MACH 2014 - Super Nitride coatings by HTL offer performance boost

Making its debut at MACH 2014, the company was recently established in the UK to offer an enhanced coating service focused on quality and an efficient service. HTL's high performance PVD coatings are said to be ideal for cutting tools, punches, forming tools and mould components, with companies using PVD coatings achieving dramatic gains in productivity, with a dedicated company vehicle providing a pick-up and drop-off service for customers. Visitors to the company's stand within the GTMA Pavilion will hear about HTL's PVD (physical vapour deposition) coatings. These include Super Nitride coating for drills and milling tools such as aluminium titanium nitride AlTiN SuperAlt (also known as Hyperlox) and titanium diboride TiB2 SuperTib (also known as AluSpeed). For indexable inserts, Allox SN2 – TiAlN Plus – double thickness coating, and Hyperlox can also be applied. Power Nitride coatings using the HiPIMS (high power impulse magnetron sputter) state-of-the-art process include HiPulse Power for superior tool life and performance when cutting stainless, titanium and high temperature alloys; and HiPulse Hard, the very latest coating technology offered by the company that is a second generation nano-structured coating. It offers significant performance benefits when machining extremely hard materials of 50-plus HRc and difficult-to-cut materials. Paul Hill, sales engineer (UK), says: "HTL has invested in the very latest state-of-the-art HiPIMS (High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputter) advanced cutting tool coating technology for drills and milling tools, as well as indexable inserts and hobbing tools. The leading-edge CemeCon sputtering PVD (physical vapour deposition) coating process technology and the material combinations available with this process will offer significant benefits to manufacturing companies across the UK." Unlike the arc PVD process which melts the coating material onto the substrate, the sputter PVD process transfers the coating material directly from a solid to a gaseous state. As a result, the process does not cause the formation of droplets, bead-shaped macro particles on the coating surface. This results in extremely smooth coatings. And rather than wait for customer demand for a new coating, HTL says it will develop the technology and offer it to cutting tool manufacturers, regrind shops and end users. Mr Hill explains: "Old coating technology is, effectively, holding back UK manufacturing in terms of efficiency and global competitiveness. Too many in the coating industry still expect customers to settle for old coatings, such as TiN and TiCN, rather than provide the high performance alternatives." The service offered to the regrind shops allows them to offer advanced coatings without any time penalties, the company adds. "Because of the sputter coating process, reground cutting tools can look even better than they did when they were new, a feature the regrinding companies we currently support are keen to highlight to the end customer," Mr Hill says.