Induction Carburizing--A Novel Cost Effective, Environmentally Safe, Affordable Technology

Carburizing of steels to improve wear resistance is an old but widely used process. Current furnace technologies are expensive because their extensive requirements for time, space, labor, materials, energy and maintenance, and are harmful to the enviroment due to active atmosphere and heat losses. Separate equipment is needed to establish desired properties in the part case and core. The proposed New Induction Technology (patent pending) will dramatically increase customer affordability by reducing the costs of manufacturing and repair of many important parts of aircraft, rotorcraft, ships, submarines, weapon systems, and correspondingly their life-cycle costs. Induction Carburizing can rapidly produce both local and overall protective surface layers not only on steels but on Ti base alloys. There are no restrictions as to part shape or dimensions. The carbon content, depth of penetration, microstructure, and properties can be obtained in seconds or minutes and adjusted as required for reliability and longevity increasing. Unlike current technologies the core temperature and properties remain unchanged, required subsequent cooling, quenching, and reheat treatment can be done simultaneously in the same installation. Sanova-Polytech, Inc. has outlined a comprehensive Phase I Program to show the feasibility of Induction Carburizing and to perform a preliminary cost analysis for transition of this New Technology to commercial usage.