Introduction: Wear-resistant surface treatments offer great benefit to stamping tools when applied appropriately. While there are many good surface treatments and processes to choose from, Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coatings are ideally suited and typically the best option to use on precision slip and press fit punch components.
Selecting the right surface treatment and substrate tool steel combination is critical for achieving optimum tool life. PVD coatings provide excellent abrasion and galling resistance while maintaining the integrity of many substrate tool steels. These coatings work best when applied to high speed tool steels such as M-2, PM-M4, and T-15. A few select cold work tool steel grades can also be PVD coated successfully as long as they maintain at least a 60 HRC when tempered at or above 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
It is important to note that the PVD process is a line of sight process, which may limit the ability to coat interior contours and features. For these applications, nitriding, which case-hardens all exposed surfaces, is recommended.
Introduction: Wear-resistant surface treatments offer great benefit to stamping tools when applied appropriately. While there are many good surface treatments and processes to choose from, Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coatings are ideally suited and typically the best option to use on precision slip and press fit punch components.
Selecting the right surface treatment and substrate tool steel combination is critical for achieving optimum tool life. PVD coatings provide excellent abrasion and galling resistance while maintaining the integrity of many substrate tool steels. These coatings work best when applied to high speed tool steels such as M-2, PM-M4, and T-15. A few select cold work tool steel grades can also be PVD coated successfully as long as they maintain at least a 60 HRC when tempered at or above 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
It is important to note that the PVD process is a line of sight process, which may limit the ability to coat interior contours and features. For these applications, nitriding, which case-hardens all exposed surfaces, is recommended.
