Model of quality management of hard coatings on ceramic cutting tools

For the development and introduction of new coated cutting tools (i.e. new combinations of cutting materials and hard coatings), it is necessary to carry out a number of studies with the purpose of optimizing the coatings composition and processing procedures, and also to test new tools under working conditions. The aim of this paper is to establish a common model for environmentally oriented quality management in the use and development of coated ceramic cutting tools with new coating systems. The paper also presents an investigation of the results of tribological and cutting properties of the coatings deposited with the PVD and CVD techniques on cutting inserts made from (Al2O3 + TiC) tool ceramics. Tests were carried out on ceramic inserts, uncoated and PVD or CVD-coated, with gradient, mono-, multi- (nano) layers and multicomponent hard wear resistant coatings composed of TiN, Ti(C, N), (Ti, Al)N, (Ti, AlSi)N and Al2O3 layers.