The nitriding process is perhaps one of the most misunderstood thermochemical surface-treatment processes that is practiced today. The process of nitriding was just 100 years old in 2003. The patent for nitriding was first granted to Machlet of Elizabeth, N.J., in 1908, (Ref. 1) followed by Adolph Fry of Germany in the early 1920s. So, the process is not as old as carburizing. However, it is perhaps (as far as chemistry) one of the most simple of all of the thermochemical surface treatments. We will describe in this series of blogs some of the problems that can occur as a result of and during the nitriding process.

There are many problems that can occur with the nitride procedure, and it will be necessary to evaluate the process technique. The process techniques can be described in Figure 1.

Figure 2 shows the process techniques of nitriding with the process mediums and the operating temperature range. From this, it can be said that the troubleshooting can be categorized into three very distinct categories (Fig. 3).

Referring back to Fig. 1, we will deal with the issues usually associated with process problems. Be sure to check back for part 2.