Nitriding furnace

Abstract: This invention provides a furnace body 21 divided into a pretreatment chamber 23 and a nitriding chamber 24 by a removable center wall 22. After pretreatment of works to be treated in the pretreatment chamber, the center wall is removed and the pretreated works transferred to the nitriding chamber, for nitriding. The amount of treatment gas used compared with the amount used in a furnace is nitriding conducted after pretreatment in a furnace which has only a nitriding chamber is significant.

Description: This invention relates to a nitriding furnace useful for forming a nitrided layer on the surface of steel. Technology for forming a nitrided layer on the surface of steel is utilized widely for hardening the surface of steel to improve such characteristics as wear resistance. Such nitriding is conducted as follows. A clean surface is exposed by pretreatment to remove a passive surface layer such as an oxide layer, and the clean surface is contacted with a nitrogen source gas such as ammonia which penetrates and diffuses into the steel. Generally, the pretreatment of the surface of the steel, in particular steel containing a large amount of chromium, is carried out by cleaning the steel surface with a hydrofluoric acid-nitric acid mixture. It is, however difficult to remove a stubborn passive layer from the surface of stainless steel, particularly austinitic stainless steel, even by cleaning with a hydrofluoric acid-nitric acid mixture, and even if the passive layer is removed, it is likely to reform before nitriding temperature is reached. For this reason, it is practically impossible to form by a conventional nitriding process a sufficiently thick uniform nitrided layer on the steel surface because of residual passive layer. The inventors of the present invention researched repeatedly into pretreatment, recognizing that pretreatment prior to nitriding influences the nitriding considerably. As a result, they found that it was effective to hold the steel in an atmosphere of fluorinated gas, such as NF₃, BF₃, CF₄, HF, SF₆ or F₂, in an inert gas such as N₂. when the steel is heated in the said atmosphere, a passive layer on the steel surface turns into a fluorinated layer by the action of active fluorine atoms in the fluorinated gas. The fluorinated layer is decomposed by H₂, NH₃ or a small amount of water to expose the bare steel surface. Since the bare metal surface is clean and activated, it is easy for N atoms to penetrate and diffuse from the steel surface to the interior during nitriding. The inventors have filed European Patent Application No. 90 302 232.5 (published as EP-A-0 408 168) entitled "Method of pretreating metallic works and method of nitriding steel" disclosing such a method. The method is carried out by using a heat treatment furnace the interior of which comprises one chamber, as shown in Fig. 2. That is, the steel (not shown) is put in a metallic container 2, charged into the furnace 1 and heated at a temperature of about 300°C - 400°C by an electric heater 3. The steel is pretreated by introducing fluorinated gas, containing NF₃ in N₂ gas, into the furnace 1 through a gas inlet pipe 4. After the pretreatment, the fluorinated gas is taken out through a gas exhaust pipe 5. Subsequently the heater 3 raises the temperature of the steel to 400° - 600°C. A mixed gas (e.g. NH₃: 50%, CO₂: 10%, CO: a small amount, H₂: a small amount, N₂: balance) is then introduced into the furnace 1 through the inlet pipe 4 to nitride the steel. In this case, the fluorinated layer formed on the steel surface is destroyed by H₂, NH₃ and the like in the mixed gas to expose the metal surface. N atoms from NH₃ act on the exposed activated metal surface to form a deep and uniform nitrided layer on the steel surface. However, during the heat treatment the following problems arise since pretreatment and nitriding are conducted in one furnace. During pretreatment, fluorinated gas is introduced into the furnace 1. NF₃, which is an active ingredient of the fluorinated gas, acts not only on the steel surface but also on the inner wall surface of the heat treatment furnace 1 to form a fluorinated layer thereon. The fluorinated layer is decomposed and removed during subsequent nitriding from the wall as well as from the steel surface. The NF₃ fluorinating the inner wall surface of the furnace 1 is wasted. Decomposition and removal of the fluorinated layer from the inner wall of the furnace 1 uses ammonia during nitriding to produce NH₄F, which is exhausted to the outside. Not only the fluorinated layer on the steel surface but also that on the inner wall of the furnace 1 is turned into NH₄F and exhausted. Thus, the exhaust pipe 5 of the heat treatment furnace 1 is quickly blocked with NH₄F because so much NH₄F is produced. Furthermore, it is necessary to cool the nitrided steel in the furnace 1 after nitriding, and there is another problem in that, since the whole furnace is heated during nitriding, the temperature of the steel does not decrease readily, and