Abstract: A vacuum arc coating process that can form a hard coating layer excellent in both bonding quality with the substrate and surface roughness, a coating machine for this process, and a revolving cutting tool produced by this process. Vacuum chamber 1 is provided with subchamber 3 that is less evacuatable than coating chamber 2. Arcing-type evaporation source 4 is placed in subchamber 3. A gas such as nitrogen gas is introduced into subchamber 3 from gas-introducing portion 6 when substrate 10 is cleaned before the deposition, so that the gas pressure is kept higher in subchamber 3 than in the vicinity of substrate 10. This condition suppresses the generation of molten particles when the cathode (the evaporating material) of arc evaporation source 4 is melted and ionized, without reducing the sputtering effect. A revolving cutting tool thus obtained has a small magnitude of surface roughness.

Abstract: In a coated hard tool, a hard coating is formed on a hard base material, wherein the coating includes ten or more sublayers of types A and B stacked alternately. In the sublayer of type A, a plurality of secondary sublayers of different types each having a thickness of 1 to 50 nm are stacked periodically and repeatedly, while the sublayer of type B is formed of a single layer. The sublayers each have a thickness of 100 to 1000 nm. Each sublayer contains at least one compound selected from a nitride, a carbide, a nitrided carbide and an oxide containing at least one element selected from elements of periodic group 4A, elements of periodic group 5A, Al and B.

Abstract: A coating film which can sufficiently improve the wear resistance of a cutting tool or a wear-resistant tool and which reveals excellent qualities as a wear-resistant or protective film for an electric or electronic part or a sliding or machine part. Such a coating film is in the form of an ultra-thin film laminate comprising at least one nitride or carbonitride of at least one element selected from the group consisting of the elements in the groups IVa, Va and VIa in the periodic table and Al and B and having a cubic crystal structure and having mainly metallic bonding properties, and at least one compound having a crystal structure other than the cubic crystal structure at normal temperature and normal pressure and under equilibrium state and having mainly covalent bonding properties, the at least one nitride or carbonitride and the compound being alternately laminated in the form of layers, each layer of the compound having a thickness of 0.

Abstract: A coating film which can sufficiently improve the wear resistance of a cutting tool or a wear-resistant tool and which reveals excellent qualities as a wear-resistant or protective film for an electric or electronic part or a sliding or machine part. Such a coating film is in the form of an ultra-thin film laminate comprising at least one nitride or carbonitride of at least one element selected from the group consisting of the elements in the groups IVa, Va and VIa in the periodic table and Al and B and having a cubic crystal structure and having mainly metallic bonding properties, and at least one compound having a crystal structure other than the cubic crystal structure at normal temperature and normal pressure and under equilibrium state and having mainly covalent bonding properties, the at least one nitride or carbonitride and the compound being alternately laminated in the form of layers, each layer of the compound having a thickness of 0.