The Application of Wear Resistant Thin Layers for Cold Forming Tools

Along with technologies development rise demands on the technical level of new machinery and equipment and also the reliability and efficiency of tools used in the production processes. One of the options for increasing tool life and wear resistance is the use of tools surface treatment technology called as CVD (chemical vapor deposition) and PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) process. Chemical vapor deposition is a widely used materials-processing. CVD is an atomistic surface modification process, where a thin solid coating is deposited on an underlying heated substrate via a chemical reaction from the vapor or gas phase, PVD process is atomistic deposition process in which material is vaporized from a solid or liquid source in the form of atoms or molecules, transported in the form of a vapor through a vacuum or low pressure gaseous (or plasma) environment to the substrate where it condenses. The paper introduces the possibilities of application of these processes for cold forming tools used at operating conditions of Železiarne Podbrezová, a.s. Tools (formers and straightening rolls) are evaluated in terms of CVD and PVD coating thickness, microstructure and microhardness of tool material and coating.