Activated Solution Nitriding of Stainless Steel

Solution nitriding is an attractive method for improving the tribologic and chemical loadability of components and tools made of stainless steel. A novel two-step process described here offers a means of optimizing the solution nitriding process. It consists of activating the surface by nitriding at temperatures under 600 °C (precipitation nitriding), followed by a diffusion treatment at a material-specific temperature ranging between 1070 and 1150 °C. The authors reveal that surface activation roughly halves the treatment time needed for the high-temperature step.