High-performance coatings for cutting tools

Cutting tools with hard coatings have been successfully employed in the industry for almost 50 years. Nowadays, 85% of all cemented carbide tools are coated. There is an increasing demand for ever more efficient tools driven by the use of new workpiece materials as well as the demand for increased productivity of manufacturing processes. A historical review of the development of CVD and PVD processes shows a continuous improvement of successful coating materials through adjustments of the chemical composition and the coating architecture. Especially nanostructured PVD coatings managed to establish themselves on the market surprisingly quickly. Cutting tools are an excellent example for how the development of coated products is traced methodologically by means of a holistic view over the application. The demand for innovative tooling concepts will continue to exist in the future, as will the high potential for this aim to be achieved through high-performance coatings on improved cutting materials with adjusted tool design.