PROCESS AND ENGINEERING BENEFITS OF SPUTTER-ION-PLATED TITANIUM NITRIDE COATINGS

Several technologies for physical vapor deposition (PVD) of TiN have been developed. This paper concentrates on a particular PVD technology called sputter ion plating (SIP). An outline is given of the equipment and the salient features of the process; emphasis is placed on the capability to coat large mixed workloads on stationary fixtures with uniform high quality layers of TiN. The main theme of the paper is to illustrate the engineering benefits of SIP TiN coatings by reference to a number of case histories. Applications include tooling used for metal cutting, metal forming, slitting and punching; applications are also included where the performances of bearings and fasteners are improved.