Wear Reduction of Forging Dies by Application of Ceramic Multi-Layers

In about 70% of all cases forging dies fail because of wear. In order to lower this rate of wear related failure the strengthening of the tool surface is necessary and beneficial. Such strengthening is, for example, made possible with the application of thin ceramic layer. In a co-operation of IFUM and Fraunhofer IPA the application of thin ceramic multi-layers composed of TiN-TiCN-TiC was tested on forging dies. The tests conditions were chosen to be simular to actual production conditions. The results drawn from these tests show a reduction of abrasive wear that is 50% less than that measured on conventional forging dies.