Tool coatings gain increasing importance in production industry. In machining coatings allow for tools which possess high toughness and high hardness at the same time. Therefore, they provide a significant increase in productivity and tool life. Coatings can be applied to reduce adhesion and abrasion, for thermal insulation and to increase chemical resistance. The properties of coatings are not only given by the chemical composition but also by the coating process. Furthermore, combinations of different coatings - so called multilayer coatings - are used to attune the desired properties of a coating. Since 1999 the conference THe „A“ coatings has been addressing these topics and provides scientists, engineers and technologists from research and industry an international forum for coatings applications in production industry. The 12th International Conference THe „A“ coatings in Manufacturing Engineering takes place on March 31st - April 1st 2016 in the Hannover Centre for Production Technology (PZH) of the Leibniz Universität Hannover. weiterlesen