PT Journal AU Svobodova, J Lysonkova, I Krejci, M TI Microhardness and Nano-hardness Measurement of Composite Coatings Applied to Aluminium Substrate SO Manufacturing Technology Journal PY 2019 BP 700 EP 705 VL 19 IS 4 DI 10.21062/ujep/358.2019/a/1213-2489/MT/19/4/700 DE Hardness; Nanoindentation Test; Composite Coatings; PTFE; WC Particles; Aluminium Substrate AB In recent years, significant success has been achieved in surface treatment research, particularly in the field of physics, which deals with the surface properties of metals and their alloys, as well as new methods of coating preparation and thin films. These coatings and layers can modify material properties, i.e. increase oxidation and corrosion resistance, and improve frictional surface characteristics and other physical properties (e.g. electronics and optics). This article focuses on the mechanical properties of the coating, in particular on the hardness of composite PTFE coatings with WC micro and nano particles. In the experiment, samples of different concentrations of WC particles in the PTFE matrix were prepared, followed by a Vickers and Nanoindentation test. The difficulty in measuring the hardness of these layers is their small thickness. It is therefore difficult to measure the hardness by conventional methods, for example, Brinell or Vickers. The applicability of the individual methods (according to Vickers, nanoindentation test) we have experimentally verified and drawn the relevant conclusions and recommendations. Part of the contribution is also SEM documentation of created coatings. An important parameter is the coating technology itself when making these composite coatings. The technology can influence the distribution of particles in the matrix, which results in the homogeneity of the coating and the associated mechanical properties or tribological properties. ER