Heat Treatment and Metallurgy Lab

Carbonitriding is a heat treatment process by which carbon and nitrogen (via ammonia gas) permeate the surface layer of steel components. The process involves temperatures of around 850°C followed by quenching in oil or gas solutions. Successful completion of this process will grant the steel components a variety of beneficial properties, most notably increased wear resistance Carbonitriding: the diffusion of carbon and nitrogen atoms into the surface of a metal to increase hardness; nitrogen is usually added to the endothermic atmosphere Heat Treatment: The temperature used for carbonitriding should be around 850°C (1550°F). This is lower than the temperature used for carburizing, and the time for which the part will be heat treated for is shorter as well. These lower temperatures used for carbonitriding compared to carburation also means there is less distortion of the part, especially during quenching. However, this is a higher temperature than what is used for standard nitriding