NEW PROGRESS IN TiN-BASED PROTECTIVE COATINGS DEPOSITED BY ARC ION PLATING

Titanium nitride and related overlayers produced by arc ion plating (AIP) are applied as commercial coatings in world-wide scale since the middle of 80s. Due to the achievements of low temperature deposition (LTD), they begin now to be used as wear and corrosion-resistant coatings for machine parts, besides applications on cemented carbide and high speed steel cutting tools. On the other side, TiN can be now applied successfully to brass, Al-alloy, ZnAl alloy articles as decorative coating through LTD. Various nitrides, carbonitrides, borides and other refractory compounds, such as (Ti, Al)N, TiCN, CrN, are used as the coatings for special heavy-duty working conditions instead of TiN since 90s. More and more multilayer coatings are applied now substituting single layer ones. Duplex processes are under development.