it takes more than 4 hours to cool it. In Fig. 2, the reference numeral 6 indicates an adiabatic wall, the numeral 7 an opening and closing door, 8 fans, 9 a frame, 10 a pillar for the frame, 11 a pillar of the furnace body, 12 a vacuum pump, and 13 exhaust gas treatment apparatus. It is an object of this invention to provide a furnace for nitriding in which the amount of fluorinated gas used for pretreatment can be reduced, and at the same time blocking of the gas exhaust pipe with NH₄F and the like produced by decomposition of the fluorinated layer formed on the inner wall of the furnace is avoided, and the steel material can be cooled swiftly after nitriding. US-A-2 205 258 discloses a furnace for, among other things, nitriding. In order to ensure that no damaging and potentially explosive air reaches the heating chamber, a charging chamber is provided into which the charge is first placed. An ignition means within the charging chamber ignites potentially explosive gas mixtures in the chamber, and a protective atmosphere is introduced into the chamber. The charge is transferred on rollers through a door in a dividing wall into the heating chamber, which has a gas inlet and a gas outlet. The charge is heated in the heating chamber in the presence of a protective atmosphere, and so undergoes the desired heat treatment, such as nitriding. According to the invention there is provided a nitriding furnace comprising: a furnace body divided into a first chamber and a second nitriding chamber by a movable wall, the first chamber being provided with a gas feed pipe, and the second, nitriding, chamber being provided with a nitriding gas feed pipe; a heater within the nitriding chamber; and an exhaust pipe for treatment gas, characterised in that the first chamber is a pretreatment chamber, in that a pretreatment gas feed pipe opens into the first chamber, in that a heater is disposed in the first chamber and in that a support frame for supporting works to be treated movable between the first and second chambers is disposed within the furnace body. In this furnace the furnace body is divided in two, a pretreatment chamber and a nitriding chamber. Pretreatment is carried out in the pretreatment chamber. Therefore, NF₃ which is an active ingredient of the fluorinated gas fed to the pretreatment chamber acts not only on the steel surface but also on the wall surface of the pretreatment chamber. However, since the fluorinated layer is not decomposed and removed in the pretreating chamber, the fluorinated layer adhered to the wall surface during the first pretreatment remains as it is. Therefore, at the next pretreatment, the fluorinated layer is not formed anew on the wall of the pretreating chamber, and NF₃ acts only on the steel surface to be treated, to change a passive layer thereon to a fluorinated layer. As a result, the NF3 consumed is only that used to act on the steel surface and the amount of the fluorinated gas used decreases greatly. Furthermore, the fluorinated layer which is formed on the wall surface of the pretreatment chamber during the first pretreating is not removed. Therefore, blocking of the exhaust pipe due to formation of NH₄F from the fluorinated layer on the wall surface does not occur. The steel surface pretreated in the pretreatment chamber is subsequently introduced into the nitriding chamber by opening the center wall, and nitrided after closing the center wall. Since the pretreatment chamber is not heated during nitriding, it cools naturally. The steel material is returned after nitriding to the pretreatment chamber by opening and closing the center wall, and cooled therein. In this case, since the pretreatment chamber has cooled and the temperature therein is considerably lower than that of the nitriding chamber, the cooling time is shortened. The invention will be further described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment according to the invention; and Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a prior art treatment furnace, on which the invention is based. Fig. 1 illustrates an embodiment according to the invention. In this figure, the reference numeral 21 refers to a furnace body having an adiabatic wall, the inside of which is divided into a right 24 and a left 23 chamber by a removable center wall 22. The center wall 22 divides the two chambers 23, 24 in an airtight and adiabatic manner. The center wall 22 slides up and down. The left chamber 23 is a pretreatment chamber and the right chamber 24 is a nitriding chamber. A frame 25 supports a metallic net basket 2 which holds the steel works in the pretreatment chamber 23 and the nitriding chamber 24. The frame 25 comprises a pair of right and left rails, and the metallic net baskets 2 slide on these rails, allowing them to be introduced into the pretreatment chamber 23 and the nitriding chamber 24. The numeral 26 refers to a gas inlet pipe for introducing fluorinated gas into the pretreatment chamber 23 and the numeral 27 refers to temperature measuring sensors. Front