Low-Temperature Tempering and Sputtering for Driving Tool Hardness
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost of manufacturing hand-held driving tools due to the use of expensive base materials like high-speed tool steel and die steel, combined with labor-intensive processes such as cutting and grinding, results in increased production costs and potentially reduced hardness and toughness when titanium nitride coatings are applied at elevated temperatures.
Innovation Solution
A manufacturing method involving low-temperature tempering of inexpensive steel materials, followed by applying a titanium nitride or chromium nitride coating using the sputtering method at temperatures up to 300°C, which reduces production costs while maintaining the required hardness and wear resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If high-speed tool steel or die steel is used as base material and tempered at high temperatures (550°C or more), then the driver achieves high hardness and toughness, but the manufacturing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the tempering temperature parameter from conventional high temperatures (550°C or more) to low temperatures (150°C to 200°C), which allows the use of less expensive steel materials while still achieving the required hardness and toughness when combined with PVD coating
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure by applying a titanium nitride coating via PVD onto the tempered steel base material. This composite approach allows the base material to provide toughness while the coating provides surface hardness and wear resistance, enabling the use of cheaper base materials
2Reliability
If titanium nitride coating is applied by conventional methods at high temperatures, then wear resistance is improved, but the hardness and toughness acquired by tempering may decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the coating application temperature from conventional high temperatures to low temperatures (150°C to 200°C) using PVD method. This temperature parameter change preserves the hardness and toughness of the tempered base material while still forming a wear-resistant titanium nitride coating
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces conventional high-temperature coating methods with PVD (physical vapor deposition) technology, which applies coating at lower temperatures through physical processes rather than thermal processes, thereby preserving the base material's mechanical properties
3Manufacturing precision
If expensive high-speed tool steel or die steel is used with cutting and grinding processes, then the driver achieves required performance, but labor intensity and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material selection parameter to use less expensive steel that can be formed by punching instead of cutting/grinding, combined with low-temperature tempering and PVD coating to achieve the required performance, thereby reducing both labor intensity and material cost
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method allows for the production of drivers with high hardness and wear resistance at a lower cost, using less expensive materials like carbon steel, while maintaining the durability of the driving tool.
Implementation Method 1
A coating is applied to a surface of the base material by sputtering
Data Source
AI summary
A base material is subjected to a low-temperature tempering treatment at a temperature equal to or less than 300° C. After the tempering treatment, a coating is applied to the base material by a sputtering method.