Nitrex Metal Inc., Montreal, Quebec, has supplied a nitriding system to Hydro Extrusion Solutions, an aluminum extrusion company in Poland, to address the need for improved process performance and more accurate control of nitriding results. The Nitrex N-EXT 812 nitriding system replaces a decommissioned nitrider that was phased out several years ago due to extrusion die failures and inconsistent metallurgical results.
The delivered solution includes Nitreg technology, which consists of potential-controlled gas nitriding and Nitreg-C potential-controlled gas nitrocarburizing (ferritic nitrocarburizing-FNC). These technologies help to optimize parameters for maximum efficiency and quality, increasing die strength and extrusion throughput, while reducing the possibility of potential die failures.
Moreover, Nitreg contributes to cost savings from reduced consumption of process gases and energy savings from shorter process times. The N-EXT type furnace has chamber diameter of 31.5 inches and height of 47.25 inches, with a capacity to nitride a 2200-pound load.
Since the start of operations with the new nitriding installation, treated samples have been periodically assessed by an external QA service to validate the nitride quality, specification compliance, and reliability of the Nitreg process. As part of this testing program, Nitreg results have been consistently in compliance with Hydro’s quality standard.
