Stress design in hard coatings

A new method is presented to improve the wear resistance of hard coatings. It is based on a residual stress design in which the intrinsic stress from the interface to the film surface is increased by the coating process. Initially, the stress distribution, structure and chemical composition of the used TiCrN are investigated. The depth profiles of stresses are calculated using a simple FE model. Finally, the coating systems are evaluated by means of machining tests.