Cutting tool with wear-recognition layer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9464354-B2
Application number	US-201314414727-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 23, 2013
Priority date	Aug 3, 2012
Publication date	Oct 11, 2016
Grant date	Oct 11, 2016

Abstract

Tool with optional wear-protection coating has, as an outer layer arranged on top of the substrate body or wear-protection coating, a single-layer wear-recognition layer (A) or a multilayer wear-recognition layer (B) comprising at least 4 individual layers arranged one above another, said layer or layers being produced by depositing elemental metals, metal alloys or electrically conductive metal compounds with a PVD process. Individual layer of (A) or at least one individual layer of (B) contain at least two different metals, the wear-recognition layer comprises a region produced by anodic oxidation from the upper surface down to a penetration depth that does not extend over the entire thickness of the wear-recognition layer, and the individual layer of (A) or the at least one individual layer of (B) has at least two different phases before the anodic oxidation and in the regions of the wear recognition layer that are not anodically oxidized.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Tool, consisting of:
a substrate body made of hard metal, cermet, ceramic, steel or high-speed steel,
optionally a single-layer or multi-layer wear protection coating deposited on the substrate body, and
a multi-layer wear recognition coating comprising at least four individual layers arranged one over another, the multi-layer wear recognition coating deposited as the outermost layer over the substrate body or the wear protection coating and being produced by deposition of elemental metals, metal alloys or electrically conductive metal compounds by a PVD process, wherein
at least one individual layer of the multi-layer wear recognition coating contains at least two different metals,
the wear recognition coating comprises a region produced by anodic oxidation of the material of the wear recognition coating from the outer surface of the wear recognition coating to a depth of penetration which does not extend beyond the total thickness of the wear recognition coating,
each individual layer of the multi-layer wear recognition coating exhibits a thickness in the range of from 0.5 nm to 1 μm, and
the at least one individual layer of the multi-layer wear recognition coating containing at least two different metals exhibits at least two different phases prior to the anodic oxidation and in the regions of the wear recognition coating not oxidised anodically.

2. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the individual layers of the multi-layer wear recognition coating each exhibit a thickness of from 5 nm to 250 nm.

3. Tool according to claim 2 , wherein the thickness of each of the individual layers of the multi-layer wear recognition coating is from 10 nm to 100 nm.

4. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the metals contained in the multi-layer wear recognition coating are selected from Nb, Ti, Zr, Al, Ta, W, Hf, V, Mo and Si.

5. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the metals contained in the individual layer of the multi-layer wear recognition coating containing at least two different metals are Ti and Si.

6. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the metals contained in the individual layer of the multi-layer wear recognition coating containing at least two different metals are deposited by the PVD process from mixed metal targets which contain all the metals present in the individual layer.

7. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer wear recognition coating comprises 4 to 2000 individual layers arranged over one another.

8. Tool according to claim 7 , wherein the multi-layer wear recognition coating comprises 20 to 500 individual layers arranged over one another.

9. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer wear recognition coating exhibits a total layer thickness of from 2 nm to 20 μm.

10. Tool according to claim 9 , wherein the multi-layer wear recognition coating exhibits a total layer thickness of from 10 nm to 5 μm.

11. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the electrically conductive metal compounds deposited during the PVD process are selected from nitrides, carbides and borides of the respective metals, provided the compounds are electrically conductive.

12. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the single-layer or multi-layer wear protection coating is arranged on the substrate body under the wear recognition coating.

13. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the PVD processes for the application of the individual layers of the wear recognition coating from elemental metal, metal alloy or electrically conductive metal compound are selected from arc evaporation, HIPIMS and dual magnetron sputtering.

14. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the wear recognition coating is removed again from selected regions of the tool.

15. Method for the production of a tool with a wear recognition coating according to claim 1 , comprising:
applying a multi-layer wear recognition coating from metal, metal alloy or electrically conductive metal compound by the PVD process to a tool consisting of a substrate body made of hard metal, cermet, ceramic, steel or high-speed steel,
optionally depositing a single-layer or multi-layer wear protection coating on the substrate body, and
then subjecting the wear recognition coating to anodic oxidation in an electrolyte bath,
wherein the anodic oxidation is carried out at a DC voltage and for a time which are selected so that the anodic oxidation is effected from the outer surface of the multi-layer wear recognition coating to a depth of penetration which is less than the total thickness of the wear recognition coating.

16. Tool according to claim 1 , wherein the wear protection coating is a multi-layer wear protection coating and is arranged on the substrate body under the wear recognition coating.

17. Tool according to claim 16 , wherein the multi-layer wear protection coating comprises at least one electrically non-conductive layer.

18. Tool according to claim 17 , wherein the at least one electrically non-conductive layer is an aluminium oxide layer.

19. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the single-layer or multi-layer wear protection coating is deposited on the substrate body under the wear recognition coating.

20. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the wear protection coating is a multi-layer wear protection coating and is deposited on the substrate body under the wear recognition coating.

Assignees

• Walter Ag

Inventors

• Hampsch Sebastian
• Schier Veit

Classifications

• C23C28/321

  with at least one metal alloy layer · CPC title

• C23C14/0015 Primary

  characterized by the colour of the layer · CPC title

• C23C30/005

  on hard metal substrates · CPC title

• C23C14/16

  on metallic substrates or on substrates of boron or silicon · CPC title

• Y10T428/265

  1 mil or less · CPC title