opening of the pretreating chamber 23 is allowed by a lateral-open type lid. The reference numeral 28 indicates a nitriding gas inlet pipe for introducing nitriding gas into the nitriding chamber 24. A heater 3 is disposed in the pretreatment chamber 23, and a rear lid 6' of the nitriding chamber 24 is disposed so as to open laterally, in addition to the lid of the pretreatment chamber 23 as in the first embodiment. Other parts are the same as those in Fig. 2, and the same reference numerals indicate the same parts. In this furnace, the temperature inside the pretreatment chamber 23 can be raised to 400°C to 600°C, at which temperature steel material held in the metallic net basket 2 is charged into the pretreatment chamber and the steel is held in the chamber until the temperature of the steel reaches 300°C to 400°C. Fluorinated gas is fed into the pretreatment chamber 23 to pretreat the steel for 15 to 20 minutes. A vacuum pump 12 exhausts 0₂ and H₂0 from the pretreatment chamber 23 before nitriding and maintains the pressure in the chamber 23 appropriately during nitriding. After pretreatment is over, gas in the pretreating chamber 23 is exhausted, the center wall 22 is removed, the metallic net basket 2 with the steel works is moved to the nitriding chamber 24, which is at a temperature of 400°C to 600°C, and the wall 22 is closed. Next, nitriding gas comprising a mixture of NH₃, N₂, H₂, C0 and C0₂ is introduced into the nitriding chamber 24, and nitriding takes place for 4 to 5 hours. Then, the interior temperature is lowered to 350°C to 450°C cleaning is carried out by treatment with a mixed gas of H₂ and N₂, or a mixed gas of N₂, H₂ and C0₂. After withdrawing the exhausted gas in the nitriding chamber 24 to the outside, the center wall 22 is removed, the metallic net basket 2 with the steel works is charged into the pretreatment chamber 23 and the center wall 22 is replaced, and the steel cooled. Cooling is achieved by introducing nitrogen gas via a gas inlet pipe 26 into the pretreatment chamber 23. Thus, the treated steel material is provided with deep and uniform nitrided layer on its surface. An opening and closing door may be disposed on the bottom of the nitriding chamber 24, and an oil cooled drum may be disposed thereunder and the steel works cooled in the oil cooled drum immediately after nitriding. As mentioned above, in the nitriding furnace according to the present invention, the furnace body is divided into a pretreating chamber and a nitriding chamber. Pretreatment by fluorinated gas is conducted in the pretreatment chamber, and nitriding in the nitriding chamber. Therefore since a fluorinated layer which is adhered to the wall surface of the pretreatment chamber in a first treatment is maintained as it is, without being decomposed and removed, fluorinated gas does not adhere to the wall surface but adheres only to the steel surface in the next treatment. As a result, a large amount of fluorinated gas can be saved. Since exhausted gas such as NH₄F produced by decomposition of the fluorinated layer is only from the fluorinated layer coating the steel surface, blocking of exhaust pipes by formation of large amounts of NH₄F does not occur. Yet, since it is possible to cool the nitrided steel by introducing it into the pretreating chamber, the temperature of which is lower than that of the nitriding chamber, cooling time is saved, and thereby nitriding time can be shortened. In the case that the structure is made so that the steel material can be taken out of the nitriding chamber directly, it is possible to operate the furnace continuously and yet to provide for steel which needs forced cooling, such as oil cooling.

Claims: A nitriding furnace comprising: a furnace body (21) divided into a first chamber (23) and a second nitriding chamber (24) by a movable wall (22), the first chamber being provided with a gas feed pipe, and the second, nitriding, chamber being provided with a nitriding gas feed pipe (28); a heater (3) within the nitriding chamber; and an exhaust pipe (5) for treatment gas, characterised in that the first chamber (23) is a pretreatment chamber, in that a pretreatment gas feed pipe (26) opens into the first chamber, in that a heater (3) is disposed in the first chamber and in that a support frame (25) for supporting works to be treated movable between the first and second chambers is disposed within the furnace body (21). A furnace according to claim 1 in which the exhaust pipe (5) opens from both chambers. A nitriding furnace according to claim 1 or 2 in which the openable wall (22) is openable by removal from the furnace body (21). A nitriding furnace according to claim 3 in which the openable wall (22) slides vertically into and out of the furnace body.

Inventors: KITANO KENZO, MINATO TERUO, SENBOKUYA HARUO, TAHARA MASAKI, KITANO, KENZO, MINATO, TERUO, SENBOKUYA, HARUO, TAHARA, MASAKI
Applicants: DAIDO OXYGEN, DAIDOUSANSO CO., LTD.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: C23C8
IPC codes: F27B11, C23C8, C21D1