Improving mechanical properties

When fatigue strength or impact matters, as to increased torque on gearboxes, ECM processes can make the difference. On our systems, low-pressure carbonitriding® as well as fine-tuned gas quenching lead to mechanical properties improvement. And of course, both factors can be combined.

> Carbonitriding

Tested on actual gearbox parts, low pressure carbonitriding® – an alternative boost of C2H2, N2, NH3 – helps improve fatigue strengh by a factor of 15 % and resistance on impact by 60 %. This is due to the nitrogen effect at the surface. During test series, ECM and Peugeot SA measured a 34% fatigue strength improvement.

> Stopped gas quenching (StopGQ)

Stopping gas quenching in martensite phase brings improvement on fatigue strength, in the range of 11%, thanks to an auto-tempering effect. Industrial tests at GM Powertrain and Scania in Sweden have exceeded this figure. This is achieved by controlling gas quench intensity on ECM equipment by adjusting gas pressure and mixing rate, using an ECM patented recipe called StopGQ.