For these valves, Howards uses the gas nitriding process, as it occurs at a relatively low temperature, which reduces the chances of any thermal distortion of the valve. But just how much of a cost increase are we talking here? Nitriding also offers enhanced corrosion resistance. Nitriding is a case hardening process that depends on the absorption of nitrogen into the steel. A case-hardening technique in use since the early 20 th century, nitriding steel has been an effective lower-temperature heat treatment for workpieces longer than engineers and metallurgists fully understood it.. Its appeal lies in the ability to harden a part by dissolving nitrogen into its surface without austenitizing, thus all but eliminating the risk of distortion. Currently, these valves are available for all Chevy small- and big-block engine applications, in both standard-replacement and extended stem-lengths. First of all, let’s get one thing straight; nitriding is NOT a coating. Most commonly, the term nitriding refers to steel heated in ammonia gas. All new blueprints for these valves were made in-house to make these able to handle the extreme stress of today’s high performance, high RPM as well as tuned and forced induction engines too.” - Brian Adix, Marketing Manager of Howards Cams. Batch Gas-Nitriding Vacuum Furnaces . Another property of the nitrided case is improved corrosion resistance. Throwback Thursday: Are Cast-Iron Heads Still A Performance Option? The nitrogen-disposition process is accomplished through one of three mediums: gas nitriding, salt bath nitriding, or plasma nitriding. Benefits include case depths up to 0.025” and improved wear and anti-galling properties due to a 40 – 70% increase in surface hardness. As a process, both gas and ion (plasma) nitriding avoid the issues involved with coatings and achieve similar metallurgical properties, and the compound zone increases corrosion resistance. Shortly after he sent the patent application off, he noticed that treating parts in an ammonia atmosphere at elevated temperatures caused a “skin, casing, shell or coating” to develop around a piece that was extremely difficult to corrod… Benefits include case depths up to 0.025” and improved wear and anti-galling properties due to a 40 – 70% increase in surface hardness. There are a huge variety of materials that this process can be applied to. Gas nitriding, the topic of this study, is classified as a diffusion process whereby nitrogen gas dissociates and nascent nitrogen is adsorbed and diffused into the titanium matrix. The two primary benefits of the nitriding process is corrosion resistance and maintaining a barrels dimensional consistency, which improves accuracy. This form of nitriding occurs faster than some forms of gas nitriding. That Benefits of Ion Nitriding. Carbonitriding is an austenitic (above A3) case hardening process similar to carburising, with the addition of nitrogen (via NH 3 gas), used to increase wear resistance and surface hardness through the creation of a hardened surface layer. However, the major benefit here is less wear and a longer valve lifespan — especially on high-RPM, and turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous oxide-injected engines. It also has some side benefits in improved corrosion resistance and generation of beneficial residual compressive stresses, which improves fatigue resistance. “These high quantities keep the price down, so [Howards] can price these valves as low — and often even lower — than many of our competitors’ non-nitrided valves.”. Privacy Statement | Site by Spinutech, Engineering and Torsion Fatigue Resistance, Iowa (Waterloo - Corporate Office & Service Center), Ion and Gas Ferritic Nitrocarburizing (FNC), "S" Phase Low Temperature Stainless Steel Nitriding. These processes are most commonly used on high-carbon, low-alloy steels. The nitriding temperature for all steels is between 495 and 565°C (925 and 1050°F). We promise not to use your email address for anything but exclusive updates from the Power Automedia Network. There are several different nitriding processes such as gas, plasma, and salt bath nitriding. Gas Nitriding Nitriding is a highly specialized surface hardening treatment that produces a thin but high hardness case on a wide variety of steels. Our MidPort Blvd. Nitriding is a surface hardening process where atomic nitrogen is introduced into the surface of a ferrous alloy. Gas nitriding is a thermochemical case-hardening process that increases wear resistance, surface hardness and fatigue life by dissolution of nitrogen and hard nitride precipitations. Benefits of Plasma Nitriding: Mechanical masking; Can treat Stainless Steels, Titanium and Nickel alloys; Low temperature (410°C) treatments possible; Highly controlled Process; A wide range of furnace sizes is available with the possibility of Plasma Nitriding parts up to 1.8m in diameter and 2.8m in height. Gas nitriding was conducted in flowing NH3 gas at 510°C for 5h under nitriding pressures ranging from 1 to 6atm. Carbonitriding is applied primarily to … 11). Increasing the nitrogen content in solid solution up to 0.5 wt-% leads to an increase in the specific energy from 1770 to 3540 J/g. Nitriding does not add a coating, rather, it changes the surface properties by diffusing nitrogen and carbon into the metal surface to yield an extremely smooth, uniform and wear-resistant bore. The significant advantage of nitriding over other surface hardening processes is that the case hardness is developed without quenching and subsequent distortion issues. 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