Tool coating in a higher quality
A tool is only as good as its finish – and a correctly selected and carefully applied coating improves the quality essentially. Many of our customers know already that ZWT employs its own coating department for more than ten years. But why does ZWT put this much effort in their work? Business manager Bettina Bernhard explains, why the customers benefit immensely from the in-house coating at ZWT.
Business manager Bettina Bernhard doesn't tolerate any compromises regarding the quality: "In order to achieve and maintain our successful position on the market, we have to consistently fulfill our customers requirements. This implicates, that our tools have to be better than the standard tools available." Therefore, the ZWT-team pays the utmost attention to the quality of the raw materials already during the purchase process. To then improve the durability of a tool after grinding, a suitable coating has to be applied. "We examine meticulously the layers of coating applied to make sure, that they meet our strict requirements and thus guarantee the optimum protection of the tool." Specifically designed testing procedures are used to examine and document the quality.
Tool coating in a shorter amount of time
Undoubtedly, the greatest advantage of an in-house coating installation is the capability to deliver with a higher frequency: Avoiding the extra travel to and from external coating companies, the ZWT owned coating installation allows for a much faster processing of our customers orders. Moreover, this allows us to retain full control as far as the quality of the coating is concerned: The processes are monitored and documented thoroughly which helps us to notice problems in the coating process immediately and react promptly.
Specialized to your tooling requirements
The range of the coatings available at ZWT is designed to fulfill the requirements for tools. An overview of the coatings offered at ZWT is provided below:
TiN = titanium nitride; typical coating thickness 2-3 µm; universally usable coating for chipping, forming, thread cutting. Application temperature up to approx. 600°C; color: gold.
TiCN = titanium carbon nitride, coating thickness 2-3 µm, high degree of hardness. Despite its high hardness degree, TiCN tends not be too brittle, which is why it is a perfectly suitable coating for chipping tools and for milling, thread cutting, stamping and forming processes; color: gray
TiAlN = titanium aluminum nitride, coating thickness 2-3 µm. Compared to TiN, TiAlN has a better stability at high temperatures (up to 700°C), but a decreased thermal conductivity. Application as high-performance coating for indexable inserts in chip-removal processes (drilling, milling, grinding, turning); color: gray blue
ALCRO-NANO = aluminum chrome nano-coating with particularly high hardness and excellent temperature stability. This improves the durability of the tool and leads to a high surface quality. Depending on type of application and wear, this coating has a thickness of 3-5 µm and is suitable for dry processing; color: gray-purple
Applies for resharpening, too: Don't forget the coating
What is important for tools fresh from the factory, applies also for resharpened ones: To achieve an optimum productivity and durability, ZWT applies a coating to the resharpened tools, too. This makes sure that our customers receive tools for very economic conditions, which are nearly as good as completely new ones.
Otherwise: Would you try to work with a resharpened tool that has not been recoated, the lack of usability became obvious: Without coating, the durability would decrease radically and thus the tool change cycles would increase by much. Those factors clearly indicate a recoating in the majority of the given tool situations.