Abstract
The limited load-carrying capacity of tool steels greatly restricts the use of hard coatings in forming applications. This can, however, be improved by increasing the substrate's hardness, but especially for hot forging, the fracture toughness and resistance to cracking are equally important. The present work was focused on the possibilities of combining a vacuum heat treatment, a deep-cryogenic treatment and plasma nitriding in order to improve the properties of PACVD-coated tool steel.The investigation included TiCN-coated P/M high-speed steel, with 12 different combinations of the vacuum heat treatment, the deep-cryogenic treatment and plasma nitriding, which were investigated as a way of simultaneously improving the mechanical, tribological and load-carrying properties of tool steel. The results show that for the most demanding forming operations the substrate toughness is far more important than the hardness, especially at elevated temperatures, with just a vacuum-heat-treated steel substrate giving the best support for the top coating.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
