Recent advances in the chromium nitride PVD process for forming and machining surface protection

This paper reports on the tribological properties of commercial Cr-N physical vapour deposition (PVD) processes for enhanced mechanical protection of forming and machining tools. The study is carried out on conventional tooling materials as substrates, i.e. high speed steels (M2) and cemented tungsten carbide. Electron beam (EB), magnetron sputtering (MS) and cathodic arc (CA) commercial Cr-N PVD processes from three different EU coating centers/companies are evaluated in terms of their tribological behaviour by standard characterization techniques for material properties: surface hardness and roughness, film adherence strength and wear resistance under sliding conditions. The results are discussed on the basis of their current applications and their influence on tool performance for manufacturing processes. Moreover, film tribological performance is correlated with their microstructural properties as obtained by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. In terms of surface hardness and adherence strength, CA Cr-N seems to outperform EB and MS coatings. However, EB and MS exhibit enhanced surface finish which might be more appropriate for some applications.