CHAPTER 5

Surface coating and hardening process

REMOVAL PROCESSES

CONVERSION COATING

Conversion coating is a type of coating used on metals in which the surface that is covered is
turned into a coating with electrochemical or chemical processes.
In addition to corrosion protection, conversion coating also offers enhanced surface hardness. It
also can be used as a decorative primer. Some of the best examples of this coating type include
phosphate and chromate coatings as well as black oxide. It is normally applied on alloys like
aluminum through chromate conversion or anodizing.

Conversion coatings give metals a protective layer made possible through the chemical action
between the coating solution and metal. It consists of a thin barrier coating made from aluminum
oxide as well as other compounds. Despite the fact that there are many forms of conversion
coating, the most typical ones are those made with chromate fluoride.

In general, there are three types of conversion coating:

 Oxide coating: This type of coating is an anti-corrosion product that is ultra thin and
offers good adhesion. In such cases, oxide treatments can be performed through
electrochemical, heat or chemical reactions. The best examples of oxide coatings include
chemical baths, black oxide as well as anodizing.
 Phosphate coating: This is produced by the chemical conversion that exists on a metal
substrate in order to produce a highly adhesive phosphate coating. The crystals that may
build up on the surface include manganese, zinc and iron. Out of these three, phosphate
of manganese is the best type of coating for wear applications. It is ideal for low alloy
metals, cast iron and carbon steel. It is one of the most beneficial forms of coating
material that is non-metallic.
 Chromate coating: This is comparable to phosphate coating since it is created by
chemical conversion. It is formed through the interaction of chromium salts or chromium
acid with water solutions. This type of coating is applicable to zinc, aluminum,
magnesium and cadmium. This coating typically provides superior corrosive resistance
and is broadly used in giving protection to usual household products such as hinges,
screws and other hardware items.

Chromte conversion coating is a type of conversion coating used to passivate steel, aluminium,
zinc, cadmium, copper, silver, magnesium, and tin alloys. It is primarily used as a corrosion
inhibitor, primer, decorative finish, or to retain electrical conductivity. The process is named
after the chromate found in chromic acid, also known as hexavalent chromium, the chemical
most widely used in the immersion bath process whereby the coating is applied. However,
hexavalent chromium is toxic, thus, highly regulated, so new, non-hexavalent chromium-based
processes are becoming more readily available at a commercial level. One alternative contains
trivalent chromium. Chromate conversion coatings are commonly applied to everyday items such
as hardware and tools, and can usually be recognized by their distinctively iridescent, greenish-
yellow color.

Phosphate coatings are used on steel parts for corrosion resistance, lubricity, or as a foundation
for subsequent coatings or painting.It serves as a conversion coating in which a dilute solution of
phosphoric acid and phosphate salts is applied via spraying or immersion and chemically reacts
with the surface of the part being coated to form a layer of insoluble, crystalline phosphates.
Phosphate conversion coatings can also be used on aluminium, zinc, cadmium, silver and tin.
The main types of phosphate coatings are manganese, iron and zinc.[5] Manganese phosphates
are used both for corrosion resistance and lubricity and are applied only by immersion. Iron
phosphates are typically used as a base for further coatings or painting and are applied by
immersion or by spraying. Zinc phosphates are used for corrosion resistance (phosphate and oil),
a lubricant base layer, and as a paint/coating base and can also be applied by immersion or
spraying.

Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named
after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an
electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on
the surface selectively forming magnetite (Fe3O4), the black oxide of iron. Black oxide provides
minimal protection against corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce
wetting and galvanic action. A distinction can be made between traditional bluing and some other
more modern black oxide coatings, although bluing is a subset of black oxide coatings.

In comparison, rust, the red oxide of iron (Fe2O3), undergoes an extremely large volume change
upon hydration; as a result, the oxide easily flakes off causing the typical reddish rusting away of
iron. "Cold", "Hot", "Rust Blue" and "Fume Blue" are oxidizing processes simply referred to as
bluing.

"Cold" bluing is generally a selenium dioxide based compound that colours steel black, or more
often a very dark grey. It is a difficult product to apply evenly, offers minimal protection and is
generally best used for small fast repair jobs and touch-ups.[citation needed]

The "Hot" process is an alkali salt solution, referred to as "Traditional Caustic Black", that is
typically done at an elevated temperature, 135 to 155 °C (275 to 311 °F). This method was
adopted by larger firearm companies for large scale, more economical bluing. It does provide
good rust resistance which is improved with the use of oil.

