The cathodic cage plasma deposition (CCPD) is an advanced technique recently developed from an active screen plasma nitriding system, which has been used for thin film deposition such as titanium nitride and titanium dioxide (TiO 2). These coatings can improve the physical, mechanical, and optical properties of numerous materials, and such coatings can be developed by several techniques. Unfortunately, the conventional deposition techniques exhibit certain drawbacks, including high cost, the complexity of the operation, very low pressure, and high processing temperature; as a result, CCPD is an advantageous technique. In this review, brief information on the deposition of titanium nitride and oxide coatings on steel alloys, titanium, glass, and silicon substrates, and the effect of control parameters on deposition efficiency is provided. The effectiveness of this system for the synthesis of thin films on various substrates, including insulators and conductors, is also summarized. The recent developments and applications of CCPD for titanium-based coatings are described in detail.

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AISI D6 tool steel and AISI 304 stainless steel are among the most widely used material in the industry. However, this application field can still be expanded through the coatings deposition. In this regard, the objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of coatings application by cathodic cage technique using Hastelloy's cathodic cage, on corrosion resistance of these steels. Two treatment temperatures were compared. The samples were characterized by Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction with the application of the Rietveld routine and corrosion test. The results showed the formation of multiphase layers that contributed to corrosion potentials reduction for treatments at 400 °C, being more effective when applied on AISI D6. It was observed that the corrosion resistance is influenced by the temperature, which was attributed to the precipitation of chromium nitride and iron oxide at 450 ºC.

AISI 5160 steel has high toughness and ductility. However, in specific applications, better tribological performance is required. In this sense, the study's objective was to perform plasma nitriding with Hastelloy's cathodic cage followed by the conventional plasma nitriding in AISI 5160 steel to produce high hardness and wear resistance. The results showed that the samples and cutting tools subjected to this process showed higher wear resistance than untreated samples and high-speed steel tools. The sample submitted to treatments with 450°C and 3 h showed greater surface hardness and less volume loss in the mechanical and machining tests. Therefore, the duplex treatment presented in this work with posterior plasma nitriding proved efficient with the low processing time.

RESUMO A crescente necessidade de aumentar a produtividade do setor industrial, impulsiona o desenvolvimento de novos aços e novos tratamentos que possam melhorar o desempenho e a vida útil de ferramentas de corte, conformação e estampagem. Tratamentos de superfície assistidos por plasma destacam-se nesse contexto. Trabalhos anteriores têm demonstrado que esses revestimentos são eficientes no aumento da dureza, na resistência ao desgaste e na resistência a corrosão de diversos tipos de aços. Nesse sentido, amostras e ferramentas de aços AISI M2 e D2 termicamente tratadas foram submetidas aos processos de nitretação a plasma convencional, em gaiola catódica e tratamento duplex com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito desses tratamentos em ferramentas de conformação buscando a viabilidade da aplicação do método no setor industrial com a redução do custo de fabricação na conformação e estampagem de pregos. Ensaios de microdureza Vickers, análise por MEV e Difração de Raios-X (DRX) possibilitaram identificar propriedades mecânicas, camada de compostos e as fases presentes, respectivamente. O desempenho das ferramentas baseou-se na quantidade de pregos produzida em kg. O custo produtivo foi determinado em função da produtividade, do preço de aquisição da ferramenta e do preço da nitretação. O uso da nitretação a plasma se mostrou viável para os dois aços, destacando-se o fato de que as ferramentas de aço D2 nitretadas a 480ºC por 3 horas, obtiveram os maiores ganhos de produtividade em relação a ferramenta não nitretada. A aplicação da nitretação convencional na ferramenta de aço M2 a 480ºC por 4 horas possibilitou a redução de seu custo em 26% e redução de 3,5% sobre o custo total de produção de pregos, obtendo o melhor custo-benefício.

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In this study, a combination of conventional plasma nitriding and cathodic cage plasma deposition (CCPD) at different temperatures (400 and 450 °C) is implemented to enhance the surface properties of AISI-M2 steel. This combination effectively improves the surface hardness and the formation of a favorable hardness gradient toward the core, which would benefit the load-bearing capacity of substrate. The duplex-treated samples exhibit iron nitrides Fe4N, Fe2−3N and titanium nitride TiN phases. The thickness of the hard-TiN layer is 1.35 and 2.37 μm, whereas the combined thickness of the hard film and diffusion layer is 87 and 124 μm, for treatment at 400 and 450 °C, respectively. The wear rate and friction coefficient are dramatically reduced by duplex treatment. The oxidative wear mechanism and adhesive wear mechanism are dominant for duplex-treated samples. This study suggests that the cathodic cage plasma deposition technique can attain a combination of hard film and diffusion layer. The plasma nitriding before CCPD is beneficial for attaining an adequate nitrogen diffusion layer thickness. The drawbacks of conventional TiN film deposition, such as “egg-shell” problems, can be removed.

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