Intelligent machine parts with surface embedded sensors under wear resistant coatings

A surface embedded temperature sensor has successfully been fabricated on a customized industrial bolt. The aluminum substrate of the bolt was electrically isolated by plasma electrolytic oxidation followed by the fabrication of a type T thermocouple and finally covered by a wear resistant DLC coating. This bolt is part of our work to develop smart machine parts that are capable of reporting their current physical status under real working conditions enabling both new tools for condition based maintenance and information gathering for process optimization. By adding intelligence to the surfaces of machine parts we also reduce the need of traditional packaging of discrete sensor components.