17/09/2013 Pressing & Sintering

Aspects of Nitrocarburising of PM Materials for Improved Wear Resistance

PM components are commonly used in applications where they are exposed to different degrees of wear. Often various heat treatments are used in order to increase the hardness and thereby the wear resistance. In this paper we will take a closer look at aspects of the thermochemical nitrocarburising process when used for PM materials. The porosity is having a very large influence on the formation of the compound layer. This can to some extent be controlled by applying a steam treatment before the nitrocarburising step. Chemical composition of the PM part is another factor having great importance for the surface hardness. Here the presence of chromium shows great benefits.