THERMOCHEMICAL TREATMENT

We have full thermochemical treatment capabilities for increasing material hardness. We use Nakal industrial furnaces and equipment in the production line to conduct various heat and thermochemical treatment processes including:

• Annealing—Improves ductility, strength, and elongation properties in metals
  Annealing is the process of heating metal in a furnace above its recrystallization temperature and leaving it to cool inside the furnace. The temperature is raised to the recrystallization temperature, held at that temperature for a period of time, and then slowly lowered to ambient temperature while remaining in the furnace.
• Normalizing—Improves ductility, strength, and elongation properties, but not as much as annealing
  Normalizing follows the same heating procedure as annealing, but after being held at the recrystallization temperature for a period of time, it is removed from the furnace for cooling. Because the metal cools unevenly, the properties are not as improved as with annealing.
• Quenching—Hardens metal to improve vibration and abrasion resistance
  Quenching involves heating metal above the recrystallization temperature and cooling it quickly in a water bath, oil bath, or polymers.
• Tempering—Decreases excess hardness caused by hardening processes
  Tempering is used to relieve the internal stresses created during the hardening process. It is accomplished by heating the metal below the recrystallization temperature for a period of time, then allowing it to cool in still air. The amount of hardness removed depends on alloy composition and temperature selection.
• Cementation—Hardens metals to improve wear resistance
  Cementation involves saturating the metal surface with carbon while applying heat.
• Sulfocyanination—Hardens metals to improve abrasion and wear resistance
  Sulfocyanination is a thermochemical process that provides higher extreme pressure properties and wear resistance compared to cementation. It involves saturating the metal surface with sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen while applying heat.

We have the capability to heat-treat various steel types (carbon and alloy) to desired hardness levels. Cementing is performed on all cemented steel grades with a surface hardness ranging from 56 – 62 HRC. Surface hardening in salt solutions (sulfocyanination) delivers microhardness values of 500 – 1000 HV and can be used on various grades of steel. We have multiple quenching baths and can use a variety of quenching agents (salt and water solution, oil, or polymers).