The influence of process parameters on TiN and TiCN coatings

The paper investigates the influence of process parameters in PVD and PACVD coating processes while applying TiN and TiCN coatings. Both coatings were applied to the cold work steel HR EN X210CrW12 substrate. Due to the high hardness of X210CrW12 steel PVD and PACVD coatings have good adhesion to the substrate surface. Good adhesion between the substrate and the coating is essential for improving overall tool life. In the PVD process, the titanium metal plate served as the target and source of titanium for coatings, with the appropriate gases introduced into the vacuum chamber, whereas in the PACVD process, titanium was supplied from the TiCl4 precursor gas, along with the appropriate active gases and gases for plasma stabilization. After the application, coatings were characterized. To observe how the coatings were deposited on the surface, the surface roughness was tested. The coating thickness was measured using the calotest method, and the coating adhesion was assessed using the VDI 3198 and scratch test methods. Results show that all coatings have been successfully applied. Low values of the surface roughness have been achieved in all samples (Ra ranges from 0.035 to 0.081 µm). Calculated coating thickness ranged from 1,014 to 2,957 µm, which corresponds to the process parameters. According to the VDI 3198 and scratch tests all samples have very good adhesion, with the PVD TiN showing the best results.