"Rust Bluing" and "Fume Bluing" provide the best rust and corrosion resistance as the process
continually converts any metal that is capable of rusting into magnetite (Fe3O4). Treating with
an oiled coating enhances the protection offered by the bluing. This process is also the only
process safely used to re-blue vintage shotguns. Many double barrelled shotguns are soft
soldered (Lead) / silver brazed together and many of the parts are attached by that method also.
The higher temperatures of the other processes as well as their caustic nature will weaken the
soldered joints and make the gun hazardous to use.

Black oxide or blackening is a conversion coating for ferrous materials, stainless steel, copper
and copper based alloys, zinc, powdered metals, and silver solder.It is used to add mild corrosion
resistance, for appearance and to minimize light reflection.To achieve maximal corrosion
resistance the black oxide must be impregnated with oil or wax. One of its advantages over other
coatings is its minimal buildup. The process is called anodizing because the part to be treated
forms the anode electrode of an electrical circuit. Anodizing increases resistance to corrosion and
wear, and provides better adhesion for paint primers and glues than bare metal does. Anodic
films can also be used for a number of cosmetic effects, either with thick porous coatings that
can absorb dyes or with thin transparent coatings that add interference effects to reflected light.
Anodizing is also used to prevent galling of threaded components and to make dielectric films
for electrolytic capacitors. Anodic films are most commonly applied to protect aluminium alloys,
although processes also exist for titanium, zinc, magnesium, niobium, zirconium, hafnium, and
tantalum. Iron or carbon steel metal exfoliates when oxidized under neutral or alkaline
microelectrolytic conditions; i.e., the iron oxide (actually ferric hydroxide or hydrated iron oxide,
also known as rust) forms by anoxic anodic pits and large cathodic surface, these pits concentrate
anions such as sulfate and chloride accelerating the underlying metal to corrosion. Carbon flakes
or nodules in iron or steel with high carbon content (high-carbon steel, cast iron) may cause an
electrolytic potential and interfere with coating or plating. Ferrous metals are commonly
anodized electrolytically in nitric acid or by treatment with red fuming nitric acid to form hard
black ferric oxide. This oxide remains conformal even when plated on wire and the wire is bent.

Anodizing changes the microscopic texture of the surface and the crystal structure of the metal
near the surface. Thick coatings are normally porous, so a sealing process is often needed to
achieve corrosion resistance. Anodized aluminium surfaces, for example, are harder than
aluminium but have low to moderate wear resistance that can be improved with increasing
thickness or by applying suitable sealing substances. Anodic films are generally much stronger
and more adherent than most types of paint and metal plating, but also more brittle. This makes
them less likely to crack and peel from aging and wear, but more susceptible to cracking from
thermal stress.

THERMAL TREATMENT

Heat treating (or heat treatment) is a group of industrial and metalworking processes used to alter
the physical, and sometimes chemical, properties of a material. The most common application is
metallurgical. Heat treatments are also used in the manufacture of many other materials, such as
glass. Heat treatment involves the use of heating or chilling, normally to extreme temperatures,
to achieve a desired result such as hardening or softening of a material. Heat treatment
techniques include annealing, case hardening, precipitation strengthening, tempering,
normalizing and quenching. It is noteworthy that while the term heat treatment applies only to
processes where the heating and cooling are done for the specific purpose of altering properties
intentionally, heating and cooling often occur incidentally during other manufacturing processes
such as hot forming or welding.

Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment that alters the physical and
sometimes chemical properties of a material to increase its ductility and reduce its hardness,
making it more workable. It involves heating a material above its recrystallization temperature,
maintaining a suitable temperature for a suitable amount of time, and then cooling.

In annealing, atoms migrate in the crystal lattice and the number of dislocations decreases,
leading to a change in ductility and hardness. As the material cools it recrystallizes. For many
alloys, including carbon steel, the crystal grain size and phase composition, which ultimately
determine the material properties, are dependent on the heating, and cooling rate. Hot working or
cold working after the annealing process alter the metal structure, so further heat treatments may
be used to achieve the properties required. With knowledge of the composition and phase
diagram, heat treatment can be used to adjust between harder and more brittle, to softer and more
ductile.

