Antiabrasive coatings in a new application - wood rotary peeling process

The aim of this study was to examine how a modification of the tool surface can improve the wood peeling process. The modification of the working surfaces of the knives consisted in covering them with antiabrasive coatings: W-C:H (DLC with WC precipitation) was deposited by a reactive magnetron sputtering method and CrN was deposited by a triode reactive sputtering method. The material subjected to cutting was beech wood. The process was conducted with a laboratory micro-lathe test apparatus. The lowest reduction of the cutting edge has been observed in CrN coated knives. After 4000 m of the cutting path, the CrN coated knives retained the best adhesion to the steel substrate. Covering tools with W-C:H and CrN coatings decreases the reduction of the knives' edges, respectively, by 38 and 52%. This result for CrN coated knives would double the tool life. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.