New concept for low pressure carburizing in a production line

Traditional atmospheric carburizing as well as low pressure carburizing (LPC) are well-established processes in the thermochemical heat treatment industry. Although atmospheric carburizing with oil quenching is widely used in the automotive industry more and more process development experts verify the opportunities to operate LPC lines using high pressure gas quenching (HPGQ). Due to its excellent heat transfer HPGQ with helium gas was so far the first choice for automotive gear applications. On the cost side it is expensive. This article presents heat treatment examples that demonstrate how components made of normal automotive or machining steel grades can be quenched efficiently in nitrogen.