AN UPDATE IS PRESENTED ON PROPERTIES AND APPLICATIONS FOR TITANIUM NITRIDE (TIN) COATINGS AS APPLIED BY THE PHYSICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION (PVD) METHOD FOR IMPROVED FORMING TOOL PERFORMANCE. A NEW GENERATION OF HIGH- PERFORMANCE COATINGS IS NOT AVAILABLE TO SUPPLEMENT TIN IN THE MORE SEVERE AND DEMANDING APPLICATIONS. BOTH CHROMIUM CARBIDE AND TITANIUM CARBONITRIDE ARE DESCRIBED AND THE LATEST FIELD APPLICATION RESULTS ARE REVIEWED.
