INNOESTAMP

The aim of INNOESTAMP is to develop and demonstrate a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD)-based surface treatment solution able to enhance the performance of tooling for press hardening of steel sheet.

The project deals with the development of thick, nanostructured nitride-based PVD coatings and temperature resistant DLC coatings, with enhanced tribological properties through nanostructuring. Factors such as doping or the architecture of the coating and its influence on the final performance will be studied, in order to obtain an optimized solution.

These solutions will be demonstrated in a press hardening pilot line, set up and validated during the project to be representative of conditions in the industrial environment. The project will thus result in a solution that is ready for industrial application.

Press hardening (also known as hot stamping) is a forming process that allows to achieve light, high- performance sheet steel components, a low-cost solution for weight reduction in vehicle structural and safety components. In this process, boron steel sheet is heated to austenitization temperature (900ºC) and transferred to a set of cooled dies, obtaining the final geometry and heat treatment in a single step.

This project is participated by Metal Estalki, a company dedicated to the development, application and service of hard PVD coatings in tools and components and Eurecat Metallic and Ceramic Materials Technological Unit.