Improved Adhesion and Tribological Properties of AlTiN-TiSiN Coatings Deposited by DCMS and HiPIMS on Nitrided Tool Steels

Abstract

Hard coatings, such as AlTiN-TiSiN, deposited by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) techniques are widely used in industrial applications to protect and increase the lifetime of industrial components, such as cutting tools, dies, and forming tools. Despite their great properties, such as high hardness and wear and oxidation resistance, they are limited in cases of severe conditions due to the poor adhesion between the coating and the substrate. Duplex treatments have commonly been used to improve the adhesive properties of PVD coatings, especially those of the cathodic arc evaporation type. The purpose of this study is to achieve coatings with the good properties of the Magnetron Sputtering processes but with higher adhesion than that achieved with these techniques, thus achieving coatings that can be used under the most severe conditions. In this work, an AlTiN-TiSiN coating was deposited by a combination of DC Magnetron Sputtering (DCMS) and High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering (HiPIMS) after a gas nitriding pretreatment on 1.2379 and Vanadis 4 tool steels. Mechanical (ultra-microhardness and scratch tests) and tribological tests were carried out to study the improvement in the properties of the coating. Duplex-treated samples showed improved adhesion between the coating and the substrate, with second critical load (Lc2) values greater than 100 N. Furthermore, they showed great toughness and wear resistance. These results show that this type of coating technique could be used in the most extreme applications and that they can compete with other techniques and coatings that to date they have not been able to compete with.

Cutting Performance of Multicomponent AlTiZrN-Coated Cemented Carbide (YG8) Tools during Milling of High-Chromium Cast Iron

“…After calculation, the average value of COF is 0.32. In [14], COF values of 0.65 were reported for AlTiN-TiSiN coating deposited on the nitrided tool steels. In [34], COF values between 0.62 and 0.68 were reported for AlCrN coatings deposited on HS6-5-2 steel substrates, and in [35], values of around 0.5-0.75 were reported for nanocomposite TiAlN coatings deposited on different steels.…”

“…Therefore, the development of PVD technology began to attract the attention of scientists. Wei, Adri á N, Alain, and others [13][14][15][16][17] studied different types of wear-resistant PVD coatings, such as TiN, AlTiN, and AlCrN, which significantly improved the life and cutting performance of tools. Elisangela, Grigoriev, Zheng, and others [18][19][20][21] studied various lubricating coatings, such as DLC, which greatly improved the wear resistance of tools.…”

Duplex Treatment of AISI 420 Steel by RF-ICP Nitriding and CrAlN Coating Deposition: The Role of Nitriding Duration

“…However, the critical issue of coating deposition is the adhesion strength of a coating to a substrate material. Poor coating adhesion can be caused by a strong difference in mechanical properties between the coating and substrate materials [4]. Coating adhesion can strongly influence the corrosion behavior of coated steel, especially under different factors, such as aggressive environment and mechanical loading.…”

Tribological behaviour of a hyperlox coating deposited over nitrided martensitic stainless steel

“…There are different studies about the combination of nitriding and deposition of hard coatings, so called duplex treatments, over different tools and medium alloy steels. Recently, it was reported that these treatments not only improve adhesion of the coating but they can also be used in more severe applications [12]. Even though in these cases, the characteristics of nitrided layers and process parameters are key factors to obtain good adhesion and mechanical properties in the whole duplex system [12][13][14][15].…”

“…Recently, it was reported that these treatments not only improve adhesion of the coating but they can also be used in more severe applications [12]. Even though in these cases, the characteristics of nitrided layers and process parameters are key factors to obtain good adhesion and mechanical properties in the whole duplex system [12][13][14][15].…”