In the cases of copper, steel, silver, and brass, this process is performed by heating the material
(generally until glowing) for a while and then slowly letting it cool to room temperature in still
air. Copper, silver[1] and brass can be cooled slowly in air, or quickly by quenching in water,
unlike ferrous metals, such as steel, which must be cooled slowly to anneal. In this fashion, the
metal is softened and prepared for further work—such as shaping, stamping, or forming.

Case-hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal object
while allowing the metal deeper underneath to remain soft, thus forming a thin layer of harder
metal (called the "case") at the surface. For iron or steel with low carbon content, which has poor
to no hardenability of its own, the case-hardening process involves infusing additional carbon or
nitrogen into the surface layer. Case-hardening is usually done after the part has been formed into
its final shape, but can also be done to increase the hardening element content of bars to be used
in a pattern welding or similar process. The term face hardening is also used to describe this
technique, when discussing modern armour.

Because hardened metal is usually more brittle than softer metal, through-hardening (that is,
hardening the metal uniformly throughout the piece) is not always a suitable choice for uses
where the metal part is subject to sliding contact with hard or abrasive materials. In such
circumstances, case-hardening can provide a part that will not fracture (because of the soft core
that can absorb stresses without cracking) but also provides adequate wear resistance on the
surface

Precipitation hardening, also called age hardening or particle hardening, is a heat treatment
technique used to increase the yield strength of malleable materials, including most structural
alloys of aluminium, magnesium, nickel, titanium, and some steels and stainless steels. In
superalloys, it is known to cause yield strength anomaly providing excellent high-temperature
strength. Precipitation hardening relies on changes in solid solubility with temperature to
produce fine particles of an impurity phase, which impede the movement of dislocations, or
defects in a crystal's lattice. Since dislocations are often the dominant carriers of plasticity, this
serves to harden the material. The impurities play the same role as the particle substances in
particle-reinforced composite materials. Just as the formation of ice in air can produce clouds,
snow, or hail, depending upon the thermal history of a given portion of the atmosphere,
precipitation in solids can produce many different sizes of particles, which have radically
different properties. Unlike ordinary tempering, alloys must be kept at elevated temperature for
hours to allow precipitation to take place. This time delay is called "aging". Solution treatment
and aging is sometimes abbreviated "STA" in metals specs and certs.

Tempering is a process of heat treating, which is used to increase the toughness of iron-based
alloys. Tempering is usually performed after hardening, to reduce some of the excess hardness,
and is done by heating the metal to some temperature below the critical point for a certain period
of time, then allowing it to cool in still air. The exact temperature determines the amount of
hardness removed, and depends on both the specific composition of the alloy and on the desired
properties in the finished product. For instance, very hard tools are often tempered at low
temperatures, while springs are tempered to much higher temperatures.

n materials science, quenching is the rapid cooling of a workpiece in water, oil or air to obtain
certain material properties. A type of heat treating, quenching prevents undesired low-
temperature processes, such as phase transformations, from occurring. It does this by reducing
the window of time during which these undesired reactions are both thermodynamically
favorable, and kinetically accessible; for instance, quenching can reduce the crystal grain size of
both metallic and plastic materials, increasing their hardness.

In metallurgy, quenching is most commonly used to harden steel by introducing martensite, in

which case the steel must be rapidly cooled through its eutectoid point, the temperature at which
austenite becomes unstable. In steel alloyed with metals such as nickel and manganese, the
eutectoid temperature becomes much lower, but the kinetic barriers to phase transformation
remain the same. This allows quenching to start at a lower temperature, making the process much
easier. High speed steel also has added tungsten, which serves to raise kinetic barriers and give
the illusion that the material has been cooled more rapidly than it really has. Even cooling such
alloys slowly in air has most of the desired effects of quenching.

Metal coatings

A coating is a covering that is applied to the surface of an object, usually referred to as the
substrate. The purpose of applying the coating may be decorative, functional, or both. The
coating itself may be an all-over coating, completely covering the substrate, or it may only cover
parts of the substrate. An example of all of these types of coating is a product label on many
drinks bottles- one side has an all-over functional coating (the adhesive) and the other side has
one or more decorative coatings in an appropriate pattern (the printing) to form the words and
images.

