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PVD coating technology has seen many new developments in the past few years. HIPIMS + is an example of these developments with excellent results on tool productivity and lifespan. The technology combines the advantages of arc evaporation with those of magnetron sputtering and results in a dense and defect-free coating with tuneable residual stress. The coatings have been tested successfully by international tool manufacturers. Additional developments can be seen in DLC coatings and the hydrogen-free variety ta-C. These coatings are suitable for low temperature deposition and machining of special materials. SuMMAry Rockwell indent HIPIMS + TiN layersPhysical Vapour Deposition (PVD) hard coatings are mainly deposited by either arc evaporation or magnetron sputtering. High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HIPIMS + ) has given a third dimension to PVD coatings. In this article the characteristics of coatings produced with HIPIMS + technology will be explained. Furthermore other developments in tool coatings, such as Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coatings and the hydrogen-free version ta-C will be highlighted. All new developments have improved productivity of the tools as their goal.Arc evaporation and magnetron sputtering are age-old technologies, which both have their advantages and disadvantages. With arc evaporation, coatings will be very dense, with a fine grain structure, good adhesion and high deposition rate. Due to the formation of droplets, however, a certain roughness of the coating can never be avoided. Magnetron sputtering technology, on the other hand, will result in a very smooth coating which is, however, less dense and has a lower deposition rate. Since a few years now, Hauzer has been working hard on development of an alternative technology, which combines the advantages of arc and sputtering in one technology and is called HIPIMS + . This technology boosts the ionization of the sputter process and therefore results in a dense and defect-free coating. An additional advantage is that the deposition rate is fast enough to create an industrially viable coating technology. Some typical characteristics of HIPIMS + are shown in fig. 1. Structure ComparisonThe structure of coating layers produced with HIPIMS + technology are comparable to those made with arc evaporation. In fig. 2 and 3 can be seen that with HIPIMS + technology a fine grain structure can be achieved. The cross sections show inserts coated with TiAlN coating, both deposited with arc technology and HIPIMS + . Fig. 4 and 5 compare the cutting edge of inserts coated with a TiAlN coating. The smoothness of the HIPIMS + coating is clearly visible, whereas the arc coating shows roughness and droplets.

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