International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

Coatings of titanium nitride (TiN) are widely used due to their high hardness and wear resistance, making them suitable for protective, decorative, and semiconductor applications. However, their tendency toward brittle cracking and low fracture toughness limits their performance in demanding environments. Understanding and accurately modelling fracture behaviour in TiN is therefore essential to improving reliability in microelectronics, protective coatings, or biomedical devices. This work presents a first approach to modelling fractures in TiN films by explicitly representing their columnar morphology. A procedure for generating statistically representative digital microstructures and incorporating them into finite element simulations is described. The approach uses a hybrid cohesive–XFEM fracture model to capture crack initiation and propagation under complex deformation states, particularly during nanoindentation. The numerical results are validated with results from a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation.

Single-point incremental forming (SPIF) eliminates dedicated forming dies, enabling flexible and cost-effective production of complex thin-walled metallic components suitable for prototyping and low-batch manufacturing. This work develops and tests a robotic SPIF workstation using a Kawasaki RS030N industrial robotic arm to evaluate how system stiffness affects geometric accuracy. The research setup development includes a rigid forming table, a universal forming tool, and dedicated software for toolpath generation, robot communication, and parameter management. Experimental tests on aluminium and steel sheets of varying thicknesses assess the role of mechanical stiffness in maintaining dimensional accuracy. This foundational study completes the SPIF process chain—from toolpath generation and trajectory verification through forming trials and precision analysis—establishing a basis for future robotic additive forming systems aligned with Industry 4.0 principles.