Gas nitriding and ferritic nitrocarburizing have seen tremendous growth. Today, it continues to accelerate as more uses are being found, especially in the growing electric vehicles (EV) sector. This success is due to the ability to control protective white layers consistent with the needs of an automotive engineer. Steels and cast irons are still the materials of choice for many applications and the nitrided layer is wellknown for its tribological features (some would say even more than three) which include wear resistance, lubricity, and a low coefficient of friction. Corrosion resistance in particular has become an important advantage and depends on white layer formation and quality. The white layer (known as the compound zone) consists of two iron nitrides, epsilon (Fe 2-3 [N]) and gamma prime (Fe 4 N). In addition, the epsilon layer can contain varying amounts of iron carbides and/or iron carbonitrides, Fe 2-3 [C]. This paper will focus mainly on the how’s and why’s of white layer: how to control its composition and properties; and how to minimize it, if required. Just as importantly, some applications of how the EV component engineers have found uses for this important steel treatment are discussed, including brake rotors.

The concept and political initiatives in support of Industry 4.0 have been a hot topic on the agenda of major industry events for several years. And as a result, today we are seeing a range of products and services to meet these needs. But what is the hype about Industry 4.0? Do current available approaches deliver what they promise? What has lived on from the original hype of Industry 4.0 from its starting point in 2011?. As Industry 4.0 has evolved, so too has our understanding of it over time. In politics, digitization has become the measure of all things. However, in its application to the theory, some promises regarding the potential of the digital revolution have disappeared. In the manufacturing sector specifically, there is more uncertainty as to how Industry 4.0 can be truly implemented on the factory floor.

This paper presents a new approach for predicting nitriding and nitrocarburizing results. The model calculates thermodynamic and kinetic effects based on material composition and pre-nitrided conditions. It can simulate up to three-stage recipes with varying temperatures, nitriding potentials, and carburizing potentials while also taking nucleation time into account. The simulation result gives compound layer thickness, precipitation layer, and total diffusion depth and calculates surface hardness, core hardness, and effective case depth.

Due to the absence of oxygen-containing gas components, nitrogen-based atmospheres offer a low-cost alternative to the case hardening treatments typically carried out using vacuum furnaces and, in several local economies, may cost less than the traditional atmospheres. When activated at the furnace inlet with electric plasma, nitrogen mixed with just a few percent of hydrocarbon, e.g. methane or propane, is effectively carburizing, and nitrogen mixed with ammonia and some hydrocarbon can be used to carbonitride lean steels within the high, austenitic temperature range, as well as nitride stainless steels in the low-temperature ranges. While offering quality advantages such as intergranular oxide-free cases, critical for non-machined surfaces or diverse near net shape products, the nitrogen atmospheres are non-equilibrium, i.e. require different sensing and process control techniques than the endothermic or methanol atmospheres. This paper provides an update on recent developments concerning process control of nitrogen-based carburizing atmospheres.

Late research projects show that retained austenite, if stabilized by nitrogen, has a positive influence on the fatigue strength of work pieces. The combined diffusion profile of carbon and nitrogen applied in a carbonitriding process plays the major role, besides the process temperature. Yet today, only the carbon potential is somehow controlled and even this is not easy to achieve. This paper will present a new system able to measure and control both, the carbon potential and the nitrogen potential independently. The knowledge of the activities of nitrogen and carbon in iron and the effect of alloying elements on such activities as well as the solubilities offers an easy to use method to apply the potentials on real steels.

Making money in heat treating is becoming increasingly challenging. The ongoing economic crisis has significantly impacted the industry. However, understanding the true dynamic capacity of partially idled equipment and maximizing even the smallest capabilities can optimize the cost-to-earnings ratio. While computer systems are widely used to plan workflows, they often lack the necessary knowledge to effectively break down shop orders into actual loads. This article provides an overview of the existing planning layers and the various methods employed. It explains how strategic planning around bottlenecks can optimize throughput while minimizing equipment usage, thereby conserving resources.