Seco Warwick, Meadville, Pa., introduces UniCase Master, a single flow, precision case-hardening system said to reduce distortion in gears; and the ZeroFlow gas nitriding process. ZeroFlow is an ammonia-only nitriding process characterized by extremely low gas consumption and low emission of post-process gases. It features a simpler control system and reportedly delivers even better precision than processes with double-component atmospheres.
UniCase Master is said to offer not only a step forward in minimizing production cost and maximizing reliability, but also a real breakthrough in quality and repeatability in case hardening of gears by high-pressure gas quenching. It was created in collaboration with Professor Leszek Małdziński from the Institute of Work Machines and Vehicles of the Technical University in Poznan as a new method of controlled gas nitriding and nitrocarburizing.
The ZeroFlow method is based on performing the nitriding process in a single-component atmosphere: raw ammonia (NH3). The adjustment of nitriding atmosphere chemical composition and therefore control of nitriding potential Kn is performed only by a temporary stop and reactivation of NH3 feeding into the furnace.
