Tool Coatings

	Titanium Nitride (TiN) Coating is bright gold in color with a surface hardness reaching 81 Rc and a .4 coefficient of friction. Titanium Nitride (TiN) is the most common PVD hard coating in use today. TiN has an excellent combination of performance properties, attractive appearance, and safety (meets FDA requirements for surgical tools and implants as well as food contact applications). TiN has very good corrosion resistance, heat transmission and excellent wear resistance with a wide range of materials including iron based materials, hardened steels and stainless. Forming operations can expect a decrease in galling and welding of work piece material with a corresponding improvement in surface finish of the formed part. Increased tool life can run 3 to 8 times greater with increased feeds and speeds (finished parts per hour); a serious consideration. Longer tool life or greater feeds and speeds depend upon the application, coolant, and other conditions. Hardness; 2800 HV. Coating Thickness; 2-4 microns. Thermal Stability; 550 deg. C or 1000 deg. F.

	Titanium Carbonitride (TiCN ) Coating is medium gray or bronze in color with hardness reaching 90 Rc and a .3 coefficient of friction. TiCN Coating has up to 750 Degree F thermal stability. TiCN offers improved wear resistance to abrasive, adhesive, or difficult-to-machine materials such as, cast iron, aluminum alloys, tool steels, copper, inconel and titanium alloys. As with TiN, feeds & speeds can be increased and tool life can improve by as much as 800% depending on the application, coolant, and other conditions. Hardness; 3000 HV. Coating Thickness; 2-4 microns. Thermal Stability; 400 deg. C or750 deg. F.

	Titanium Aluminum (TiAlN) Coating is purple/black in color with a surface hardness in the upper 80 Rc range with a coefficient of friction less than Titanium Nitride (TiN). TiAlN coating is a high performance coating which excels at machining of abrasive and difficult-to-machine materials such as cast iron, aluminum alloys, tool steels, and nickel alloys. TiAlN's improved ductility makes it an excellent choice for interrupted cutting operations. Its superior oxidation resistance provides unparalleled performance in high temperature machining. TiAlN does not exhibit edge brittleness and can be used for interrupted cuts without chipping. TiAlN coating should be targeted at applications that generate the highest heat level at the tools cutting edge. Hardness; 2800 HV. Coating Thickness; 2-4 microns. Thermal Stability; 750 deg. C or 1350 deg. F.

	Aluminum Titanium Nitride (AlTiN) is recommended for cutting all materials (including nickel, titanium and high temperature alloys) at elevated speeds. Excellent for dry machining, high-speed machining and other high temp. applications and difficult to machine materials. Speeds and feeds can be dramatically increased, boosting productivity. In many cases tools may be operated dry. This lowers operation costs, eliminating coolant costs, disposal, chip cleaning, part washing, etc. AlTiN coated endmills should be run fast enough to generate sufficient heat to form a hard aluminum oxide layer at the cutting edge.Rule of thumb: run at least 30% faster than TiN coated endmills if operating conditions permit. AlTiN is one of the more newer coatings. Hardness; 3500 to 4500 HV. Thickness; 3 to 6 microns. Thermal Stability; 800 deg C or 1450 deg F. Friction; .4 Coefficient of Friction.