Boride surface treatments

Boriding is the diffusion of boron into the surface of metals. Boron is an element of relatively small size, and this allows it to diffuse into a variety of metals, including ferrous alloys, nickel and cobalt alloys, metal-bonded carbides,and most refractory alloys. Boron reacts with these metals to form intermetallic borided cases that enhance surface hardness for increased wear resistance. It also transforms ductile foils and wire preforms into filler metals for the bonding and brazing of advanced materials. This article describes how the boriding process known as Borofuse increases surface hardness and corrosion resistance, and also how it facilitates the bonding and brazing of advanced materials.