Paints and lacquers are coatings that mostly have dual uses of protecting the substrate and being
decorative, although some artists paints are only for decoration, and the paint on large industrial
pipes is presumably only for the function of preventing corrosion.

Functional coatings may be applied to change the surface properties of the substrate, such as
adhesion, wettability, corrosion resistance, or wear resistance. In other cases, e.g. semiconductor
device fabrication (where the substrate is a wafer), the coating adds a completely new property,
such as a magnetic response or electrical conductivity, and forms an essential part of the finished
product.

A major consideration for most coating processes is that the coating is to be applied at a
controlled thickness, and a number of different processes are in use to achieve this control,
ranging from a simple brush for painting a wall, to some very expensive machinery applying
coatings in the electronics industry. A further consideration for 'non-all-over' coatings is that
control is needed as to where the coating is to be applied. A number of these non-all-over coating
processes are printing processes.
Many industrial coating processes involve the application of a thin film of functional material to
a substrate, such as paper, fabric, film, foil, or sheet stock. If the substrate starts and ends the
process wound up in a roll, the process may be termed "roll-to-roll" or "web-based" coating. A
roll of substrate, when wound through the coating machine, is typically called a web.

Coatings may be applied as liquids, gases or solids.

Chemical vapor deposition

Metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy

Electrostatic spray assisted vapour deposition (ESAVD)

Sherardizing

Some forms of Epitaxy

Molecular beam epitaxy

Metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy (MOVPE), also known as organometallic vapour-phase

epitaxy (OMVPE) or metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD),[1] is a chemical
vapour deposition method used to produce single- or polycrystalline thin films. It is a highly
complex process for growing crystalline layers to create complex semiconductor multilayer
structures. In contrast to molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE), the growth of crystals is by chemical
reaction and not physical deposition. This takes place not in vacuum, but from the gas phase at
moderate pressures (10 to 760 Torr). As such, this technique is preferred for the formation of
devices incorporating thermodynamically metastable alloys,[citation needed] and it has become a
major process in the manufacture of optoelectronics. It was invented in 1968 by Harold M.
Manasevit.
Electrostatic spray-assisted vapour deposition (ESAVD) is a technique (developed by a company
called IMPT) to deposit both thin and thick layers of a coating onto various substrates. In simple
terms chemical precursors are sprayed across an electrostatic field towards a heated substrate, the
chemicals undergo a controlled chemical reaction and are deposited on the substrate as the
required coating. Electrostatic spraying techniques were developed in the 1950s for the spraying
of ionised particles on to charged or heated substrates.[1]

ESAVD (branded by IMPT as Layatec) is used for many applications in many markets including:

Thermal barrier coatings for jet engine turbine blades

Various thin layers in the manufacture of flat panel displays and photovoltaic panels, CIGS and
CZTS-based thin-film solar cells.

Electronic components

Biomedical coatings

Glass coatings (such as self-cleaning)

Corrosion protection coatings

The process has advantages over other techniques for layer deposition (Plasma, Electron-Beam)
in that it does not require the use of any vacuum, electron beam or plasma so reduces the
manufacturing costs. It also uses less power and raw materials making it more environmentally
friendly. Also the use of the electrostatic field means that the process can coat complex 3D parts
easily.

Sherardizing is a process of galvanization of ferrous metal surfaces, also called vapour

galvanising and dry galvanizing. The process is named after the British metallurgist Sherard
Osborn Cowper-Coles (son of naval inventor Cowper Phipps Coles) who invented and patented
the method ca. 1900.[1][2][3][4] This process involves heating the steel parts up to ca. 500°C in
a closed rotating drum that also contains metallic zinc dust and possibly an inert filler, such as
sand.[5] At temperatures above 300°C, zinc evaporates and diffuses into the steel substrate
forming diffusion bonded Zn-Fe-phases.

Sherardising is ideal for small parts and parts that require coating of inner surfaces, such as
batches of small items. Part size is only limited by the drum size. It is reported that pipes up to 6
m in length for the oil industry are sherardised.[citation needed] If the metal surface is free of
scale or oxides, no pretreatment is needed. The process is hydrogen free, therefore a hydrogen
embrittlement is excluded.

Epitaxy refers to the deposition of a crystalline overlayer on a crystalline substrate.

