Carburizing vs Carbonitriding

[lfw618]

Hello,

I am a relatively new graduate, and have been working as a design engineer. Most of my experience with metallurgy has come from school, and that has been relatively limited. I have a general understanding of what the processes of carburizing and carbonitriding entail. As far as the end results, I am not completely clear on what the advantages of each would be. If someone is able to give a quick explanation of the advantages of both, and the differences in performance/cost between the two. It would be much appreciated.

I have tried searching online, however not everything I have found is consistent, and I'm not sure what is reliable and what isn't.

Thanks in advance!

 

The ASM Metals Handbook, Desk Edition is a useful resource for mechanical engineers.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

 

[swall]

Carbonitriding produces a much shallower case than carburizing. Ammonia added to the gas atmosphere is what differentiates the two processes and is what causes the nitrides to form. Carbonitriding is useful when a shallow case for wear resistance on lightly loaded parts is required. When heavy sections or more heavily stressed parts are involved, carburizing is required. Long furnace times can produce the deep cases needed in these applications. Most carburizing is performed with shorter furnace cycles that obtain the needed case depth at reduced cost.

 

[lfw618]

Thank you both for the responses! The text looks perfect, however maybe a bit too expensive for me to afford.

 

[WKTaylor]

ifw618... It is wise to spend some money on the 'golden references'!

Also... Corporate and college libraries often have reference manuals like these tucked-away... they are just well-kept secrets to professors or senior engineers... hence mortal students and new engineers are rarely given the secret-handshake early-on.

NOTES.

I got lucky... and found crucial books/manuals when scrounging used bookstores... that gave insight into materials ands tress analysis... and I was able to ask 'my seniors' the deep questions that obviously evolved from awareness and self study.

I had more-than-one stuffy college prof actually get indignant when I referred to these documents/texts... outside of the scope of a college course... but same can rarely be said of working professionals where knowledge is key and solving real-world problems requires ingenuity and a variety of perspectives!

Regards, Wil Taylor

o Trust - But Verify!
o We believe to be true what we prefer to be true. [Unknown]
o For those who believe, no proof is required; for those who cannot believe, no proof is possible. [variation,Stuart Chase]
o Unfortunately, in science what You 'believe' is irrelevant. ["Orion", Homebuiltairplanes.com forum]

 

[XL83NL]

You might find some further leads in this thread as well, although that one was about kolsterising