Wear Behavior of PVD-Coatings

In cold forging high tribological loads often lead to premature tool failure. If the cause of failure is wear, an extension of tool life can be achieved by applying PVD coatings. According to the different load cases appearing in cold forging processes, the development of a great variety of coatings with different properties is crucial for adjusting their properties to the plurality of applications. In order to investigate the developed coatings concerning their suitability for different processes, a sufficient characterization of the coatings is required. In this paper six different PVD coatings are investigated in the three-ball-on-disc test giving a basic impression towards wear behavior of the coatings and predominant wear mechanisms.