Nitriding Steel

Nitriding steel represents products which are case-hardened to increase the hardenability of the product significantly.

The characteristics of nitriding steel, common in low-alloy steel grades, include improved hardness, fatigue strength, and wear resistance. The process consists of three treatment methods - gas, plasma and salt bath nitriding.

Benefits:

Harder surface layer
Increased wear resistance
Superior fatigue strength
Strong core

Nitriding Process:

Nitriding is a heat-treatment process where nitrogen or ammonia is introduced and diffuses with the elements in the material to form hard metallic nitrides on the material's surface. The resulting process creates an engineering material with increased hardenability after heat treatment.

The case-hardened material is typically thin (only a few microns), but the material characteristics significantly change.

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Nitrided material finds use in applications where increased wear or pressure is present. Typical applications include gearboxes, bearings, camshafts, crankshafts, and forging dies, which benefit from the steel's hard exterior and strong core.

Heat treating the material in this way offers numerous performance benefits, although there are some disadvantages. While the surface layer is hard and affords excellent wear resistance, the layer beneath is relatively soft. The surface is also more brittle, and the process involves the use of hazardous materials. Nevertheless, nitriding steel finds everyday use in engineering applications.

We stock nitriding steel which is available ex-stock. We also provide in-house processing services where we cut your products to your exact size requirements.

Call TSM Steel for a competitive quotation on 01922 666 310.