KYOCERA Hardcoating Technologies
KYOCERA Hardcoating Technologies
Downtime doesn’t care how tight your lead times are. If a wear plate seizes up or a form punch starts chipping, production stops. Parts pile up, deadlines slip, and someone has to pull the tool and hope there’s a spare. These aren’t edge cases. They’re daily realities in general manufacturing.
That’s why more engineers and maintenance leads are looking at Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) coatings. Not as a luxury, but as a practical way to reduce failure points, stretch tool life, and squeeze more uptime out of every shift. Whether you’re stamping, molding, machining, or just trying to keep automated lines moving, the right coating can buy you time, cut rework, and delay that next rebuild.
PVD is a vacuum-based coating process that deposits a very thin, very hard film, usually made of compounds like TiN, TiCN, or AlTiN, onto a metal part. We’re talking about 1 to 5 microns thick, which is thinner than a human hair but hard enough to resist wear, heat, friction, and chemical attack.
No, it won’t fix a bad tool design. But if your parts are wearing out at the surface, PVD can keep that surface from failing so fast.
PVD coatings bond tightly to the base material, even on complex geometries, and don’t add enough thickness to mess with your tolerances. They’re often used on parts that see sliding contact, repetitive impact, abrasive flow, or heat cycling, especially when swapping to a tougher base material isn’t feasible or would throw off your setup.
PVD coatings are no longer limited to niche or high-spec components. Today, they’re becoming a go-to solution anywhere parts experience wear, friction, impact, or the need to stay in spec over long production runs. From molding and stamping to automated handling and fixture design, coatings are helping shops solve everyday problems without major design changes.
In many operations, they’re now standard on:
| Component | Challenge Addressed |
|---|---|
| Ejector pins in molds | Reduces drag and sticking with abrasive or filled materials |
| Wear plates in automation | Helps prevent galling and surface scoring under linear motion |
| Forming punches | Delays edge wear and minimizes pickup in high-strength steels |
| Locators and nests | Preserves tolerances through repeated loading and unloading |
| Gripper jaws and guides | Cuts friction and wear in automated part handling systems |
| Inspection fixtures | Protects surface finish from abrasion or repeated contact |
| Inserts and round tools | Extends life and improves chip flow under thermal and load stress |
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These aren’t exotic coatings only used in aerospace. These are industrial workhorses that solve real shop-floor problems. Below are a few of the available options.
HTN Gold (TiN) – General-purpose coating with solid hardness and visual wear tracking.
HTC Rose (TiCN) – Low-friction coating for moving parts and contact surfaces under stress.
HTY Purple Black (AlTiN) – High-temp and wear-resistant for forming, machining, and impact tools.
HTS Bronze (AlTiN/TiSiN) – Handles thermal cycling and oxidation, especially in heated tools or fluid-exposed parts.
Each is built to handle specific conditions, abrasion, heat, friction, or repetitive motion, without altering part fit or function.
That punch you regrind every 15,000 hits? With the right coating, it might go 40,000. A coated ejector pin could run for weeks before needing attention. It’s not a workaround. It’s extending what you already have.
If mold pins are dragging or automation parts keep stalling, friction may be to blame. A slicker surface, like HTC Rose, smooths the motion and helps prevent damage.
Hot stamping dies, aluminum molds, and guide rails sprayed with coolant; HTY and HTS are built for these conditions. They hold their hardness, resist oxidation, and keep your tolerances consistent.
PVD coatings are thin and uniform. You won’t lose your press fit, alter diameters, or need to post-machine. Most parts go straight from coating to assembly.
Coatings like HTN Gold and HTY Purple Black make it easier to track wear or organize tools by function. And while aesthetics may not be the goal, sharp-looking tools are easier to manage and inspect.
| Industry | Coated Part | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Sheet metal fab | Form punches | Extended edge life, reduced galling on AHSS |
| Plastics | Mold ejectors and guides | Less sticking, better part release |
| Automation | Wear plates, gripper fingers | Reduced friction, fewer maintenance stops |
| Heavy equipment | Locating pins and bushings | Improved surface durability, less scoring |
| Consumer goods | Trim dies and polish fixtures | Better surface finish retention, less hand-polishing |
Ask yourself:
Are we replacing this part more often than we’d like?
Are we seeing scuffing, dragging, or edge breakdown?
Is friction, heat, or contamination shortening tool life?
Are tool changeovers or reworks slowing us down?
Are we maintaining low-cost tools at high cost?
If the answer is yes, a PVD coating could be a straightforward way to make your tools or fixtures last longer—without changing the way you build or run parts.
PVD isn’t a cure for bad setups, poor tolerances, or worn-out designs. But when the base part is solid and the surface is the weak point, this is one of the cleanest, most cost-effective upgrades you can make. It helps parts survive longer, work better, and take more punishment before they fail.
Use the options below to explore our full lineup of PVD coatings, connect with technical support, or request a quote. Whether you’re troubleshooting a specific issue or planning your next production run, we’re here to help you find the right solution.
Q: Can PVD coatings be used on hardened tool steels like H13 or D2?
A:Â Yes. PVD coatings are routinely applied to hardened steels, including H13, D2, A2, and M2. These substrates must be properly cleaned and prepared, but they remain dimensionally stable during coating. PVD adds wear protection without compromising the heat treatment or altering the material properties.
Q: How does PVD compare to nitriding or black oxide in manufacturing applications?
A:Â PVD offers higher surface hardness, better wear resistance, and greater thermal stability than nitriding or black oxide. While nitriding penetrates into the substrate, PVD applies a harder, thin surface layer. Black oxide is mainly cosmetic and offers minimal wear protection. PVD is ideal for high-performance tooling, fixtures, and wear parts.
Q: What is the best PVD coating for high-friction sliding components in automation or assembly lines?
A:Â HTC Rose (TiCN) or similar TiCN-based coatings are ideal for high-friction sliding parts such as gripper jaws, guide pins, and wear strips. These coatings reduce the coefficient of friction, minimize galling, and extend the life of parts without lubrication or in dry-run conditions.
Q: Will PVD coatings affect part tolerances or assembly fit?
A:Â No, not significantly. PVD coatings are typically 1 to 5 microns thick, so they do not impact most part fits or mating surfaces. They can be applied to close-tolerance parts like ejectors, bushings, or precision locators without the need for post-processing or dimensional adjustments.
Q: Are PVD coatings resistant to coolants, oils, and industrial chemicals?
A: Yes. PVD coatings are chemically inert and highly resistant to most industrial fluids, including cutting oils, coolants, cleaning solvents, and washdown chemicals. This makes them ideal for parts exposed to contamination, corrosion, or chemical attack in production environments.
Q: Can I recoat a part after the original PVD wears off?
A: Yes. Recoating is common in manufacturing. The original coating is stripped using a safe chemical process that preserves the base metal, followed by reapplication. Many facilities include tooling rotation programs that rely on recoating cycles to reduce replacement costs.
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KYOCERA Hardcoating Technologies
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