A physics-based, pointwise model is developed to predict crater profiles of multilayer coated carbides after a series of turning experiments. Dissolution and abrasion mechanisms, which are identified to be the dominant wear mechanisms at the crater, are reformulated into a pointwise or local quantity to predict the crater profiles based on the temperature and pressure profiles from finite element (FE) simulations. The crater profiles predicted by the proposed model have to be adjusted, however, due to the creep deformation of the carbide substrate occurring under the machining conditions employed in our experiment. The crater predictions correlate pretty well with the crater profiles experimentally observed in the multilayer (TiN- Al2 O3 -TiCN) coated carbides until the wear front reached the middle of the Al 2 O3 layer. At this point, the Al2 O 3 coating undergoes the κ -to- α -phase transformation, which makes the wear prediction difficult due to substantial changes in the thermomechanical properties of the Al2 O3 coating. © 2010 American Society of Mechanical Engineers.