There’s much more to cutting-tool coatings than esoteric chemical compounds. The method used to apply the coatings is equally important, as is the tool’s edge preparation, the coating thickness and the grain size of the carbide substrate.
“Many advanced coatings today include nanostructures such as nanolayers or nanocomposites,” says Dr. Jon W. Paggett, director of coating development at Kyocera Hardcoating Technologies in a recent Better MRO article. “Assuming the thickness of these ultra-thin layers can be controlled within a given range, they serve to improve the hardness and wear resistance of the coating, with only a minimal sacrifice in toughness. These layered, multiphasic structures also aid in the deflection of cracks that would otherwise propagate into the tool.”
What is your preferred tooling coating?