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​All five of our coatings are significantly harder than carbide, with TiN and CrN being in the 2200 – 2700 Hv range; and Alpha™, TiCN and AlTiN being in the 3600 to 4600 Hv range.

Adding carbon to a TiN film increases the hardness by nearly 80%, resulting in 2 to 3 times the tool life over titanium nitride. For improved performance and longer tool life, try TiCN in punching, injection molding, and cutting tool applications.

PVD coatings are much harder than the base materials they are applied to. They are also inert and do not react with materials they come into contact with. This combination of being hard and inert reduces the friction between the tool and the workpiece and can result in tools lasting up to ten times (10x) longer, or more, than uncoated tools.

​If your company has a need for a coating not shown here, give us a call.  We may be able to provide it for you, or refer you in the right direction.

We continue to do research on additional coating materials, including nano-layered films and carbides, and will offer these materials when (if) they become economically feasible.

AlTiN is the coating of choice for high temperature applications. The aluminum in the film converts to aluminum oxide as the coating heats up, resulting in great oxidation resistance. Use this coating in your most demanding cutting tool applications and other applications where a lot of heat is generated.

The chart to the right shows the approximate hardnesses of our coatings compared to some common tool steels and carbide.  Please note that these numbers are only approximate for hardnesses above 70 Rc (1075 Hv) since Rockwell C testing is not done above that hardness.

Advent thread millparts

*Published by Production Machining, a media brand that covers advanced new technology, practices, and processes in the manufacture of precision machined parts in high volumes.

Titanium nitride was the first general-purpose coating. It’s been around for a long time for one simple reason, . . . it works. Whether it’s cutting tools, punching or forming, or injection molding, users know they are going to get anywhere from 2 to 10 times the tool life by using this coating. TiN is the coating of choice for medical applications.

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AdventTool

At VB Industrial Supply, we’re dedicated to ensuring you have an excellent experience with us. If you have any questions or concerns, or if you’re ever unsatisfied, please let us know. We’re approachable and here to help.

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Applying a PVD coating to cutting tools as well as medical devices can offer functional advantages for both applications. Surface Solutions owner, Michael Schultz, explains everything you need to know.

Alpha™ is an extremely hard, all-purpose, multi-layered coating that has ZrN as the top layer.The bulk coating is much harder than its individual components. This synergy results in exceptional abrasion resistance and lubricity. Alpha™ outperforms most other PVD coatings in cutting tool and punching applications and provides 2 – 4x the tool life over TiN coatings.

Due to the differing hardnesses and other intrinsic properties, the premium coatings (Alpha™, TiCN, and AlTiN) usually provide longer tool life than TiN.  CrN is the toughest coating, which allows us to apply a thicker coating which counteracts this coating being slightly softer.

Chrome nitride shines in heavy-duty forming applications. We’ve had customers that were polishing their dies every 300 to 500 hits that now get 25,000, or more, without touching their dies. CrN is very tough and has excellent lubricity. ​