New high performance coating for hard machining
Some like it hot
And the climate really gets hot and rough in production facilities that cut steels with a hardness of 60 HRC and more. The cutting edges of the tools are subject to particularly high stresses because the chips of hard metals like these are no longer cut but instead compressed and broken off under severe heat and force conditions. Thanks to a new PVD coating, it is now possible to cost-effectively hard-mill moulds and dies under such circumstances.
At EMO in Hannover from 17 to 22 September, Oerlikon Balzers will present this new high-performance coating under the BALINIT® ALDURA brand. It represents the successful synthesis of two proven high-performance coatings in one innovative dual-layer system with optimised characteristics. A perfectly adapted TiAlN base coating ensures excellent adhesion and affords great mechanical strength. The nanocrystalline AlCrN-based coating system applied over it features excellent hot hardness, resistance to oxidation, and thermal insulation properties. The unique features of this coating prevent the cutting heat from penetrating into the tool, instead keeping it where it best supports the machining process: in the chip.
Solid carbide end mills coated with BALINIT® ALDURA can fully machine heat-treated, hardened steels with 60 HRC and more while decisively reducing not only costs but also throughput times in tool and die engineering. In roughing and finishing processes, they convincingly demonstrate extraordinary wear resistance, extreme mechanical strength, and excellent edge durability. Better cutting parameters, longer service lives, and controlled cutting processes assure enhanced productivity and manufacturing reliability. At the same time, the dimensional accuracy and surface quality of workpieces are improved to such a degree that retouching and reworking become superfluous.
Oerlikon Balzers is the world's leading supplier of PVD coatings, which significantly improve the performance and durability of precision components as well as tools for the metal and plastics processing industries. These coatings marketed under the BALINIT® brand name, are extremely thin and exceptionally hard. They significantly reduce friction and wear. Oerlikon Balzers also develops processes, manufactures and sells systems and production facilities, and offers contract coating services through a dynamically growing network that currently encompasses more than 70 coating centres in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Oerlikon Balzers is a business unit of the Swiss Oerlikon Group, one of the world's leading makers of industrial solutions and cutting-edge technology in textile production, thin film coating, propulsion, precision and vacuum technology.
