“…Numerical techniques, such as the finite element method (FEM) and boundary element method (BEM), are also widely used in the analysis of contact mechanic problems with thin coating (Komvopoulos, 1988;Hong and Saka, 1991;Djabella and Arnell, 1993;Sun et al, 1995;Njiwa et al, 1998;Diao and Kandori, 2006). The thin-coating technique is generally used in structural components such as gears, bearings, machine tools, and artificial hip joints to improve their surface mechanical properties (Sen et al, 1989;Liu et al, 2003;Yonekura et al, 2005;Bruno et al, 2006;Martins et al, 2006). Therefore, in this paper, thin-coated joints such as ball and socket, ball on a flat plate, roller on a guide, and spur gear are analysed by FEM.…”