Properties of the wear resistant coatings deposited on the cemented carbides substrates in the cathodic arc evaporation process

It has been demonstrated in the paper that the deposition of the multi-layer and multi-component coatings with the PVD technique using cathode arc evaporation CAE process, on tools made from cemented carbides, results in the increasing of coating hardness and the improvement of their adhesion to the substrate, comprising with the single- or multi-layer coatings deposited using the PVD or CVD methods on the same substrate materials, deciding improvement of the working properties of cutting tools coated with the TiN + mono or multi (Ti, Al, Si)N + TiN system coatings, compared with coatings developed on the same sintered tool materials, but uncoated or coated with simple coatings. The paper presents the results of the structural examinations, mechanical tests and working properties of thin wear resistant coatings of the TiN + mono or multi (Ti, Al, Si)N + TiN type, deposited onto the substrate from the cemented carbides. Structural examinations of the applied coatings and their substrate was made using the SEM and on the light microscope. The evaluation of the adhesion of the deposited coatings onto the cemented carbides was done using the scratch tester. Cutting properties of the investigated materials were determined based on the technological continuous cutting tests of the C45E steel. Microhardness tests of the deposited coatings were made on the ultra-microhardness tester. Surface roughness tests were done either before depositing the coatings and after completing the PVD process.