Protective coatings for hot forming ceramic dies

Staiano, A. and Ion, W. and O'Hare, L. (2015) Protective coatings for hot forming ceramic dies. In: University of Strathclyde Research Presentation Day, 2014-08-21, University of Strathclyde.

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Abstract

Superplastic forming (SPF) is an advanced sheet manufacturing process typically restricted to low volume and high value products. SPF ceramic dies have a lower production cost than conventional metal tools, and have short lead-times, but their brittle nature is a limiting factor for SPF applications. Suitable surface treatments have a remarkable effect on wear resistance; hence, the scope of the research is to investigate a suitable coating solution to improve the working surface wear resistance, increasing the lifetime of the SPF ceramic dies. The research is currently focused on the evaluation of a range of coatings for ceramic dies under SPF conditions. The initial trials are in curse using a previously developed test protocol on laboratory scale dies (Staiano et al., 2014). Depending on the resulting coating protection properties, the research project will move into trials under production conditions in a 200tonn SPF press, or in the optimisation of the coating deposition procedure. The aim of the research is to improve ceramic die lifetime, enabling their employability in hot forming processes.