Everyone knows that the type of coating for a job is the most important thing to consider. Right?
Obviously, using a diamond type of coated tool on a steel part is a bad idea, as the carbon from the diamond will readily dissolve into the steel. So in the case of chemical incompatibility / misapplication, I guess what everybody knows is correct.
But after listening to George Korenyi-Both of Dayton Coating Technologies, I found myself agreeing with his 3 factors to understanding tool coatings.

According to George, the three factors are Adhesion, Thickness and Morphology.
IN THAT ORDER.

• The Adhesion of the coating is 10,000 times more important than the type of coating, according to George.
• The Thickness of the coating is 1000 times more important than the type of coating.
• The Morphology of the coating is responsible for about 10 times the advantage over the type of coating.

What good is a high tech coating to your job if it won’t stay on the tool when you need it?
If it isn’t thick enough to be effective?
At that point, does it really matter what type of coating it is? Or what its structure is?