Plasma Nitrocarburizing Services

Plasma Nitrocarburizing Services is also known as ion nitriding, plasma ion nitriding or glow-discharge nitriding. The process works to achieve the same result as the salt bath and gaseous process, except the reactivity of the media is not due to the temperature but to the gas ionized state.In this technique intense electric fields are used to generate ionized molecules of the gas around the surface to diffuse the nitrogen and carbon into the workpiece. Such highly active gas with ionized molecules is called plasma, naming the technique. The gas used for plasma nitriding is usually pure nitrogen, since no spontaneous decomposition is needed (as is the case of gaseous ferritic nitrocarburizing with ammonia). Due to the relatively low temperature range (420 °C (788 °F) to 580 °C (1,076 °F)) generally applied during plasma-assisted ferritic nitrocarburizing and gentle cooling in the furnace, the distortion of workpieces can be minimized. Stainless steel workpieces can be processed at moderate temperatures (like 420 °C (788 °F)) without the formation of chromium nitride precipitates and hence maintaining their corrosion resistance properties.

Uses:

These processes are most commonly used on low-carbon, low-alloy steels, however they are also used on medium and high-carbon steels. Common applications include spindles, cams, gears, dies, hydraulic piston rods, and powdered metal components.