glossary
PVD coating — Industry Glossary Entry
Definition of PVD coating for industrial blades: the family of vacuum-deposited ceramic coatings that extend knife life 20–50 %.
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PVD coating Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) is a vacuum-chamber process that deposits a thin (1–5 µm) ceramic coating on a blade surface. The blade is heated to 150–500 °C, metal vapour (Ti, Cr, Al) is generated by arc or sputtering, and reacts with nitrogen, carbon or oxygen to form the coating on the blade.
PVD vs other coating methods
- PVD: low deposition temperature, thin coating (1–5 µm), no dimension change
- CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition): high temperature (900–1,100 °C), thick coating (5–20 µm), risk of distortion
- TD (Thermo-Diffusion): salt-bath treatment, thick coating, distortion risk
- Electroplating: chromium or nickel, 10–50 µm thick, lower hardness than PVD
How to specify
- Coating material: [TiN / TiCN / CrN / AlCrN / TiAlN / DLC / ta-C]
- Thickness: 2–4 µm (1–2 µm for DLC)
- Deposition temperature: ≤ 350 °C for HSS, ≤ 450 °C for D2 / SKD11
- Adhesion test: Rockwell indentation, no delamination at the test load
See also.
