Assessment of Tribotechnical Properties of Consolidated Materials Obtained by Electrospark Processing

Abstract Introduction. The bakery industry is an agricultural industry of high-level processing of raw materials focuses on the end-consumer. In the production of bakery products one of the operations of the technological process is performed by dough dividers of vacuumpiston type, whose service life is 30‒40% lower than the normative. The most promising method for restoration of worn parts of the suction mechanism is electrospark processing. When selecting the electrode material, it is important that they have not only low erosion resistance, but also high tribotechnical properties. Aim of the Article. The article deals with problem of selecting electric coatings to reduce wear of working surfaces of suction mechanism parts during repair of vacuum piston-type dough dividers. Materials and Methods. The analysis of the properties of electropark coatings was carried out by nondestructive testing methods using modern research equipment; the results were processed using the Compass-3D program. Results. There are determined the values of physical, mechanical, frictional and tribotechnical properties of electrospark coatings made of BrOS10-10 bronze and Kh15N60 alloy. The total wear rate for BrOS10-10 bronze coating was 8,3 ∙ 10‒12, and for Kh15N60 alloy 15 ∙ 10‒12. Discussion and Conclusion. Total wear rate on the friction machine of bronze coated samples is lower than that of basic friction pair in 1.4 times, and of alloy coated samples ‒ higher in 1.26 times. Adding of MODENGY solid-lubricant coating to the coating from the alloy reduces its abrasion ability by 3 times, and the total wear rate ‒ by 1.34 times in comparison with the base friction pair. The used calculation-experimental method showed low wear rate of electrospark coatings of bronze and alloy in relation to the material of parts of the suction mechanism of vacuum-piston-type dough dividing machines.