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AMS2753 REV. C
AEROSPACE
MATERIAL SPECIFICATION Issued 1985-01
Revised 2008-08
Reaffirmed 2015-06

Superseding AMS2753B

(R) Liquid Salt Bath Ferritic Nitrocarburizing

Non-Cyanide Bath

RATIONALE

AMS2753C has been reaffirmed to comply with the SAE five-year review policy.

1. SCOPE

No further reproduction or networking is permitted.

1.1 Purpose

This specification covers the requirements for an epsilon-iron nitride case on ferrous parts produced by immersion in a
low-temperature, agitated, fused salt bath.

1.2 Application

Nitrocarburized surfaces have been used typically for increasing the resistance to wear and fatigue on ferrous alloys
including carbon steels, low-alloy steels, tool steels, and corrosion-resistant steels, cast irons, and ferrous powder metal
products, but usage is not limited to such applications.

1.2.1 This process is not recommended for use on parts that have been plated with silver, copper, zinc, or cadmium or
on parts having copper alloy inserts.

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1.3 Safety - Hazardous Materials

While the materials, methods, applications, and processes described or referenced in this specification may involve the
use of hazardous materials, this specification does not address the hazards which may be involved in such use. It is the
sole responsibility of the user to ensure familiarity with the safe and proper use of any hazardous materials and to take
necessary precautionary measures to ensure the health and safety of all personnel involved.

2. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

The issue of the following documents in effect on the date of the purchase order forms a part of this specification to the
extent specified herein. The supplier may work to a subsequent revision of a document unless a specific document issue
is specified. When the referenced document has been cancelled and no superseding document has been specified, the
last published issue of that document shall apply.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SAE Technical Standards Board Rules provide that: “This report is published by SAE to advance the state of technical and engineering sciences. The use of this report is
entirely voluntary, and its applicability and suitability for any particular use, including any patent infringement arising therefrom, is the sole responsibility of the user.”
SAE reviews each technical report at least every five years at which time it may be revised, reaffirmed, stabilized, or cancelled. SAE invites your written comments and
suggestions.
Copyright © 2015 SAE International
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of SAE.
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Tel: +1 724-776-4970 (outside USA) on this Technical Report, please visit
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Email: CustomerService@sae.org
SAE WEB ADDRESS: http://www.sae.org
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2.1 SAE Publications

Available from SAE International, 400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001, Tel: 877-606-7323 (inside
USA and Canada) or 724-776-4970 (outside USA), www.sae.org.

AMS2759 Heat Treatment of Steel Parts, General Requirements

ARP1820 Chord Method of Evaluating Surface Microstructural Characteristics

SAE J423 Methods of Measuring Case Depth

SAE J864 Surface Hardness Testing with Files

2.2 ASTM Publications

Available from ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959,
Tel: 610-832-9585, www.astm.org.

No further reproduction or networking is permitted.

ASTM D 1193 Reagent Water
ASTM E 140 Hardness Conversion Tables for Metals (Relationship Between Brinell Hardness, Vickers
Hardness, Rockwell Hardness, Rockwell Superficial Hardness, and Knoop Hardness)
ASTM E 384 Microhardness of Materials
ASTM E 407 Microetching Metals and Alloys

2.3 ASM Publications

Available from ASM World Headquarters, 9639 Kinsman Road, Materials Park, OH 44073, Tel: 440-338-5151,
www.asminternational.org.

ASM Handbook, Metallography and Microstructure, 9th Edition

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3. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

3.1 Processing Equipment

3.1.1 Nitrocarburizing salts shall consist primarily of a mixture of alkali metal cyanates and carbonates.

3.1.2 Salt Bath

The cyanate content of the bath shall be controlled within the range 34 to 38% by weight, determined as cyanate ion.

3.1.3 Parts shall be processed in a salt bath retort-type furnace.

3.1.4 Furnace pyrometry shall conform to AMS2750 furnace class 3, instrumentation type D, as a minimum.

3.1.5 Thermocouples

When load thermocouples are required, they shall be sheath protected to prevent deterioration due to immersion in
nitrocarburizing salts.
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3.1.6 Agitation

The bath shall be agitated by aeration or mechanical means in order to ensure optimum uniformity over the treated
surfaces. If aeration is used, it shall bewith clean, dry, oil-free compressed or plant air equipped with a desiccant air
dryer, a flowmeter for measuring air flow, a gauge for air pressure, and a sparging ring as required equipment. The air
flow and pressure shall be in accordance with the salt producer's recommendations.

