**1. Introduction**

Innovative technologies that enable production of new materials and complex composites unfortunately do not find their way into engineering application. This is due to a widespread, fundamental lack of trust in new materials or materials produced via non-conventional production processes [1]. With growing awareness for limited energy and environmental resources, paired with cost aspects, innovative near net shape technologies gain interest [2]. The effects of these processing technologies on microstructural details and furthermore on friction and wear are not sufficiently understood to predict material behaviour in a sliding contact to regulate wear rates and or frictional levels. Apart from classical structural mechanical properties, these tribological characteristics have to be known for a proper design with a new material.

In the present chapter two alternative production routes are evaluated for three copper based alloys. The near net shape technologies metal (powder) injection moulding (MIM) and lost foam casting (LF) are described in part 2, both are known for steel [3] and aluminium [4] but have not been commercialised for copper-based alloys and lack substantial basic knowledge in published literature. Yet, near net shape technologies are especially interesting for copper-based alloys due to the high raw metal costs. Here, a special focus is put on the characterisation of wear and friction in a lubricated sliding contact of representative alloys shown in part 3.1. The chosen experimental set-up is depicted in part 3.2 and their tribological and analytical results in part 4. Based on the observations of a formed tribolayer and the nano-crystalline zones forming a tribologically transformed layer (TTL) as described in part 4. Part 5 forms the discussion that links the findings to literature and suggests a hypothesis for the formation of tribolayer and TTL and their effect on wear and friction levels. Finally, the chapter finishes with a conclusion in part 6.
