A European automotive components supplier has awarded a contract to Nitrex Metal for the supply of a turnkey nitriding system with potential-controlled Nitreg® technology. The project involves the replacement of an old gas nitriding furnace with a modern system that will improve operational efficiency, offer superior gas and energy consumption, meet environmental objectives, as well as ensure an employee-friendly work environment.

The new system will nitride a variety of H11 and H13 aluminum extrusion dies used in manufacturing automotive structural components supplied to most major vehicle manufacturers. Entirely custom and tested recipes based on Nitreg® technology were developed for the application, allowing for consistent uniformity and repeatability of results. Other priorities for the customer when evaluating a replacement system were conservation of resources, as well as environmental compliance and noise pollution reduction. In contrast to the previous nitrider, the Nitrex system is programmed to work with a low consumption of gasses and electricity. Auxiliary hardware like the effluent neutralizer helps comply with environmental regulations, while a silencer fitted on the cooling blower controls noise exposure for better work conditions.

The furnace has working dimensions of 47¼” diameter by 59” high (1200 x 1500 mm) and a load capacity of 6600 lbs (3000 kg). Delivery is scheduled for the third quarter of 2017.