3.2 Pretreatment

3.2.1 Hardening

Parts requiring core hardening prior to nitrocarburizing, shall be heat treated in accordance with AMS2759, or other
procedure acceptable to the cognizant engineering organization, to the required core hardness. Tempering for the
specified core hardness shall be performed at a temperature not less than 20 Fahrenheit (11 Celsius) degrees above the
highest nitrocarburizing temperature to be used.

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3.2.2 Surface Condition

Prior to nitrocarburizing, parts shall be clean and free of scale, oxide, entrapped sand, mold or core material, metal
particles, oil, or grease. Parts must be completely dry. Surfaces to be nitrocarburized shall be mechanically or chemically
cleaned subsequent to stress relieving and prior to nitrocarburizing.

3.2.3 Stress Relief

Steel parts having a hardness of 40 HRC or higher and in which residual stresses may have been introduced by prior
mechanical working or other causes and consequently may crack or change dimensionally during nitrocarburizing shall
be stress relieved prior to final part machining. Stress relief shall be performed in accordance with AMS2759 at a
temperature not lower than 20 Fahrenheit (11 Celsius) degrees above the nitrocarburizing temperature.

3.3 Procedures

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3.3.1 Preheating

Parts shall be preheated in air to a temperature not higher than 900 °F (482 °C), to ensure drying, to maintain bath
temperature, and to avoid thermal shock upon immersion in the nitrocarburizing salt.

3.3.2 Nitrocarburizing

Parts shall be immersed and held at temperature in the agitated, fused cyanate-based salt bath for a time sufficient to
produce the specified depth of total case or compound layer, as determined by the cognizant engineering organization.
Total case consists of the combination of compound layer and diffusion zone. Compound layer consists of epsilon iron
nitride and, under microscopic examination, appears as a continuous white layer when etched in accordance with ASTM
E 407. See 8.5.

3.3.2.1 Nitrocarburizing temperature shall be at least 20 Fahrenheit (11 Celsius) degrees below final tempering
temperature or precipitation hardening temperature to maintain base material hardness but shall not be lower
than 1000 °F (538 °C) unless otherwise specified by the cognizant engineering organization.

3.3.3 Quenching

Following nitrocarburizing, parts shall be intermediate quenched in a fused salt bath in a temperature range of 750 to
850 °F (399 to 454 °C) or in water. After parts have stabilized at the bath temperature set point, parts shall be water
rinsed or air cooled.
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3.4 Properties

Nitrocarburized parts shall conform to the following requirements, determined on parts or on test specimens. See 4.3.1.

3.4.1 Compound Layer Hardness

The layer shall be equivalent of 55 HRC or greater, determined in accordance with SAE J 864 for file hardness. Light
load microhardness testing of the surface shall be performed when specified. See 8.7.

3.4.2 Depth of compound layer shall conform to drawing or customer requirements, and shall be determined in
accordance with procedures of SAE J423, microscopic method at not less than 500X magnification. See 8.6 for
suggested compound layer thicknesses

3.4.3 Quality of Compound Layer

3.4.3.1 Not less than three fields shall be examined at 500X magnification employing acceptable quantitative

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metallographic procedures of line intercept or grid analysis (as described in ASM Handbook, 9th Edition,
Metallography and Microstructure, pages 123 to 134). The upper half of the total compound-thickness, as in
3.4.2, shall not contain more than 50% residual porosity and oxides in any one field viewed. The compound
layer at the substrate interface and the lower quarter of the total compound thickness shall not exhibit residual
porosity and oxides exceeding 5% for steel and corrosion-resistant steel components and 15% for cast iron
components.

3.4.3.2 For parts treated in liquid ferritic nitrocarburizing baths using sulfur bearing salts, the resultant compound layer
shall be free of sulfur. Quantitative surface analysis shall be performed to verify the absence of sulfur.

