M. Lister, Metlab-Potero, Wyndmoor, PA

Summary: The introduction of vanadium carbide coatings which are metallurgically bonded to the surface of tool and die steel stamping, forming and other metalworking tooling has provided manufacturers with a means of obtaining significant cost savings due to improvements in tool performance. Parts are immersed in a molten salt bath and at the end of diffusion cycle, quenched and subsequently tempered, eliminating the need for separate post-coating heat treatment. Benefits of the process over competing chemical vapor deposition coatings (CVD) include lower capital equipment costs, no harmful toxic by-products, parts with improved dimensional stability and the elimination of multiple heat treatment steps. The vanadium carbide coating increases surface hardness and lowers the coefficient of friction with a significant improvement in tool life. This presentation will discuss the benefits of the vanadium carbide diffusion coating process over the more conventional CVD, review the processing steps and equipment, and describe applications, and advantages for manufacturers.