The overlayer is called an epitaxial film or epitaxial layer. The term epitaxy comes from the
Greek roots epi (ἐπί), meaning "above", and taxis (τάξις), meaning "an ordered manner". It can
be translated as "arranging upon". For most technological applications, it is desired that the
deposited material form a crystalline overlayer that has one well-defined orientation with respect
to the substrate crystal structure (single-domain epitaxy).

Epitaxial films may be grown from gaseous or liquid precursors. Because the substrate acts as a
seed crystal, the deposited film may lock into one or more crystallographic orientations with
respect to the substrate crystal. If the overlayer either forms a random orientation with respect to
the substrate or does not form an ordered overlayer, it is termed non-epitaxial growth. If an
epitaxial film is deposited on a substrate of the same composition, the process is called
homoepitaxy; otherwise it is called heteroepitaxy.

Physical vapor deposition

Cathodic arc deposition

Electron beam physical vapor deposition (EBPVD)

Ion plating

Ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD)

Magnetron sputtering

Pulsed laser deposition

Sputter deposition

Vacuum deposition

Vacuum evaporation, evaporation (deposition)

Pulsed electron deposition (PED)

Cathodic arc deposition or Arc-PVD is a physical vapor deposition technique in which an electric
arc is used to vaporize material from a cathode target. The vaporized material then condenses on
a substrate, forming a thin film. The technique can be used to deposit metallic, ceramic, and
composite films.

The arc evaporation process begins with the striking of a high current, low voltage arc on the
surface of a cathode (known as the target) that gives rise to a small (usually a few micrometres
wide), highly energetic emitting area known as a cathode spot. The localised temperature at the
cathode spot is extremely high (around 15000 °C), which results in a high velocity (10 km/s) jet
of vapourised cathode material, leaving a crater behind on the cathode surface. The cathode spot
is only active for a short period of time, then it self-extinguishes and re-ignites in a new area
close to the previous crater. This behaviour causes the apparent motion of the arc.

As the arc is basically a current carrying conductor it can be influenced by the application of an
electromagnetic field, which in practice is used to rapidly move the arc over the entire surface of
the target, so that the total surface is eroded over time.

The arc has an extremely high power density resulting in a high level of ionization (30-100%),
multiple charged ions, neutral particles, clusters and macro-particles (droplets). If a reactive gas
is introduced during the evaporation process, dissociation, ionization and excitation can occur
during interaction with the ion flux and a compound film will be deposited.

One downside of the arc evaporation process is that if the cathode spot stays at an evaporative
point for too long it can eject a large amount of macro-particles or droplets. These droplets are
detrimental to the performance of the coating as they are poorly adhered and can extend through
the coating. Worse still if the cathode target material has a low melting point such as aluminium
the cathode spot can evaporate through the target resulting in either the target backing plate
material being evaporated or cooling water entering the chamber. Therefore, magnetic fields as
mentioned previously are used to control the motion of the arc. If cylindrical cathodes are used
the cathodes can also be rotated during deposition. By not allowing the cathode spot to remain in
one position too long aluminium targets can be used and the number of droplets is reduced. Some
companies also use filtered arcs that use magnetic fields to separate the droplets from the coating
flux.
Sputter deposition is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) method of thin film deposition by
sputtering. This involves ejecting material from a "target" that is a source onto a "substrate" such
as a silicon wafer. Resputtering is re-emission of the deposited material during the deposition
process by ion or atom bombardment. Sputtered atoms ejected from the target have a wide
energy distribution, typically up to tens of eV (100,000 K). The sputtered ions (typically only a
small fraction of the ejected particles are ionized — on the order of 1 percent) can ballistically
fly from the target in straight lines and impact energetically on the substrates or vacuum chamber
(causing resputtering). Alternatively, at higher gas pressures, the ions collide with the gas atoms
that act as a moderator and move diffusively, reaching the substrates or vacuum chamber wall
and condensing after undergoing a random walk. The entire range from high-energy ballistic
impact to low-energy thermalized motion is accessible by changing the background gas pressure.
The sputtering gas is often an inert gas such as argon. For efficient momentum transfer, the
atomic weight of the sputtering gas should be close to the atomic weight of the target, so for
sputtering light elements neon is preferable, while for heavy elements krypton or xenon are used.
Reactive gases can also be used to sputter compounds. The compound can be formed on the
target surface, in-flight or on the substrate depending on the process parameters. The availability
of many parameters that control sputter deposition make it a complex process, but also allow
experts a large degree of control over the growth and microstructure of the film.
Ion plating (IP) is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process that is sometimes called ion
assisted deposition (IAD) or ion vapor deposition (IVD) and is a version of vacuum deposition.
Ion plating uses concurrent or periodic bombardment of the substrate, and deposits film by
atomic-sized energetic particles. Bombardment prior to deposition is used to sputter clean the
substrate surface. During deposition the bombardment is used to modify and control the
properties of the depositing film. It is important that the bombardment be continuous between the
cleaning and the deposition portions of the process to maintain an atomically clean interface.

