Five PVD coatings. One is right for your part.
Every coating we run is significantly harder than carbide. Which one you want comes down to your material, your operating temperature, and how the tool is failing today. Coating manufacturers' tooling and production parts since 1995.
Find the right coating for your application
All five are applied by cathodic arc PVD at roughly 400 °C, in a 2–5 micron layer that follows your part's existing geometry. Pick by the problem you're solving, not by the chemistry.
Alpha Coating
Our hardest all-purpose coating — 2–4× the life of TiN on cutting tools and punches.
Best for- Cutting tools & end mills
- Sheet-metal punches
- Wear-intensive tooling
TiN (Titanium Nitride)
The gold-finish general-purpose coating — 2–10× tool life and the medical-instrument standard.
Best for- General cutting & drilling
- Medical instruments
- Decorative gold finish
AlTiN (Aluminum Titanium Nitride)
Built for heat — the aluminum converts to alumina at the cutting edge for outstanding oxidation resistance.
Best for- High-temperature milling
- Dry & near-dry cutting
- Hardened steel machining
CrN (Chrome Nitride)
Heavy-duty toughness & lubricity — our go-to hard chrome plating alternative and anti-galling coating for dies.
Best for- Stamping dies
- Forming tools
- Hard-chrome replacement
TiCN (Titanium Carbo-Nitride)
Carbon in the film pushes hardness ~80% above TiN — 2–4× the tool life on demanding wear.
Best for- Injection molds
- Punches & forming dies
- Drills & taps
Not Sure Which Coating?
Free consulting on every inquiry. Tell us your part, material, and the problem you're solving — we'll recommend the right coating or point you to the right process.
Ask an ExpertStart with how the tool is failing
Most buyers arrive knowing the symptom, not the chemistry. Match your symptom below, then confirm with us — we quote free consulting on every inquiry.
Edges wearing down
General abrasive wear on cutting tools, drills, and taps — the most common reason parts come to us.
Start with TiNRunning too hot
High-speed or dry milling where the edge is oxidizing and breaking down under heat.
Start with AlTiNGalling & material pickup
Stainless and forming work where material welds to the tool and drags. Also our hard-chrome replacement.
Start with CrNMolds sticking
Injection molds and demanding punches that need more hardness than TiN can give.
Start with TiCNMaximum tool life
When the tool is expensive, the changeover is painful, or you simply want the longest run possible.
Start with AlphaWant the numbers first?
Estimate what coating would save you per year before you send a single part.
Open the ROI calculatorWhat you get regardless of which coating you pick
Free consulting
Send the part and material. We'll tell you which coating fits — or tell you honestly if coating won't help.
Small jobs welcome
A $25 minimum on cutting tools. One prototype insert or a full production run — both get quoted.
Stripping & recoating
We chemically strip existing PVD from steel alloys at about 40% of the original coating cost, then re-coat as new.
Nationwide shipping
UPS Ground reaches our Fridley, MN facility in 3 days from over half the U.S. Expedited return available.
How to ship partsHeat-treat guidance
Deposition runs near 400 °C. We'll confirm your temper can take it before anything goes in the chamber.
Heat treating for PVD30 years of shop experience
Coating tooling for manufacturers since 1995 out of a 12,850 sq ft facility in Fridley, Minnesota.
About Surface SolutionsTell us the part. We'll tell you the coating.
Send us your part, its material, and how it's failing today — we'll recommend the right coating and quote it. Response within one business day.