The use of thin surface coatings as a means of extending tool life, particularly for hob and gear shaper cutters, was introduced in the early 1980s. Large transmission manufacturers soon achieved savings in both machine down time and consumable tooling costs. However, it was also realised that tool life extensions could not be maintained after removing the coated cutting face through resharpen-ing. This situation was further compounded by having to sacrifice any increase in feed/speed rates which had been gained from first time coating. The ground-away coating needed to be replaced if the performance of a sharpened tool was to be equivalent to that of the original coated tool.
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