Effect of methane concentration on physical properties of diamond-coated cemented carbide tool inserts obtained by hot-filament chemical vapour deposition

Diamond-coated tools can greatly improve the productivity of machining highly abrasive materials such as high silicon–aluminium alloys used in the automotive industry. Cemented-carbide diamond-coated tool inserts have not become an off-the-shelf product owing to several difficulties including insufficient adhesion of diamond to the substrate and questionable reproducibilty in their machining performance in the manufacturing. In order to overcome these difficulties, a better understanding of the effects of the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) conditions such as methane concentration, reactor pressure and substrate temperature is important. In this work, cemented tungsten carbide tool inserts with 6 wt% Co (WC–Co) were coated with diamond films deposited at five different methane concentrations (1–9 vol%). Here we present preliminary results of the effect of methane concentration variation on the following physical properties of the diamond coating: surface morphology; crystal structure; chemical quality; surface roughness; residual stress. The results indicate that the best physical properties of diamond-coated tool inserts using hot-filament CVD are achieved with diamond coatings deposited at methane concentrations ranging from 1 to 3%.     

Improvements in reliability and serviceability of cemented carbides with wear-resistant coatings

Typical defects in microstructure at a surface-coating interface in chemical vapor deposition coated cemented carbides are described. Results on applying new technologies developed to improve reliability and serviceability of coated cemented carbides are presented. Using WC-based cemented carbide substrates with a uniform, fine microstructure etched before coating eliminates various defects at the surface-coating interface. This results in improvement in serviceability and reliability of the coated cemented carbides in metal-cutting.     

Chemically vapour deposited diamond coatings on cemented tungsten carbides: Substrate pretreatments, adhesion and cutting performance

Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of diamond films onto Co-cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) tools and wear parts presents several problems due to interfacial graphitization induced by the binder phase and thermal expansion mismatch of diamond and WC-Co. Methods used to improve diamond film adhesion include substrate-modification processes that create a three-dimensional compositionally graded interface. This paper reviews substrate pretreatments and adhesion issues of chemically vapour deposited diamond films on WC-Co. The combined effect of pretreatments and substrate microstructure on the adhesive toughness and wear rate of CVD diamond in dry machining of highly abrasive materials was analyzed. The role of diamond film surface morphology on chip evacuation in dry milling of ceramics was also investigated by comparing feed forces of coated and uncoated mills. The overall tribological performance of diamond coated mills depended on coating microstructure and smoothness. The use of smother films did allow to reduce cutting forces by facilitating chip evacuation.     

刀具镀层的技术进展

综述了化学气相沉积（CVD）和物理气相沉积（PVD）工艺的特点与开发，以及CVD和PVD镀层及金刚石镀层刀具的性能和应用。中温CVD，PVD和金刚石镀层刀具等技术的进展标志着先进镀层应用时代的来临。     

The versatility of hot-filament activated chemical vapor deposition

In the field of activated chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of polycrystalline diamond films, hot-filament activation (HF-CVD) is widely used for applications where large deposition areas are needed or three-dimensional substrates have to be coated. We have developed processes for the deposition of conductive, boron-doped diamond films as well as for tribological crystalline diamond coatings on deposition areas up to 50 cm × 100 cm. Such multi-filament processes are used to produce diamond electrodes for advanced electrochemical processes or large batches of diamond-coated tools and parts, respectively. These processes demonstrate the high degree of uniformity and reproducibility of hot-filament CVD. The usability of hot-filament CVD for diamond deposition on three-dimensional substrates is well known for CVD diamond shaft tools. We also develop interior diamond coatings for drawing dies, nozzles, and thread guides.Hot-filament CVD also enables the deposition of diamond film modifications with tailored properties. In order to adjust the surface topography to specific applications, we apply processes for smooth, fine-grained or textured diamond films for cutting tools and tribological applications. Rough diamond is employed for grinding applications. Multilayers of fine-grained and coarse-grained diamond have been developed, showing increased shock resistance due to reduced crack propagation.Hot-filament CVD is also used for in situ deposition of carbide coatings and diamond-carbide composites, and the deposition of non-diamond, silicon-based films. These coatings are suitable as diffusion barriers and are also applied for adhesion and stress engineering and for semiconductor applications, respectively.     

Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond coated tools performance in machining of PEEK composites

This paper presents a study about the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond coated tool performance in machining unreinforced PEEK and composite PEEK CF30 (reinforced with 30% of carbon fibres).

The experimental procedure consisted of turning operations, during which cutting forces and surface roughness obtained in composite workpieces were measured.

The obtained results showed a best cutting performance for CVD diamond coated tool in machining PEEK composites, particularly in terms of cutting forces and power consumption, when compared with polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and cemented carbide (K10) cutting tools. This fact is very important due to the minor production costs of CVD diamond coated tools in comparison with PCD tools.     

CVD-diamond technologies for dry drilling applications

CVD-diamond for dry drilling applications is reported. Specifically, the fabrication of nanostructured diamond-coated drills is outlined. Tool life is evaluated by dry drilling of aluminum alloy and nanostructured diamond-coated drills show a superior performance to uncoated drills. In addition, different surface treatments have been studied with the effects on diamond film deposition and delamination investigated. Moreover, drill edge geometry has been evaluated. Major findings indicate that the drill edge radius plays a critical role to the drilling performance. A slightly honed edge may lead to improved performance due to the reduction of deposition stresses at the tool edge.     

Neue Kapseltechnik für Diamantverbundwerkstoffe mittels PVD‐Verfahren

Novel encapsulation technique for diamond composites using PVD‐process For machining of mineral materials diamond tools consisting of a steel body combined with diamond impregnated segments are used. Frequently, these segments are hot pressed. Other process routes are pressureless sintering of green compacts partly combined with hot isostatic pressing and hot isostatic pressing of encapsulated powder mixtures. The compaction effect of hot isostatic pressing require a low porosity of sintered components realized by using ultra‐fine metal powder or an impermeable capsule made of metal or glass. The Institute of Materials Engineering pursues a novel process route by physical vapor deposition of a coating on pressureless sintered composites. The thin coating acts as a capsule and guarantees the pressure transfer in the following hot isostatic pressing process. Although bronze powders with particle sizes up to 90 μm are used, the manufacturing of diamond composites with low porosities is possible. In comparison to conventional encapsulation‐techniques the main advantages of this novel process route are the use of comparatively coarse metal powders and a larger geometric flexibility.     

加工7075航空铝合金用金刚石涂层刀具的制备及其切削性能

采用热丝化学气相沉积(HFCVD)技术在WC-Co8%硬质合金刀具表面制备金刚石涂层,调节甲烷浓度等沉积工艺制备了单层金刚石涂层刀具和微米金刚石涂层(1.2 μm)、纳米金刚石涂层(200 nm)交替多层金刚石涂层刀具。以7075航空铝合金作为切削工件,在无润滑干切条件下测试了单层金刚石涂层刀具和多层金刚石涂层刀具的切削性能。实验结果表明,切削2 h后单层金刚石涂层刀具涂层脱落宽度达到35 μm,刀刃钝化;有多层金刚石涂层刀具的刃型保持完整,涂层无脱落。对单层金刚石涂层和多层金刚石涂层平面样品进行了洛氏压痕实验。结果表明,多层金刚石涂层的脱落面积约为单层金刚石涂层脱落面积的1/5到1/10,进一步说明多层金刚石涂层有更强的抵抗裂纹产生的能力。这些结果表明,金刚石多层结构能提高涂层与基体的界面结合力,延长金刚石涂层刀具的使用寿命。     

New rapid diamond synthesis technique; using multiplexed pulsed lasers in laboratory ambients

 QQC, Inc. has developed a revolutionary diamond deposition technique which does not require a vacuum, or H₂, or ”chemical” or physical pre-treatment of surfaces. The process utilizes a combination of various pulsed lasers and is performed at the laboratory p−t conditions: with CO₂ and N₂ as shrouding gases. Crystalline diamond films and DLC or, more accurately, tetrahedral non-crystalline carbon (TNC) have been formed on various substrates. On WC cutting tools the rate of deposition of crystalline diamond is approximately 1 μm/sec. In the context of fabricating a diamond coating on a substrate, the entire pre-surface treatment and material synthesis process including a coating regime, is performed in one step. Received: 10 September 1997/Accepted: 25 September 1997     

