Tribology of Hard Coatings Applied to Cutting Tools

Improving the performance of various components by the application of hard tribological coatings has received much attention from researchers. Cutting tool industries have become pioneers in utilizing hard coatings on different types of tools. The effectiveness of hard coatings on cutting tools is reviewed in this paper. The two basic methods of applying coatings and wear prediction models are highlighted. Investigations have shown that the life of coated tools can be 2 to 10 times higher than that of uncoated tools, producing substantial savings in the metal cutting industries.