A Novel Temperature Adaptive Nano-crystalline Dry Lubricant plus Hard Phase Composite Coating for Cutting Tools and Advanced Machining Applications

University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR

Investigators

Abstract

This project is to design, develop and test a novel temperature adaptive and nano-crystalline dry lubricant (MoS2+ZnO) plus hard phase (TiN) composite coating for cutting tools and advanced machining applications. The nano-crystalline dry lubricant (MoS2+ZnO) particulate coating will be deposited using an innovative electrostatic spray coating (ESC) process. In this project, nano-crystalline ZnO particles, coated with MoS2 via a ball milling process, will be sprayed onto appropriate substrates using ESC. Sequentially, a hard TiN phase will be infiltrated into the nano-crystalline particulate ZnO matrix using a chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) process. The combination of ZnO + MoS2 was selected for investigation because it forms oxythiomolybdates and molybdates, which have exhibited an excellent potential for high temperature applications. The project is a collaboration between the Materials and Manufacturing Research Laboratories (MRL) at the University of Arkansas and Materials Research and Development (MRD) at Valenite-Widia. As a part of the project, students and university faculty will perform part of the research at Valenite. The experience gained in this manner will be of great benefit to the project and will generate an outstanding workforce knowledgeable in the emerging area of nano-technology and advanced manufacturing. This program will truly add scientific and engineering innovations to the state-of-the-art, and thus, will allow the investigators to competitively address the emerging needs of the multi-billion dollar cutting tool industry for low cost, temperature adaptive lubrication, even on complex surfaces. The establishment of this technology and resulting products can be a major step in the realization of dry machining for environmentally conscious "green" manufacturing.