In industrial PVD deposition systems the substrates usually move in a so-called planetary rotation in order to deposit a homogeneous coating on the whole surface area of the tools. In this study we compared microstructure, surface topography and hardness of the coatings, deposited in the same batch but using different types of rotation: one-fold, two-fold and three-fold. The coating was a multilayer TiAlN/VN, deposited by magnetron sputtering. Microstructure was studied on cross-sectioned samples using SEM, prepared either by fracture or by focused ion beam. Coatings prepared by two-fold and threefold rotation. were very similar, both in microstructure and in hardness. They had dense, only slightly columnar microstructure. In contrast, coatings prepared by single rotation had a pronounced columnar microstructure, and substantially lower hardness. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.