Improving the Nitriding Process Using ZeroFlow® Gas Nitriding Technology

Gas nitriding has been performed for almost a century with many variations over the years.  The benefits of nitriding are well documented and nitriding has gained amazing industrial acceptance.  However, the equipment and control of the nitrided layer has continued to be challenging, and as such, nitriding is still slowly being adopted by industry, but the rate of change is improving.  Today, the precision available in the latest advances in gas nitriding furnace technology allows users of steel to specify nitrided cases that are superior to past capabilities.  Nitriding has advanced due to the low temperature nature of the process, the lower grade steels that can be used and the finished dimensions that can be maintained due to the fact that quenching is not necessary, avoiding its inherent distortions.  The authors have been involved with the commercialization and industrial practice of this latest precision hardening technology, known as ZeroFlow, and this discussion compares and contrasts the results and abilities of this newest technology. Many documented studies, and dozens of installations, have proven that the ZeroFlow method of processing allows for precision in controlling growth kinetics of the nitrided layer -- economically and simply, and on an industrial scale.