Castool Tooling Systems, a division of Exco Technologies and a leading tooling provider to extrusion and die-casting companies, expanded its in-house capabilities by adding a Nitrex turnkey nitrocarburizing system. The large capacity furnace is part of a significant investment project that saw several furnace OEM suppliers collaborating to outfit the New Market, Canada facility with various pieces of heat-treating process equipment.

The new pit-type nitrocarburizing furnace, a model NX-1625 is capable of processing large workloads of up to 6000 kg (13,200 lb.) with dimensions of 1550 mm (61”) in diameter and 2500 mm (98.5”) in height. The turnkey solution includes Nitreg®-C controlled nitrocarburizing and ONC® post-oxidation technologies with proven recipes to treat shot sleeves made of H13 tool steel effectively. These technologies improve the strength and longevity of the shot sleeves while also preventing distortion when used in high-temperature and corrosive environments. Furthermore, component post-finishing is eliminated, since after nitrocarburizing, treated parts retain their dimensional stability.

“Although Castool is a new customer from the equipment side of our business, they have been outsourcing nitriding to our heat-treating services for many years and have been impressed with the quality of service and customer experience,” said Nikola Dzepina, Nitrex Account Manager. He added, “The parent company of Castool, Exco, was also a terrific reference. They have been using an in-house Nitrex system since 2011 for nitriding extrusion dies. Our process expertise and strong reference base were crucial factors in getting this order.”