DIAMOND AS A WEAR-RESISTANT COATING

Refractory chemical vapour deposition (CVD) coatings strongly improve the performances of hard metal tools. Low-pressure diamond synthesis permits both in sitU CVD diamond coating and freestanding low-pressure diamond sheet fabrication. The performance of coated and freestanding bonded diamond layer tools approaches those of commercial polycrystalline diamond (PCD) products. Low-pressure diamond grits and new composite powders could provide new and extraordinary grinding powders of raw materials for novel types of PCD composites. Commercial production is now mainly a scaling-up problem. Reliable and low-cost fabrications are among the most important requirements. As these applications tolerate the use of polycrystalline layers, they are likely to be between those industrial low-pressure diamond products having soon a significant market share.