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Welding ion-nitrided 304 SS to 430 SS

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dgallup

Automotive
May 9, 2003
4,708
US
We ion (plasma) nitride austenitic stainless steel components for wear resistance, have been doing this for many years. These parts are short cylinders that we put in a plate with pockets during heat treat so only the top is exposed to the ion source. We do not do any welding to these production parts.

I've got a new design that is a much taller cylinder and I don't want to have to make a thick plate to hold the taller parts. If I made such a thick plate it would be too heavy to manually pick up and move. So if I just put the parts in the oven loose there will be some nitriding coming down the OD of the cylinder. We normally get 30 - 60 microns of case on the flat surface. A little case on the OD would be OK except we need to laser weld these parts to a soft 430 stainless steel cylinder. This will be an autogenous weld (no filler). I expect the nitrided case will crack during welding but don't have any proof yet as we are still a ways away from making the first prototypes. So I would appreciate input on:

A) Will we get weld cracks?
B) Any way to reduce likely hood of welding cracks?
C) Simple fixturing suggestions to mask the taller parts in heat treat.

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dgallup;
I would strongly suggest to address your concerns directly without guessing, generate a mock-up and send to a metallurgical lab for complete evaluation (metallograhic examination and hardness testing). This is really the only way to ensure a quality product.
 
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