Case Hardening Steel | EN36 | EN32 | 16MnCr5 | Supplier in UAE – Nifty Alloys LLC

Case hardening steel provides a unique engineering solution for components that require a highly wear-resistant surface and a tough, ductile core. This dual-property material is essential for manufacturing high-performance parts that must withstand both surface friction and internal impact stress. When you select case hardening steel, you choose a material engineered for durability and extended service life in demanding applications.

At Nifty Alloys LLC, we supply a comprehensive range of case hardening steel grades to support your most critical projects. We provide certified materials like EN32, EN36, and EN34, delivering them to engineering and manufacturing clients worldwide. You can rely on our expertise to source the correct alloy steel for carburizing, ensuring your components meet precise performance specifications.

What Is Case Hardening Steel?

Case hardening steel is a type of low-carbon steel specifically designed for surface hardening treatments. The core of the material contains a low carbon content, typically between 0.10% and 0.25%, which gives it excellent ductility and toughness. You can then use a specialized heat treatment process to diffuse additional carbon or nitrogen into the surface layer, or "case." This enrichment dramatically increases the surface hardness, creating a component with superior wear resistance while the core remains tough and resistant to shock.

This combination of properties makes case hardened components ideal for applications where parts experience both continuous surface wear and sudden mechanical loads. The hard case resists abrasion and fatigue, while the tough core absorbs impacts without fracturing.

We achieve this transformation through several controlled industrial processes:

• Carburizing: This is the most common method, where you heat the steel in a carbon-rich atmosphere. Carbon atoms diffuse into the surface, preparing it for hardening.
• Carbonitriding: This process introduces both carbon and nitrogen into the surface. The addition of nitrogen further improves hardness and wear resistance.
• Nitriding: In this process, you diffuse nitrogen into the steel's surface. It creates a very hard case without the need for quenching, which minimizes distortion.
• Induction Hardening: This method uses electromagnetic induction to rapidly heat specific areas of a part, which are then quenched. You can use it to selectively harden surfaces on medium-carbon steels.

Case Hardening Process Overview

The transformation of a soft, machinable steel part into a durable, wear-resistant component occurs during the case hardening process. Several methods exist, and your choice depends on the steel grade, component geometry, and desired surface properties.

• Carburizing: You heat the steel component in a solid, liquid, or gaseous medium rich in carbon. At temperatures between 850°C and 950°C, carbon atoms diffuse into the steel's surface. After achieving the desired carbon content and case depth, you quench the part to harden the high-carbon case.
• Carbonitriding: This process is similar to carburizing, but you introduce both carbon and nitrogen (usually from ammonia gas) into the heating atmosphere. The addition of nitrogen increases surface hardness and improves wear resistance. It is typically performed at slightly lower temperatures than carburizing.
• Nitriding: You heat the steel in a nitrogen-rich environment (e.g., ammonia gas). Nitrogen forms hard nitride compounds on the surface. A key advantage of nitriding is that it does not require quenching, which significantly reduces the risk of part distortion. This process also improves fatigue resistance.
• Induction Hardening: This method uses a high-frequency alternating current to heat the surface of a component. Once the surface reaches the correct temperature, you quench it rapidly. This process is very fast and allows for selective hardening of specific areas, but it is typically used on steels with sufficient carbon content (0.40% or more) to harden without diffusion.

Key Benefits of Case Hardening Steel

When you specify case hardening steel for your components, you gain access to a unique set of performance advantages that are difficult to achieve with other materials. The primary benefit is the ability to create a part that is optimized for both surface durability and structural integrity.

The key benefits include:

• High Surface Hardness and Wear Resistance: The hardened case provides excellent resistance to abrasion, friction, and surface fatigue.
• Superior Core Ductility and Shock Strength: The tough, low-carbon core absorbs impact energy, preventing cracks and fractures under sudden loads.
• Improved Fatigue Life: The compressive residual stresses introduced during the case hardening process significantly increase the component's resistance to fatigue failure.
• Excellent Load-Bearing Capacity: The combination of a hard case and strong core allows components like gears and bearings to handle high contact stresses.
• Versatility for Critical Components: It is the material of choice for essential parts such as gears, shafts, bearings, and cams.
• Extended Service Life: Components made from case hardening steel last longer, which reduces downtime and maintenance costs for your machinery.