Tribology and application of Ti-C : H- and Cr-C : H-coated cemented tungsten carbide substrates

A series of Ti-x%-C:H and Cr-x%-C:H coatings on cemented tungsten carbide ( WC-Co) substrates have been tested. Wear testing has been performed on an o scillating wear testing machine. Cutting performance was evaluated by pract ical milling trials on AISI 1045 steel. Microhardness, the percentage of el astic deformation energy, adhesion strength and elemental composition withi n the coating layer have been studied. The results are compared with uncoat ed and ceramic-coated WC-Co substrates. Experiments show that a Ti-10%-C:H/ TiC/TiCN/TiN/Ti coating provides excellent tribological properties for wear resistance, while a Ti-30%-C:H/TiC/TiCN/TiN/Ti coating is the optimum coat ing for cutting performance. The Cr-based coatings (Cr-x%-C:H and ceramic c oatings CrN, CrCN) yielded poor cutting performance. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.