A nano-grained Cu-SiC surface composite was fabricated on a Cu plate precoated with SIC particles at room temperature after 15 min treatment using ball collisions. The composite formation was the result of mechanical mixing of the plasticized Cu and the SIC particles. Ball collisions refined the grains near the surface to the nanometer scale and destroyed the initial rolling texture of the Cu plate. The surface hardness of the composite layer was almost twice that of the initial Cu plate. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.