Project Title: Friction and Wear Characteristics of Hard Coatings
Academic Research Areas: Surface Engineering
Project Description:
Hard coatings are required on many cutting tools to reduce wear and permit higher cutting speeds. Effective coatings require high hardness, good toughness and low coefficients of friction. The pulsed magnetron sputtering process has been shown to produce titanium nitride coatings with enhanced tribological properties in comparison with tools coated with other conventional techniques. This project will extend this technique to the deposition of chromium nitride coatings.
Product Details:
CrN coatings will be deposited on tool steel samples and high speed steel twist drills by pulsed and conventional magnetron sputtering. The tribological properties of the coatings will be assessed in a series of tests, including wear testing, scratch adhesion testing and hardness testing. The structural properties will be investigated by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Cutting tests will be carried out on the coated tools by drilling repeated holes in a steel sample and measuring the wear rate of the tool.
Resources Required:
Magnetron sputtering rig, tribo test rigs (Surface Engineering Lab), Electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (JD Tower), Substrates, tools, rig consumables (Cr target, N2 gas, Solvents, process gas, etc)