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How to Harden Steel Powder

Quenching and tempering steel during the cooling stage of formation performs the process of case hardening steel. An alternative method of hardening steel is by using sintered steel powders to create an outer layer of hardened steel on manufactured parts. A powder coating of steel particles adheres to the parts and when heated forms the outer layer of the steel. The traditional quenching and tempering process of hardened steel presents problems in maintaining dimensional tolerances on manufactured parts. Using hardened steel powders to generate a hardened steel outer layer provides much better tolerance control. The cooling phase of the application of powdered steel coatings delivers the increase in strength and hardness of the steel.

Things You'll Need

Sintered alloy powder
Sintering furnace
Quenching liquid

Instructions

- 1
  Hold the part to be hardened into a furnace until the part becomes red hot or cherry red in color. The temperature of the part will be approximately 1400 to 1700 degrees F.
- 2
  Dip the hot part into a container of sintered alloy powder. Mix the part around in the powder until an even coating of the powder covers the part. The thickness of the coating of powder will determine the depth of the hardened layer in the part.
- 3
  Replace the coated part in the furnace until it returns to a cherry hot color. Raising the temperature of the part will allow the alloy powder to fuse with the original steel part. After the powder has fused with the steel, remove from the furnace and brush with a wire brush to remove any excess coating.
- 4
  Reheat the part to cherry red and quench in water or a brine solution.
- 5
  Repeat the process of coating, heating, brushing and quenching to achieve a deeper hardened layer. To obtain a hardened layer on high-speed steel, the temperature of the part must reach at least 1800 to 2200 degrees F. Use oil for the quenching liquid when working with high-speed steel.

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