Titanium carbonitride (TiCN) is harder than
titanium nitride
Titanium nitride (TiN; sometimes known as tinite) is an extremely hard ceramic material, often used as a physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating on titanium alloys, steel, carbide, and aluminium components to improve the substrate's surface prop ...
(TiN) and it can be used without lubrication. Titanium carbonitride is applied to
machine tool cutters by
vapor deposition
Vacuum deposition is a group of processes used to deposit layers of material atom-by-atom or molecule-by-molecule on a solid surface. These processes operate at pressures well below atmospheric pressure (i.e., vacuum). The deposited layers can r ...
.
Titanium carbonitride coatings have high hardness and wear resistance. Titanium carbonitride is a
cermet—a composite of metal and ceramic. The ceramic provides high
hardness
In materials science, hardness (antonym: softness) is a measure of the resistance to plastic deformation, such as an indentation (over an area) or a scratch (linear), induced mechanically either by Pressing (metalworking), pressing or abrasion ...
, and the metal provides
toughness
In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing.[Camillus Cutlery Company
The Camillus Cutlery Company is one of the oldest Knife making, knife manufacturers in the United States. The company was founded in 1876 and produced millions of knives until it filed for bankruptcy in 2007. Its brand, brand name and intellectu ...]
, as used in coating knives
References
Nitrides
Titanium(III) compounds
Superhard materials
Coatings
Carbonitrides
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