Lenox Group, an aluminum extrusion profiles company, purchased a Nitrex turnkey nitriding system after adding a second extrusion press at its plant in Bulgaria. Faced with increased production and disappointing nitriding results from third-party processing services, Lenox opted to bring operations in-house to improve die reliability through more stringent quality control. In the end, a compact-size gas nitriding furnace for low-volume quantities best suited Lenox’s production needs. The plug-and-play nitriding system is built on a self-contained platform that includes the furnace, control system with Nitreg technology and an exhaust neutralizer for clean processing. Its small footprint allows it to fit into limited spaces. With a temperature distribution of +/-5°C, it is suited for nitriding H11 and H13 extrusion dies.

The nitriding system, which complies with AMS 2750 for pyrometry and AMS 2759/10 for controlled nitriding standards, was delivered and started up in the first quarter of 2022.