Effect of Addition of Mo or V on the Structure and Cutting Performance of AlCrN-Based Coatings

Sidra Iram,Shihong Zhang,Farooq Ahmad,Jiagang Liang,Jianming Wang,Jiamin Zhang,Fei Cai

doi:10.3390/coatings10030298

Abstract

This study focuses on a comparative analysis of AlCrXN (X = Mo or V) coatings with the reference AlCrN coating via arc ion plating technique (AIP). The XRD and XPS results showed that the AlCrXN coatings were mainly composed of fcc-(Cr,Al)N solid solution phases. Both the AlCrMoN and AlCrVN coatings exhibited much higher hardness and adhesive strength than the AlCrN coating. The addition of Mo or V decreased the coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rate, which was due to the formation of lubricant oxides containing Mo or V on the coating surfaces. The cutting results showed that abrasive wear, adhesive wear, and oxidation wear were the main wear mechanisms for the coated tools at the cutting speeds of 60 m/min and 94 m/min. The addition of Mo or V dramatically improved the cutting performance of AlCrXN-coated tools by increasing the anti-wear ability due to the high hardness and the formed lubricant VOx or MoOx films.

Highlights

During the past few decades, transitional metal nitride coatings such as TiN, TiCN, CrN, CrCN, and TiAlN [1] prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD) have been extensively applied as a protective coatings to enhance the lifetime and machining performance of the machining tools
The AlCrN coating showed the thickness of 4.00 μm, while AlCrMoN and AlCrVN coatings showed the thickness of 4.08 μm and 3.96 μm, respectively
The creation of micro-particle, pinhole, and craters on the coating surface was a typical characteristic by using arc ion plating (AIP) method, which could be explained in reference [18]

Summary

Introduction

During the past few decades, transitional metal nitride coatings such as TiN, TiCN, CrN, CrCN, and TiAlN [1] prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD) have been extensively applied as a protective coatings to enhance the lifetime and machining performance of the machining tools. The CrAlN system has been recognized as an improved coating system in aspect of their higher hardness, wear resistance, excellent thermal stability, and high temperature oxidation resistance [2]. In the fields of cutting, application of nitrides coatings as a protective layer has shown significant potential because of their higher hardness and wear resistance, excellent thermal stability and oxidation resistance. The cutting tools are usually performed under different machining conditions for which the service temperature could reach up to 600–800 ◦ C. This high temperature accelerated the adhesion and wear between the tool and chip, shortening the service life of the coated tools [3]. The multilayer coatings such as AlTiN/MoN, AlTiN/CrAlTiN [4], AlCrN/TiAlSiN [5], AlCrN/VN [6], AlCrN/AlCrON [7] have been extensively investigated because of their superior tribological

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Results

Conclusion