In ion plating the energy, flux and mass of the bombarding species along with the ratio of
bombarding particles to depositing particles are important processing variables. The depositing
material may be vaporized either by evaporation, sputtering (bias sputtering), arc vaporization or
by decomposition of a chemical vapor precursor chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The
energetic particles used for bombardment are usually ions of an inert or reactive gas, or, in some
cases, ions of the condensing film material (“film ions”). Ion plating can be done in a plasma
environment where ions for bombardment are extracted from the plasma or it may be done in a
vacuum environment where ions for bombardment are formed in a separate ion gun. The latter
ion plating configuration is often called Ion Beam Assisted Deposition (IBAD). By using a
reactive gas or vapor in the plasma, films of compound materials can be deposited.

Ion plating is used to deposit hard coatings of compound materials on tools, adherent metal
coatings, optical coatings with high densities, and conformal coatings on complex surfaces.
Galvanizing

The galvanizing process consists of three basic steps: surface preparation, galvanizing, and
inspection.

HDG process.

Surface preparation for HDG.

Galvanizing is when the steel is immersed in a bath of molten zinc.

Inspection.

Hot-Dip Galvanizing (HDG) Process

Whether an artful sculpture glinting under the sun or a sturdy bridge arching over a rushing river,
hot-dip galvanizing protects steel from corrosion for generations throughout the world. New
technologies and creative chemistry continue to evolve this 150-year old process, which
facilitates its continued use in myriad applications as well as innovative ideas for new ones.
Before we get into the details of designing for hot-dip galvanizing, it is important to understand
the hot-dip galanizing process. The galvanizing process consists of three basic steps: surface
preparation, galvanizing, and inspection.

HDG process

Surface Preparation

Surface preparation for HDG

Surface preparation is the most important step in the application of any coating. In most
instances where a coating fails before the end of its expected service life, it is because of
incorrect or inadequate surface preparation. The surface preparation step in the galvanizing
process has its own built-in means of quality control because zinc simply will not react with
unclean steel. Any failures or inadequacies in surface preparation will be immediately apparent
when the steel is withdrawn from the zinc bath because the unclean areas will remain uncoated,
and immediate corrective action can be taken.

Surface preparation consists of three steps:

Degreasing - A hot alkali solution, mild acidic bath, or biological cleaning bath removes organic
contaminants such as dirt, paint markings, grease, and oil from the metal surface. Epoxies,
vinyls, asphalt, or welding slag, which cannot be removed by degreasing, must be removed
before galvanizing by grit-blasting, sand-blasting, or other mechanical means.

Pickling – A dilute solution of heated sulfuric acid or ambient hydrochloric acid removes mill
scale and iron oxides (rust) from the steel surface. As an alternative to or in conjunction with
pickling, this step can also be accomplished using abrasive cleaning or air blasting sand, metallic
shot, or grit onto the steel.

Fluxing – The final surface preparation step, a zinc ammonium chloride solution, serves two
purposes. It removes any remaining oxides and deposits a protective layer on the steel to prevent
any further oxides from forming on the surface prior to immersion in the molten zinc.

