Introducing a New Industrial 3D Carbon/Composite Material for Heat Treat Applications

Carbon/Composite (C/C) materials have been available for years and have progressively gained use as fixture construction material in heat treating applications, replacing metal alloy fixtures. The reasons are well-known (e.g. lighter, increased part loading, longer thermal service life). Even quench applications have been tackled using surface treatments. But the one downside that still exists is the mechanical durability of C/C as compared to alloy fixtures.

However, there has been a class of C/C material that surpasses the durability of metal alloy materials, known as “3D” for the way the carbon fibers are woven, developed by and for space agencies. However, 3D materials have been cost prohibitive for most of the heat treat applications.

This paper introduces a new cost-effective grade of 3D C/C “NKARB”, that opens new possibilities to what is possible in a heat treatment furnace. Advantages over conventional 2D material are illustrated in a comparative case study.