Cutting Performance and Wear Mechanism of Multilayer Diamond-Coated Tools

Monolayer and multilayer diamond films are deposited on WC-Co cemented carbide by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition. The growth characteristics of diamond coatings are analyzed. Cutting performance characteristics such as tool life and the stability of machining process in the machining of presintered ZrO₂ are compared based on the variation of cutting speed and resultant cutting force, and workpiece surface roughness. For the monolayer diamond coatings, as the concentration of CH₄ increases from 1% to 5%, the diamond crystal is transformed from micron columnar crystal to nanocluster crystal. The multilayer diamond coatings combine the advantages of micron- and nanocrystalline structures. The multilayer diamond-coated tool exhibits longer service life and better machining quality. Because of the appearance of the brittle–plastic conversion mechanism, the surface integrity of ZrO₂ processed by multilayer diamond-coated tool is relatively high. As for the uncoated tool, the workpiece is mainly machined by brittle spalling. The interfacial stratified fracture system between the interlayers is proposed to be the toughening mechanism of the multilayer structure.     

CVD金刚石材料在高性能刀具上的应用

介绍了在激发氢气和碳氢混合气体的“活化”发光状态下使金刚石沉积的CVD金刚石制造工艺原理和“厚膜”CVD金刚石的新工艺。由于CVD金刚石的聚晶结构使其具有超过天然金刚石断裂韧性的优异特点,因此可作为切削刀具材料使用。介绍了其在高性能切削刀具和修整刀具上的实际应用情况。     

Time-modulated chemical vapour deposition diamonf on mould making 2738 steel

The mould making industry is known to be worldwide in rapid expansion, due to the fact that polymeric based materials are increasingly replacing conventional used ones, thus placing enormous challenges on production methods and tools.The application of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond coatings onto moulds can be a promising tool to improve properties such as adhesion, reduction on abrasion and corrosive wear, filling and releasing problems or even tool thermal fatigue. Despite its potential for use in these types of applications, diamond coating on steel substrates is not problem-free and a few critical problems such as adhesion to steel, process temperatures and film property control, remain to be solved.This paper reports on experimental results obtained from an investigation focusing on the deposition of diamond coatings onto steel substrates using the new time-modulated chemical vapour deposition process. Furthermore, the technique is evaluated in order to establish its suitability for application in mould production tools.     

X‐ray diffraction (XRD)‐studies on the temperature dependent interface reactions on hafnium,zirconium, and nickel coated monocrystalline diamonds used in grinding segments for stone and concrete machining

Diamond impregnated metal matrix composites are the state of the art solution for the machining of mineral materials. The type of interface reactions between the metal matrix and diamond surface has an essential influence on the tool performance and durability. To improve the diamond retention, the diamonds can be coated by physical vapour deposition with metallic materials, which enforce interface reactions. Hence, this paper focuses on the investigation of the interfacial area on metal‐coated monocrystalline diamonds. Hafnium and zirconium, both known as carbide forming elements, are used as coating materials. The third coating, which is used to determine its catalytic influences when applied as a physical vapour deposition (PVD)‐layer, is nickel. Additionally, the coated diamond samples were heat‐treated to investigate the starting point of the formation of new phases. X‐ray diffraction‐analyses revealed the assumed carbide formation on hafnium and zirconium coated samples. The formation temperature was identified between 800 °C and 1000 °C for hafnium and zirconium coatings.     

Chemical vapour deposition of microdrill cutting edges for micro- and nanotechnology applications

Conventional cemented tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) microdrills generally have a low cutting efficiency and short lifetime mainly because they operate at very high cutting speeds. Since it is relatively expensive to make microtools it is highly desirable to improve their lifetime and in-service performance. Microtools used to make microelectronic and mechanical systems (M.E.M.S) devices with sharp cutting edges, such as milling or drilling tools need protective coating in order to extend life and improve performance. One method of achieving this objective is to use a suitable surface engineering technology to deposit a hard wear resistant coating, such as diamond. Diamond has excellent mechanical properties, such as ultra-high hardness and a low friction coefficient. One of the most promising surface treatment technologies for depositing diamond onto complex shaped components is chemical vapour deposition (CVD). However, CVD of diamond coatings onto the cemented WC-Co tool has proved to be problematic. Binder materials such as cobalt can suppress diamond nucleation resulting in poor adhesion between the coating and substrate. In this paper the effects of pre-treated substrate material on the coating structure are reported. The morphology and the crystallinity of the as-grown films was characterised by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Raman spectroscopy was used to assess the carbon-phase purity and give an indication of the stress levels in the as-grown polycrystalline diamond films. The diamond coated tools have potential applications in micro- and nanomachining of micro- and nano-sized components used in M.E.MS.     

