Rigid coatings and rigid coating tools

Abstract

This invention provides a novel hard coating and a hard-coated tool with excellent wear resistance and weld resistance to a wide range of workpiece materials. The hard coating of this invention exhibits improved wear resistance and high hardness and excellent lubricity due to the miniaturization of grains in components A and B, and its cubic rock-salt-type crystal structure. Furthermore, it has an AB interface where the layer composed of component A and the layer composed of component B are adjacent. Because the layers composed of component A and component B are adjacent, the AlCrN particles with the cubic rock-salt-type crystal structure are surrounded by a thin BNx phase, thereby reducing the compressive residual stress of the AlCrBN layer characteristic of component A and increasing the hardness of the AlCrN layer characteristic of component B. Therefore, the relationship between the hardness and toughness of the coating can be controlled, and further improvements in wear resistance can be achieved.

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