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Synthesis and characterization of diamond-like carbon coatings for drill bits using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

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Abstract

This study demonstrates the performance enhancement of drill bits during dry cutting operation of LM6 aluminum alloy and bright mild steel using optimized diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings. DLC coatings are deposited using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process by varying the process parameters, bias voltage, bias frequency, gas mixture, and working pressure. DLC coatings were grown over the silicon, high-speed steel, and stainless-steel pin substrate. Coating’s chemical, composition, topography, and mechanical properties measurements were checked using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and intrinsic stress and nano-hardness/micro-hardness tester, respectively. Coating deposition and optimization were carried out as per the Taguchi method. Furthermore, the optimized DLC coatings tribological test and the effect of DLC coating on the tool life were performed. Results showed that the DLC-coated substrate had less wear loss and coefficient of friction than the uncoated substrate. The dry-cutting test showed that coated drill bits produce a better surface finish and consume less power in the drilling operation than uncoated drill bits. This is due to the low coefficient of friction and low wear loss of the DLC coatings.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune, India

    Vijaykumar S. Jatti, Ashwini V. Jatti & Rahul D. Dhabale

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan

    Eyob Messele Sefene

  3. Faculty of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 26, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Eyob Messele Sefene

  4. School of Industrial and Information Engineering, Politecnico Di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Akshansh Mishra

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  1. Vijaykumar S. Jatti
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  3. Ashwini V. Jatti
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  4. Akshansh Mishra
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Contributions

VSJ, EMS, AVJ, AM, RDD: conceptualization, methodology, writing an original draft, software, reviewing, and editing the paper. All the authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Eyob Messele Sefene.

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Jatti, V.S., Sefene, E.M., Jatti, A.V. et al. Synthesis and characterization of diamond-like carbon coatings for drill bits using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 127, 4081–4096 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-023-11794-3

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