Prediction of cutting speed interval of diamond-coated tools with residual stress

This article deals with finite element (FE) analysis incorporating deposition stress effects to determine the optimal cutting speed interval, V_interval, and evaluate the effects of cutting speed on the interface behavior of diamond-coated tools in machining of AA356-T6 aluminum alloy. A model for predicting the V_interval limited through the lower, V_lower, and upper, V_upper, cutting speeds is also presented. The results show that the deposition process causes high residual stress around the round edge on the coating side. When machining load corresponding to the speed interval is applied, the residual stress on the coating side is decreased at the V_upper.     

Coatings made of tungsten carbide and tantalum carbide for machining tools

Continuous evolution of cutting parameters has been a constant requirement for the manufacture of machining tools. This has promoted the development of new technologies to reduce the production time as well as cost without affecting the competitiveness. In the present work, high speed tools have been coated with WC and TaC by means of chemical vapour deposition and tested in a high speed milling machine. Damages on the tips of these cutting tools were analysed by scanning electron microscope. These observations show that the coating is heterogeneous and affected by the type and composition of various phases formed. Results indicate that the coating made from WC is more highly resistant to attrition than that made of TaC. Surfaces that have been machined by the coated tools are evaluated by means of the average roughness parameter     

Synthesis and characterization of nano-crystalline CVD diamond film on pure titanium using Ar/CH4/H2 gas mixture

Titanium and Ti alloys have poor tribological properties and deposition of a well adherent diamond coating is a promising way to solve this problem. But diamond film deposition on pure titanium and Ti alloys is always difficult due to the high diffusion coefficient of carbon in Ti, the large mismatch in their thermal expansion coefficients, the complex nature of the interlayer formed during diamond deposition, and the difficulty of achieving very high nucleation density. A nano-crystalline diamond (NCD) film can resolve Ti and Ti alloys weak tribological performance due to its smooth surface. A well-adhered NCD film was successfully deposited on pure Ti substrate by using a microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (MWPCVD) system in the environment of Ar, CH₄ and H₂ gases at a moderate temperature. Detailed experimental results on the preparation, characterization and successful deposition of the NCD film on pure Ti are discussed.     

热丝CVD法制备金刚石涂层刀具的研究现状

金刚石涂层刀具具有优异的硬度、耐磨性及导热性,在军事、航空航天等高精尖应用领域加工石墨、高硅铝合金、碳纤维增强塑料等难切削材料时无可替代,但目前金刚石涂层刀具存在两个问题:一是涂层与刀具间膜基结合力较差,导致涂层在使用中过早脱落;二是涂层表面粗糙度较大,难以保证被加工面的平整度与尺寸精度。本文从增强涂层结合力与降低涂层粗糙度两方面,将近年来科研人员对HFCVD法制备金刚石涂层的研究成果加以综述,并分析了各种因素对金刚石涂层刀具性能的影响。     

Diamond deposition on Mo with thermal stress buffer layer coated mild steel substrate by combustion flame CVD

In order to develop wear resistance diamond/molybdenum (Mo) hybrid coating process can be conducted in open air. Diamond deposition on the molybdenum with thermal stress buffer layer coated mild steel substrate by the combustion flame chemical vapor deposition (CFCVD) was carried out. As the thermal stress buffer layer, atmospheric plasma sprayed Mo/Fe mixture coating was deposited between Mo top coat and mild steel substrate. Consequently, crack generation and peeling off of the coating occurred due to thermal influences on the condition of Mo coated mild steel substrate in our previous study, diamond particles could be created on the Mo coating without fracture and peeling off. Besides, an additional Mo coating after diamond deposition increases the adhesion force between the diamond coating and the initial Mo coating. This encapsulation of the diamond particles between two Mo layers dramatically improves the resistance of the global coating making it strong enough to resist to the wearing test. These results demonstrate the high potential of thermal sprayed coating for the wear resistance improvement.