EFFECT OF COATING THICKNESS ON THE PROPERTIES OF TiN COATINGS DEPOSITED ON TOOL STEELS USING CATHODIC ARC PVD TECHNIQUE

Abstract

Titanium nitride ( TiN ) widely used as hard coating material, was coated on tool steels, namely on high-speed steel (HSS) and D2 tool steel by physical vapor deposition method. The study concentrated on cathodic arc physical vapor deposition (CAPVD), a technique used for the deposition of hard coatings for tooling applications, and which has many advantages. The main drawback of this technique, however, is the formation of macrodroplets (MDs) during deposition, resulting in films with rougher morphology. Various standard characterization techniques and equipment, such as electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, hardness testing machine, scratch tester, and pin-on-disc machine, were used to analyze and quantify the following properties and parameters: surface morphology, thickness, hardness, adhesion, and coefficient of friction (COF) of the deposited coatings. Surface morphology revealed that the MDs produced during the etching stage, protruded through the TiN film, resulting in film with deteriorated surface features. Both coating thickness and indentation loads influenced the hardness of the deposited coatings. The coatings deposited on HSS exhibit better adhesion compared to those on D2 tool steel. Standard deviation indicates that the coating deposited with thickness around 6.7 μm showed the most stable trend of COF versus sliding distance.

The tool surface wear during the silicon steel sheets blanking process

“…It also depends on the tools protective coatings and the technology of coating manufacturing [21]. All these issues have an influence on the blanking process energy consumption and on the cutting tool wear [3].…”

Comparative Experimental Study of Tribo-Mechanical Performance of Low-Temperature PVD Based TiN Coated PRCL Systems for Diesel Engine

“…It was also studied the impact of reducing the surface roughness of the cylinder liners on the micromechanical properties of the TiN coatings and the tribological performance of the PRCL system interfaces. The other important parameter that affects the micromechanical and tribological performance of TiN coatings is the thickness of the coating itself [13,14]. The increases in coating thickness improve the hardness, adhesion, and wear resistance of the coating [15].…”

Thickness determination of TiN and TiAl coatings on steel substrates using X‐ray diffraction method and their composition measurements by GD‐OES

“…The structure and morphology of coatings grown by physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques strongly depend on their thickness. Therefore, the resulting properties also show a strong dependence on thickness . The effect of coating thickness on the physical, thermal, mechanical, corrosion, and tribological response of the coating/substrate system has been widely reported in the literature.…”

“…Therefore, the resulting properties also show a strong dependence on thickness. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The effect of coating thickness on the physical, thermal, mechanical, corrosion, and tribological response of the coating/substrate system has been widely reported in the literature. Lu and Chen 9 found, for their TiN coatings deposited by cathodic arc plasma technique, the preferred crystallographic orientation turns from (200) for thinner coatings to (111) for much thicker coatings.…”