3.4.4 Case hardness shall be as shown in Table 1, determined by microhardness measurements at a depth not greater
than 0.001 inch (0.025 mm) below the compound layer in accordance with ASTM E 384 or by the chord method
of ARP1820 on prepared cross sections of the nitrocarburized case using Knoop or other appropriate hardness
tester acceptable to the cognizant engineering organization.

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3.4.4.1 For corrosion resistant steels, microhardness measurement shall be taken at the mid-point of the total case, as
measured in accordance with procedures SAE J423 microscopic method at not less than 500X magnification.

TABLE 1 - CASE HARDNESS

Hardness, minimum
Material HK100 or equivalent
Carbon Steels 300
Low-Alloy Steels 460
Tool & Die Steels 600
Cast Iron (Gray, Ductile, or Malleable) 300
Corrosion & Heat Resistant Steel 600
Ferrous Powder Metal Products 300
(minimum density 7.0 g/cc)

4. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROVISIONS

4.1 Responsibility for Inspection

The processor of treated parts shall supply all samples for processor's tests and shall be responsible for performing all
required tests. When parts are to be tested, the parts shall be supplied by purchaser. The cognizant engineering
organization reserves the right to sample and to perform any confirmatory testing deemed necessary to ensure that the
parts conform to the specified requirements.
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4.2 Classification of Tests

4.2.1 Acceptance Tests

Core hardness (3.2.1), depth of compound layer (3.4.2), quality of compound layer (3.4.3), and case hardness (3.4.4) are
acceptance tests and shall be performed on each heat treatment load. See 8.6.

4.2.2 Periodic Tests

Cyanate content (3.1.2) analysis is a periodic test and shall be performed at a frequency established by the processor
unless frequency of testing is specified by the cognizant engineering organization. See 8.8.

4.2.3 Preproduction Tests

All property verification tests (3.4) are preproduction tests and shall be performed prior to production and when the
cognizant engineering organization requires confirmatory testing.

No further reproduction or networking is permitted.

4.3 Sampling for testing shall be not less than the following; a heat treatment load shall be all parts of the same part
number treated simultaneously in the same set of solutions and presented for processor’s inspection at one time.

4.3.1 Not less than one part, or sample (when permitted), shall be processed for evaluation for each test requirement:

4.3.2 Sample Configuration

Test pins or specimens of the same nominal composition and heat treat condition as the parts may be processed with the
heat treatment load when permitted by the cognizant engineering organization for destructive tests.

4.4 Approval

4.4.1 The process and control factors or a preproduction part, or both, whichever is specified, shall be approved by the

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cognizant engineering organization before production parts are supplied.

4.4.2 The processor shall make no significant change to materials, processes, or control factors from those on which
the approval was based, unless the change is approved by the cognizant engineering organization. A significant
change is one which in the judgment of the cognizant engineering organization could affect the properties or
performance of the parts.

4.4.3 The processor shall have a copy of the procedure available for review by purchaser's cognizant quality assurance
organization. It shall include a full description of all equipment and procedures used to process parts.

4.5 Reports

The heat treating processor shall furnish, with each shipment of parts, a certified quality assurance report, traceable to the
heat treat control number(s), stating that the parts were processed in accordance with the requirements of this
specification AMS2753C (or other applicable specification). The report shall include: purchase order number, part number
or product identification, alloy, temper/strength designation, quantity of parts in the shipment, identification of furnace(s)
used, actual thermal processing times and temperatures used. Additionally, when applicable, the report shall also include
actual test results, (e.g., hardness, conductivity, tensile, shear) and a statement of their conformance/nonconformance to
requirements. This data shall be reported in accordance with the heat treater’s documented procedures.
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4.6 Resampling and Retesting

If any specimen used in the above tests fails to meet the specified requirements, disposition of the parts may be based on
the results of testing three additional specimens for each original nonconforming specimen. Failure of any retest
specimen to meet the specified requirements shall be cause for rejection of the parts represented. Results of all tests
shall be reported.

4.6.1 If any acceptance test fails to meet specified test requirements, the parts in that load may be retested.
Alternatively, all parts in the load may be inspected for the nonconforming attribute, and the nonconforming parts
may be reprocessed as defined herein, and retested. After reprocessing, parts shall meet the dimensions on the
drawing.

