Application of Titanium Nitride Coatings on Stainless Steel Tableware for Decorative and Protective Purposes
(Room Wabash 2)
13 May 16
9:40 AM
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10:00 AM
Tracks:
Protective, Tribological and Decorative Coatings
Titanium nitride coatings are commonly used to improve the hardness and scratch resistance of stainless steel parts, and also provide a decorative appearance. These features make titanium nitride coatings ideal for use in the high-end stainless steel foodservice and tableware industry. As an industry that has yet to adopt PVD technology and where quality control is of utmost importance, research is necessary to assess current deposition methods and coating qualities of titanium nitride for use on stainless steel tableware. Cathodic arc PVD was selected as the deposition technique for this application due to its ability to produce coatings with excellent adhesion and wear-resistance properties. Several deposition parameters were varied when developing the coating to create a large set of sample coatings which included changing the cleaning methods used for sample preparation, the bake temperature, deposition pressure, bias voltage, and deposition duration. The coatings were then analyzed using scratch testing and nanoindentation techniques to determine their hardness and adhesion properties. Colour and appearance were also evaluated to ensure they stayed within an acceptable range. From these results, deposition parameters were selected to create a decorative and protective titanium nitride coating recipe that is optimized for use with stainless steel tableware.