Vacuum carburizing with either oil or gas quenching capability has demonstrated excellent effectiveness for gear heat treatment, and its implementation continues to grow.

Vacuum and atmosphere carburizing are the preferred process choices for the heat treatment of gears. As companies consider which technology to invest in for the future, both technologies continue to be analyzed with respect to their respective economic and quality aspects to meet increasing demand for improved economics (i.e., lower unit cost achieved by reducing secondary manufacturing operations) and for higher quality and performance (i.e., improved part metallurgy). Achieving these goals requires focusing on tighter process control, better quenching methods and automation to remove operator induced variability.