Wherever thick chips fall, for example in heavy machining and also when turning certain materials, protective coatings are vital for the tool and ensure high productivity. Very smooth and adhesive coatings are deposited using PVD coating processes. However, many applications require thicker coatings, which could previously only be produced using the CVD process.

The FerroCon Quadro coating material for indexable inserts is thick, adhesive and smooth - thanks to HiPIMS technology. © Cemecon

CemeCon now enables thick coatings with a technology that is environmentally friendly and does not use toxic or explosive gases - HiPIMS. This PVD technology, which was developed to market maturity by CemeCon, combines the advantages of all common coating processes: HiPIMS combines the smooth surface of sputtering with a fine-grained, dense morphology. Of all the strengthening mechanisms, only grain refinement offers a simultaneous increase in hardness and toughness. The layers have a lower residual stress and high thermal stability. The HiPIMS process also generates a very high level of metal ionization. This ensures very dense layers and enables unparalleled adhesion. The scratch test shows values of up to 130 N. The deposited coatings grow extremely homogeneously, resulting in an almost uniform coating thickness around the cutting edge, even on very complex tool geometries. The technology is also said to offer a very high degree of flexibility: According to the company, practically any material can be deposited.

PVD coatings up to 12 µm thickness

Today, a CC800 HiPIMS coating system delivers what used to require at least two or even three different technologies. Now the field of application has been further expanded to include coatings from 1 to 12 µm - i.e. from high-performance coatings for micro-tools to extremely wear-resistant insert coatings. This means that the coating service for indexable inserts is also relevant for certain tool manufacturers for the first time.