Case hardening steels

Part of our range consists of hardenable steels specially intended for case hardening. It is a process where you thermochemically increase the carbon content of the surface of a low-carbon steel. The carbon content of the case hardening steel is usually around 0.2%. The carbon content is raised a bit below the surface of the steel by adding carbon to the atmosphere of the furnace, whereupon the carbon diffuses into the steel. The carburizing depth is normally between 0.5 – 2 mm and is controlled by temperature, carbon content in the atmosphere and holding time in the oven. In the charred layer, the carbon content is normally around 0.7 – 0.9% carbon.

The next step in the process is to quench and harden the steel to obtain a significantly stronger Martensite conversion in the charred surface layer. The result is a surface hardness around 58 – 65HRC. Seat curing does not need to be followed by a tempering. The hardness of the base material is controlled by the type of hardening steel chosen and the dimension of the hardened material.