Gas carburising
In gas carburising, the component is held in a furnace containing an atmosphere of methane or
propane with a neutral carrier gas, usually a mixture of N2, CO, CO2, H2 and CH4. At the carburising
temperature, methane (or propane) decomposes at the component surface to atomic carbon and
hydrogen, with the carbon diffusing into the surface. The temperature is typically 925°C and
carburising times range from 2 hours for a 1mm depth case to a maximum of around 36 hours for a
4mm case. The quenching medium is usually oil, but can be water, brine, caustic soda or polymer.
Liquid carburising (or cyaniding)
Liquid or cyanide carburising is carried out by placing the component in a salt bath at a temperature of
845 to 955°C. The salt is usually a cyanide-chloride-carbonate mixture and is highly toxic. The cyanide
salts introduce a small amount of nitrogen into the surface which further improves its hardness.
Although the fastest carburising process, it is suitable only for small batch sizes.
Solid (pack) carburising
In solid or pack carburising, the components are surrounded by a carburising medium and placed in a
sealed box. The medium is usually coke or charcoal mixed with barium carbonate. The process is
really one of gas carburisation since the CO produced dissociates into CO2 and carbon which diffuses
into the components' surface. Temperatures are usually 790 to 845°C for times of 2 to 36 hours. Pack
carburising is the least sophisticated carburising process and as a result remains a widely used
method.
Carbonitriding
Carbonitriding is undertaken on a similar range of steels although the bulk carbon content can be as
high as 0.4 to 0.5%. The process is particularly suited for hardening the surface of components that
need a through-hardened core, such as gears and shafts. Carbonitriding is a modification of gas
carburisation where ammonia is added to the methane or propane and is the source of nitrogen.