Step 4 of 4
71%
Why surface treating exists
Why tool surfaces and tool interiors need to be different things, and why every shop runs into the hardness-toughness tradeoff.
Step 4 of 4What "better treatment" actually buys you
A Fabricator field study on stamping operations recorded parts-per-punch climbing from 10,000 uncoated to 55,000 with a CrN/CrC multilayer to over 100,000 with AlTiN, on the same job with only the coating changed. Roughly 10x from coating selection alone. That is the strongest single field example in the literature, not the everyday number. Industry expectation for appropriate coating and heat-treat upgrades is broadly 3-10x, varying widely by application.
Quick check
A trade-press headline reads "10x tool life from coating selection." A skeptical engineer says that has to be best-case. How would you frame what is and isn't load-bearing in that number?