Influence of deposition rate on the properties of tin coatings deposited on tool steels using arc method

Titanium nitride (TiN) widely used as hard coating material, was coated on tool steels, namely on high-speed steel (HSS) and D2 tool steel by physical vapour deposition method. The study concentrated on cathodic arc physical vapour deposition (CAPVD), a technique used for the deposition of hard coatings for tooling applications, and which has many advantages. The main drawback of this technique, however, is the formation of macrodroplets (MD's) during deposition, resulting in films with rougher morphology. Various standard characterization techniques and equipment, such as electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, hardness testing machine, scratch tester and pin-on-disc machine, were used to analyze and quantify the following properties and parameters, surface morphology, thickness, hardness, adhesion and coefficient of friction (COF) of the deposited coatings. Surface morphology revealed that the MD's produced during the etching stage, protruded through the thin film, resulting in film with deteriorated surface features. Both coating thickness and indentation loads influenced the hardness of the deposited coatings. The coatings deposited on HSS exhibit better adhesion compared to those on D2 tool steel. Standard deviation indicates that the coating deposited with thickness around 6.7 macro m showed the most stable trend of COF versus sliding distance