Surface Characterization of Through Cage Plasma Nitriding on the Surface Properties of Low Alloy Steel

DIN 1.6580 low alloy steel has been plasma nitrided using the novel Through Cage (TC) plasma nitriding technique. Experimental results show that the thickness of the compound layer increases with temperature, as well as nitrogen percent, in the gas mixture, that an increase in screen hole size has no e ect on the compound layer thickness under screen top lid conditions and, also, that an increase in screen hole size at the same temperature results in an increase in the thickness of the compound layer under iron plate top lid conditions. The results of micro-hardness measurements indicate that surface hardness increases with temperature, as well as nitrogen volume, in the treatment gas. It was also found that the hardness values obtained using a screen top lid are relatively greater than those obtained using an iron plate top lid.