When the WC–DLC films were applied to the surface of 9310 steel by physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology

the film was prone to split off due to the internal stress of the DLC coatings and the mechanical property differences between the steel matrix and the film. Ion implantation pretreatment on the gear steel surface is one of the methods to enhance coating adhesion to the substrate. In this paper

the effects of different nitrogen ion implantation time and implantation voltage on the substrate surface hardness

coating adhesion and tribological properties were investigated. It was found that the implantation voltage increased from 10kV to 20kV

the hardness of the 9310 steel surface increased from 7.34GPa to 8.36GPa

the adhesion of the coatings to substrate increased from 39.9N to 49.3N

the surface friction coefficient of the film decreased from 0.161 to 0.119

and the wear depth of the tribology test decreased from 2.39 to 2.03

respectively. When the implantation time increased from 1h to 3h

the hardness of the 9310 steel surface increased from 7.06GPa to 8.84GPa

the adhesion increased from 34.1N to 49.9N

the surface friction coefficient of the film decreased from 0.161 to 0.118

and the friction depth of the film tribology test decreased from 2.48 to 1.99

respectively