisms

When friction reduction is a major objective, DLC is often among the strongest coating options available.

Plasma Electrolytic Oxidation (PEO)

The process is non-line-of-sight, allowing coating of complex shapes and internals, including edges and corners. Unlike anodizing, the PEO process is free of hazardous Cr and acidic waste.

Wear Resistance:

IBC conducts PEO coating on a production scale, with facilities at Technical Readiness Level (TRL) 9 and Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 10. Multiple production lines accommodate both commercial and DoW parts of varying sizes.

IBC’s industrial-scale PEO coating facilities (TRL 9, MRL 10 facilities).

IBC also offers vertical integration at scale. IBC manufactures and PEO-coats large, complex USAF missile launcher parts (LAU-12X) in quantities of hundreds per year.

Wear Testing Results:

In wear testing per ASTM G133, PEO shows significantly lower wear rates compared to Type III anodizing on multiple Al alloys (Type III “hardcoat” is intended for wear resistance).

PEO on Al-7075 showed zero measurable wear, correlating strongly with PEO-coated USAF missile rails operating in the field for 10+ years with no measurable wear. For comparison, legacy Type III anodized rails failed in the field in 12-18 months. PEO significantly improves wear resistance of aluminum.

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Coatings

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) applies thin, highly engineered coatings to a component surface using a vacuum deposition process.

Common coating chemistries include:

• TiN
• CrN
• AlCrN
• VCN

Key benefits include:

• High hardness
• Excellent adhesion
• Precise coating thickness
• Strong wear resistance

Certain PVD coatings can achieve hardness levels approaching 3,500 HV, depending on the coating chemistry used. [sbir.gov]

These characteristics make PVD an excellent choice for:

• Cutting tools
• Dies
• Metal-forming equipment
• Precision industrial components

Powder Diffusion Treatments

Powder Diffusion Treatments are thermo-chemical surface hardening processes used to apply hard and wear resistant layers for parts in extreme abrasion and corrosion environments. For many oil and gas or agricultural applications where ultra-low friction is not a primary goal, Boriding is an excellent choice.

The boriding process involves the use of specially formulated boron-yielding material heated to 1300-1800F, facilitating diffusion and the formation of ultra-hard borides within the surface of the material.

Key benefits include:

• High Hardness
• Excellent Bonding
• Non-Line-Of-Sight Deposition
• Superior Abrasion Resistance

Boriding can yield surface hardness levels approaching 1,900 HV, depending on the substrate material.

Common applications include:

• Impellers / Diffusers
• Pump Housings
• Cutters and Blades
• Valve Components
• Downhole Drilling Tools

Abrasion Testing Results:

Using IBC’s internal capabilities for Abrasion Testing, using 1” Dia Balls in a SiC slurry at 75RPM, Borided IN718 showed an improvement of over 400x in wear rate.

Test Sample	Thickness   um	Wear Rate   m3/Nm x10-13
Bare IN718	—	993
Borided IN718	13.42	2.35

Which Coating Is Best for Abrasion Resistance?

There is no universal answer.

The most effective coating depends on the application, the substrate material, and the operating environment.

As a general guideline:

DLC coatings are often preferred when friction reduction and sliding wear performance are primary concerns.

PEO coatings are frequently selected for aluminum and other lightweight alloys operating in severe wear environments where corrosion resistance also matters.

PVD coatings often excel in tooling, cutting, and metal-forming applications that require high hardness and dimensional precision.

Powder Diffusion Treatments excel in aggressive environments with three-body abrasion and where internal or complex geometries need high levels of protection.

The key takeaway is that the “best” coating is the one that addresses the specific wear mechanism affecting the component.

Abrasion Challenges Look Different Across Industries

One reason coating selection can be complex is that abrasion rarely looks the same from one industry to another.

An aerospace manufacturer may prioritize lightweight materials and tight tolerances.

A metal-forming operation may be focused primarily on extending tool life and maintaining part quality.

Agricultural applications often contend with dust, dirt, and abrasive contaminants that create severe three-body abrasion conditions.

Defense applications may require wear resistance, corrosion protection, and long-term reliability under highly demanding operating environments.

Although the underlying science remains the same, the optimal solution often varies considerably depending on how the component is used.

Solving Abrasion Challenges with IBC Coatings

At IBC Coatings, abrasion resistance is approached as an engineering challenge rather than a one-size-fits-all product decision.

Through technologies including DLC coatings, PEO treatments, PVD coatings, Powder Diffusion treatments, and other advanced surface engineering processes, IBC helps manufacturers improve durability across aerospace, automotive, agriculture, defense, metal forming, power generation, and other demanding industries. [vem-co.com].

Successful wear mitigation begins with understanding the application itself.

By evaluating wear mechanisms, material compatibility, environmental exposure, and performance objectives, engineers can identify the surface treatment strategy most likely to deliver meaningful and lasting results.

Find Your Coating Solution with IBC

Abrasion is one of the most common and costly forms of industrial wear, but it does not have to dictate component life.

Advanced surface engineering technologies—including DLC, PEO, and PVD coatings—offer powerful ways to reduce wear, improve reliability, and extend service life. However, the most effective solution is not simply the hardest coating or the newest technology.

The best results come from matching the right surface treatment to the specific challenges of the application.

Whether the goal is protecting lightweight aluminum components, reducing friction in precision assemblies, or extending tooling life in demanding industrial environments, a properly engineered coating strategy can make all the difference.