The present paper describe the issue of tool materials wear in a high temperature conditions. The investigations were performed at the cast steel tool material at the tribological contact to the structural steel. The investigations aim was to determine the role of microstructure in a tribological properties between the structural steel and tool material. The results of such investigation could be referenced to the industry conditions and could answer about the problems of tool materials wear. The observations of the wear mechanisms were referred to the microstructure of the mill rolls. The laboratory tests ware aimed at evaluating the thermal treatment modification effect on the cast steels properties. A significant role of the morphology of ledeburitic cementite and secondary cementite on the tribological properties was exhibited. The investigations assumed the presence of an austenitic matrix with primary and secondary cementite. Influence of varying morphology carbides was described. in the cast steel microstructure. The investigation results make possible to point to a direction of carbide morphology change with the purpose of obtaining the assumed properties of hot operation tools.

Pulsed laser deposition technique was applied for covering elastic cast-polyurethane membranes with titanium nitride and boron nitride layers. The deposition process was realized using a Nd:YAG laser with Qswitch in stages; firstly the membranes were coated with ultra-thin titanium nitride layer (TixN) by evaporation of a metallic titanium disk in nitrogen gas atmosphere and then a layer of boron nitride (BN) was deposited by ablation of hexagonal h-BN target in argon atmosphere. The surface morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy. Chemical composition was analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The phase analysis was performed by means of grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy. The crystallographic texture was measured. The wear test was performed by pin-on-disk method. Hexagonal boron nitride layers with (0001)[uvtw] texture with flake-like grains were fabricated. The structure and texture of boron nitride was identical irrespectively of substrate roughness or BN thickness. Pin-on-disk wear tests showed that the coatings effectively decreased the friction coefficient from two to even four times comparing to pure polyurethane and polyurethane covered with graphite. This proved that deposited layers can replace graphite as a lubricating material used to protect polymer surfaces.