The effects of AlCrN coating, surface modification and their combination on the tribological properties of high speed steel under dry conditions

In this study, the effects of a combination of ultrasonic nanocrystalline surface modification (UNSM) technique and AlCrN coating on the tribological properties of high speed steel (HSS) were investigated. The AlCrN coating with a thickness of about 3 µm was deposited by the physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique onto the polished and UNSM-treated HSS specimens. The tribological and scratch tests results revealed that the AlCrN coating deposited onto the UNSM-treated specimen showed better tribological properties compared to that of the AlCrN coating deposited onto the polished specimen, which may be attributed to the modified surface beneath the AlCrN coating. Hence, it is expected that the results of this study can be applied to reduce the wear of fine blanking punches.