Abstract
Surface modification is one of the most intensively studied issue of technology, which is related to the almost all branches of industry. Since more than 100 years the huge number of methods has been developed and are still in growth. On this field the plasma transferred arc (PTA) hardfacing and surfacing is one of the most frequently used group of the method. The development of this method is going in three ways: (i) modification of the classic technique and the equipment, (ii) development in new materials, especially with the nanometric size and (iii) replacement dangerous materials (e.g. high cobalt alloys). In the current article the state of the art as well as the development directions of the plasma hardfacing issues are described.