4.6.2 If the result of any periodic test fails to meet specified test requirements, the process is nonconforming. No
additional parts shall be treated until the process is corrected and new specimens are treated and tested. Results
of all tests shall be recorded and, when requested, reported. Purchasers shall be notified of all parts treated
since the last acceptable test.

No further reproduction or networking is permitted.

5. PREPARATION FOR DELIVERY

5.1 Parts shall be handled and packaged to ensure that the required physical characteristics of the nitrocarburized
parts are preserved.

5.2 Packages of nitrocarburized parts shall be prepared for shipment in accordance with commercial practice and in
compliance with applicable rules and regulations pertaining to the handling, packaging, and transportation of the
parts to ensure carrier acceptance and safe delivery. Packaging shall conform to carrier rules and regulations
applicable to the mode of transportation.

6. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

A processor shall mention this specification number and its revision letter in all quotations and when acknowledging

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purchase orders.

7. REJECTIONS

Parts on which the compound layer does not conform to this specification, or to modifications authorized by the cognizant
engineering organization, will be subject to rejection.

8. NOTES

8.1 A change bar (|) located in the left margin is for convenience of the user in locating areas where technical revisions,
not editorial changes, have been made to the previous issue of this document. An (R) symbol to the left of the
document title indicates a complete revision of the document including technical revisions. Change bars and (R)
are not used in original publications, nor in documents that contain editorial changes only.

8.2 Diffusion in carbon steels, determined under microscopic examination, has an acicular appearance, when nital
etched, after the sample has been heated at 570 °F ± 10 (299 °C ± 6) for not less than 1 hour. The acicular zone
represents one-third to one-half of the total nitrogen penetration. Alloy steels, when etched with nital, will reveal a
dark zone which represents approximately one-quarter of the total nitrogen diffusion. Acicular structure is not
apparent in alloy steels.

8.3 Compound layer or zone thickness up to 0.0004 inch (0.010 mm) can be measured nondestructively by X-ray
diffraction techniques.

8.4 Testing of the compound layer for the presence of sulfur can be accomplished with a scanning microprobe analysis
or an Auger analysis.
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8.5 Recommended guidelines for operation of the salt bath are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 - TYPICAL NITROCARBURING PROCESS PARAMETERS

Approximate
Time
Material Temperature
min max °F °C
Carbon and Low-Alloy Steels 30 minutes 2 hours 1070 577
Tool and Die Steels 5 minutes 3 hours 1000 538
Corrosion and Heat Resistant Steels 15 minutes 2 hours 1070 577
Ductile, Malleable, and Gray Cast Iron 1 hour 3 hours 1070 577
Ferrous Powder Metal Products 30 minutes 2 hours 1070 577

8.6 Typical thicknesses for compound layer.

TABLE 3 - COMPOUND LAYER THICKNESS

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Compound Layer Thickness
Material Inch Millimeter
min max Min max
Carbon Steel 0.00015 0.0010 0.0038 0.025
Corrosion & Heat Resistant Steels 0.00010 0.00015 0.0025 0.00385
Low-Alloy Steel 0.00015 0.0010 0.0038 0.025
Tool and Die Steels 0.00010 0.0005 0.0025 0.012
Cast Iron 0.00015 0.0010 0.0038 0.025
Ferrous Powder Metal Products 0.00015 0.0010 0.0038 0.025
(minimum density 7.0 grams/cc)

8.7 Microhardness testing of the external surface has been used to verify hardness of the compound layer, but loads of
less than 200 grams are generally required to minimize penetration into the softer core. This test is not a true
measurement of the compound layer hardness but can help quantify the load carrying capability of the case.

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8.8 Use of ARP4992, Periodic Test Plan for Process Solutions, is recommended to satisfy the requirement for the
control of cyanate concentration.

8.9 Terms used in this specification are defined in ARP1917.

8.10 Dimensions and properties in inch/pound units and the Fahrenheit temperatures are primary; dimensions and
properties in SI units and the Celsius temperatures are shown as the approximate equivalents of the primary units
and are presented only for information.

8.11 Procurement documents should specify not less than the following:

AMS2753C
Material and Hardness
Depth of compound layer or total case required
Part number and quantity of parts to be nitrocarburized

PREPARED BY AMS COMMITTEE "B"