In the plastics processing industry extrusion process is a widely used manufacturing process. One of the most important requirements for an extruder is the highest possible mass flow rate, low wear on the extruder screw, a corrosion resistance towards plastics and the provision of a high melt quality throughout the lifetime of an extruder. In order to influence the interactions between the plastic melt and extruder surface, the extrusion tools can be modified using innovative coating technology such as physical vapor deposition (PVD). In this regard, direct current magnetron sputtering (dcMS) and high power pulse magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) hybrid technology offers many advantages, e.g. high ion flux, dense coating morphology, smooth surfaces and uniform coating thickness distribution on complex geometry components. Within the scope of this paper, ternary and quaternary chromium based nitride (Cr,Al)N and oxynitride (Cr,Al)ON PVD hard coatings, were used as protective coatings due to their mechanical, chemical and tribological properties to reduce wear and adhesion forces between extrusion tools and plastic. These hard coatings were deposited by means of hybrid dcMS/HPPMS technology in an industrial scale coating unit under oxygen gas flow variation (F(O2) = 25 sccm and F(O2) = 50 sccm) on plasma nitrided steel 34CrAlNi7-10 (1.8550). The influence of the oxygen content on the coatings morphology and its chemical composition as well as the tribological and the mechanical properties were characterized. An industrial plastic Makrolon® ET3113, PC, was considered for tribological investigations. Adhesion behavior of molten PC (corresponding the processing temperature) on PVD hard coatings was analyzed by high temperature contact angle measurements. Wear tests were performed by using pin-on-disc-tribometer measurements at room temperature T = 23 °C and higher temperature T = 150 °C against solid PC. A reduction in the adhesion tendency and friction coefficients through the coating in comparison to the uncoated substrate was observed. Keywords: Extrusion, extruder screw, plastics industry, polycarbonate, PVD, hybrid dcMS/HPPMS, Wear, Tribology.