Galvanizing

Galvanizing is when the steel is immersed in a

bath of molten zinc

The true “galvanizing” phase of the process consists of completely immersing the steel in a
minimum 98% pure zinc bath. The bath temperature is maintained at 815 F (435 C) or higher.
The steel is lowered at an angle by crane hoist. This allows air to escape from tubular shapes or
pockets that may be within the design of a fabricated piece and of course permits the molten zinc
to displace the air.
While immersed in the kettle, the zinc reacts with iron in the steel to form a series of zinc-iron
inter-metallic alloy layers. Once the fabricated item reaches bath temperature the coating growth
is complete, and the articles are withdrawn slowly from the galvanizing bath. Excess zinc is
removed by draining, vibrating, and/or centrifuging. The metallurgical reaction will continue
after withdrawal from the bath, as long as the article remains near bath temperature. Articles are
cooled either by immersion in a passivation solution or water or by being left in open air.

Inspection

Inspection

The last phase of the process, inspection, is simple and quick. The two properties of the hot-dip
galvanized coating closely scrutinized are coating thickness and coating appearance. A very
accurate determination as to the quality of the galvanized coating can be accomplished through a
visual inspection of the material, because as stated earlier zinc will not react with unclean steel.
A variety of simple physical and laboratory tests may also be performed to determine thickness,
uniformity, adherence, and appearance to ensure the coating is in compliance with specification
requirements. Products are galvanized according to long established, accepted, and approved
standards of ASTM.
ORGANIC COATING

An organic coating is a type of coating whose primary ingredients are derived from either
vegetable or animal matter or from compounds rich in carbon. These coatings are primarily used
to provide additive type finishes on the materials on which they are applied. Organic coatings
can be monolithic (consisting of only one layer) or two or more layers.

Organic coatings act as a protective barrier against corrosion and oxidation. These are durable
coatings applied to a substrate for their decorative or specific technical properties. Organic
coatings depend primarily on their chemical inertness and impermeability. Various types of
organic coatings are available for industrial purposes including primers, adhesive cements and
topcoats (enamel, varnish and paints).

Organic coatings are easy to apply with the help of brushes, sprays, rollers, dips, or by
electrostatic means. Brush application is a slow and lengthy procedure. The coating cures or
dries by evaporation or loss of solvent, polymerization and oxidation.
SURFACE HARDENING

Case-hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal object
while allowing the metal deeper underneath to remain soft, thus forming a thin layer of harder
metal (called the "case") at the surface. For iron or steel with low carbon content, which has poor
to no hardenability of its own, the case-hardening process involves infusing additional carbon or
nitrogen into the surface layer. Case-hardening is usually done after the part has been formed into
its final shape, but can also be done to increase the hardening element content of bars to be used
in a pattern welding or similar process. The term face hardening is also used to describe this
technique, when discussing modern armour.

Because hardened metal is usually more brittle than softer metal, through-hardening (that is,
hardening the metal uniformly throughout the piece) is not always a suitable choice for uses
where the metal part is subject to sliding contact with hard or abrasive materials. In such
circumstances, case-hardening can provide a part that will not fracture (because of the soft core
that can absorb stresses without cracking) but also provides adequate wear resistance on the
surface.

Flame or induction hardening

A flame-hardened sprocket. The discoloration around the teeth represents the area that was
rapidly heated and then quenched.

Flame or induction hardening are processes in which the surface of the steel is heated very
rapidly to high temperatures (by direct application of an oxy-gas flame, or by induction heating)
then cooled rapidly, generally using water; this creates a "case" of martensite on the surface. A
carbon content of 0.3–0.6 wt% C is needed for this type of hardening.

Typical uses are for the shackle of a lock, where the outer layer is hardened to be file resistant,
and mechanical gears, where hard gear mesh surfaces are needed to maintain a long service life
while toughness is required to maintain durability and resistance to catastrophic failure. Flame
hardening uses direct impingement of an oxy-gas flame onto a defined surface area. The result o

Duration of heating

Target temperature to be reached

Composition of the metal being treated

Carburizing

Carburizing is a process used to case-harden steel with a carbon content between 0.1 and 0.3 wt
% C. In this process steel is introduced to a carbon rich environment and elevated temperatures
for a certain amount of time, and then quenched so that the carbon is locked in the structure; one
of the simpler procedures is repeatedly to heat a part with an acetylene torch set with a fuel-rich
flame and quench it in a carbon-rich fluid such as oil.

Carburization is a diffusion-controlled process, so the longer the steel is held in the carbon-rich
environment the greater the carbon penetration will be and the higher the carbon content. The
carburized section will have a carbon content high enough that it can be hardened again through
flame or induction hardening.

