Plasma nitriding, also called ion- or glow-discharge nitriding, is an advanced surface-engineering technique that allows for treatment of many different engineering components made of ferrous and titanium alloys.

U.K.-based Wallwork Group invested approximately $900,000 to purchase two Rübig plasma nitriding furnaces for the heat treatment of new and replacement components in the aerospace and automotive industries. The first furnace is scheduled to be installed in Wallwork’s Cambridge plasma nitriding center in August. The company is also adding a dedicated area for inspection of case depth, structure and other quality aspects of the nitriding process at the facility, which will have six operational plasma nitriders.

Metallurgists are developing new steels to assist automotive engineers in designing better trucks, cars and SUVs.

The application of ion/plasma nitriding to powder-metal (PM) products is recommended over the gas nitriding method. Ion/plasma nitriding results in surface hardening while gas nitriding causes unintended through-nitriding, making the treatment not suitable for a majority of engineering components made of PM.

Modern designing of mechanical components and tools should take under consideration their intrinsic stresses and surface condition.

This article will focus on ion/plasma nitriding and its troubleshooting. We will also discuss some general nitriding concerns.