A guide to assist in process selection for product engineering

This guide has been produced by the Institute of Metal Finishing for N-COAT 70, a project sponsored by the the TSB. It is unusual for a manufactured article to perform satisfactorily without special concern for the demands to be made on its surface. In practice the bulk properties of one material are complemented by the surface properties to be obtained from another. Surface engineering is often not given its proper due in design and manufacture, with unfortunate outcomes; manufacturers are often not well – versed in the range of technologies available for optimising the performance of their products in the environment of their application. There are commercial and environmental consequences in choosing the most appropriate strategy for surface engineering in product design, not least in the surface technologist's contribution to energy and material conservation.

The guide is not intended to replace monographs on contemporary practice in the respective surface technologies (although links will be provided) – it is intended as an aid to engineers who seek a broad view of what can currently be done. Electrochemical treatments are versatile and economical so these take prime place, but the overview indicates the nature of a variety of processes, the resulting surface properties and it gives illustrations of a breadth of applications. Links are provided to professional institutions, trade associations, to a commercial directory and to relevant publications, legislation and standards.