It is possible to carburize only a portion of a part, either by protecting the rest by a process such
as copper plating, or by applying a carburizing medium to only a section of the part.
The carbon can come from a solid, liquid or gaseous source; if it comes from a solid source the
process is called pack carburizing. Packing low carbon steel parts with a carbonaceous material
and heating for some time diffuses carbon into the outer layers. A heating period of a few hours
might form a high-carbon layer about one millimeter thick.

Liquid carburizing involves placing parts in a bath of a molten carbon-containing material, often
a metal cyanide; gas carburizing involves placing the parts in a furnace maintained with a
methane-rich interior.

Nitriding

Nitriding heats the steel part to 482–621 °C (900–1,150 °F) in an atmosphere of ammonia gas
and dissociated ammonia. The time the part spends in this environment dictates the depth of the
case. The hardness is achieved by the formation of nitrides. Nitride forming elements must be
present for this method to work; these elements include chromium, molybdenum, and aluminum.
The advantage of this process is that it causes little distortion, so the part can be case-hardened
after being quenched, tempered and machined. No quenching is done after nitriding.

Cyaniding

Cyaniding is a case-hardening process that is fast and efficient; it is mainly used on low-carbon
steels. The part is heated to 871-954 °C (1600-1750 °F) in a bath of sodium cyanide and then is
quenched and rinsed, in water or oil, to remove any residual cyanide.

2NaCN + O2 → 2NaCNO

2NaCNO + O2 → Na2CO3 + CO + N2

2CO → CO2 + C

This process produces a thin, hard shell (between 0.25 - 0.75 mm, 0.01 and 0.03 inches) that is
harder than the one produced by carburizing, and can be completed in 20 to 30 minutes
compared to several hours so the parts have less opportunity to become distorted. It is typically
used on small parts such as bolts, nuts, screws and small gears. The major drawback of cyaniding
is that cyanide salts are poisonous.

Carbonitriding

Carbonitriding is similar to cyaniding except a gaseous atmosphere of ammonia and

hydrocarbons is used instead of sodium cyanide. If the part is to be quenched, it is heated to 775–
885 °C (1,427–1,625 °F); if not, then the part is heated to 649–788 °C (1,200–1,450 °F).

Ferritic nitrocarburizing

Ferritic nitrocarburizing diffuses mostly nitrogen and some carbon into the case of a workpiece
below the critical temperature, approximately 650 °C (1,202 °F). Under the critical temperature
the workpiece's microstructure does not convert to an austenitic phase, but stays in the ferritic
phase, which is why it is called ferritic nitrocarburization.

LASER HARDENING

Laser hardening is a heat treatment process or surface hardening process in which a laser beam is
used to heat the surface of a metal part and then let it quickly cool down in surrounding air. This
process is used exclusively on ferrous materials suitable for hardening, including steels and cast
iron with a carbon content of more than 0.2 percent.

Laser hardening requires less refinishing work and has the ability to process irregular, three-
dimensional workpieces. Laser hardening increases hardness and wear resistance, which leads to
reduction of abrasive wear.

Laser hardening is a surface-hardening process commonly used for complicated shapes or large
objects because it allows for absolute control on the surface hardness and texture. Laser
hardening consists of the rapid heating of a material’s surface by laser beam, a short hold at the
target temperature, and intensive cooling due to the high thermal conductivity of the material.
During the cool-down period a process called "self-quenching" takes place, where a fine-grained
structure is formed in the thin layer on the surface of the part. This process causes mechanical
properties of the surface to differ from the mechanical properties of the rest of the material.

Laser hardening can be used to locally improve the wear resistance and service life of parts for a
wide variety of applications, from press-forming tools to oil-drilling equipment. The technology
is especially suitable for applications where minimal heat input into the surrounding material is
critical. Laser hardening is typically applied for transformation hardening of ferrous materials
such as hardenable steels and cast irons.

It offers many advantages over conventional heat treatment processes, including a high
throughput, reproducibility and product quality. In many applications, localized treatment and
minimal heat input results in reduced distortion and the rapid quench rates produce a fine
microstructure.

Laser surface treatments can be divided into processes involving:

Solid-state transformations, including:

Martensitic hardening

Tempering

Shock hardening

Melting processes, including:

Re-melting

Alloying

Cladding

Dispersion hardening