Surface and interface analysis of worn TiN (PVD) coated cold forging tools

Abstract Wear of cold forging tools, improved by TiN (PVD) hard coating and used in the production of alternator and starter components in the car industry, has been studied in detail. The most complicated case was the tool that produced a clutch housing of high precision. The 630 kN press process (50 pcs min −1 ) caused heavy adhesive and abrasive wear due to material flow, high surface pressure and also wear in the direction of tool movement. Results show that on the worn functional surfaces of the analysed tool, the lifetime of which was extended with TiN coating by a factor of 8–10, the following features were observed: non-uniform TiN coating thickness decrease; long grooves, damaged a…