Nitriding of components for machining centers

Turning, drilling and milling: In modern machining centers, these work steps are carried out highly dynamically with high cutting data. The components of a machining center must withstand high acceleration and cutting forces. Especially the core components such as the spindle, slide guides, workpiece and tool changers are put under high loads.

To ensure that they are resistant to wear and corrosion and have a long service life despite contamination, the components are heat treated. Nitriding has proven to be particularly practical, as this process is particularly low in distortion and ensures a high accuracy of fit. Nitriding offers even more advantages:

Strength where it is needed
Spindles and tool holders are exposed to high pressure loads. If untreated, these components will deform very easily under load. A targeted nitration counteracts this and increases the deformation resistance and ensures a high flexural fatigue strength without affecting the basic structure. If the basic structure also needs hardening to reach better strength, a combination of vacuum hardening and subsequent nitriding is the solution.

Individually adjustable process parameters
Flanges, pallets for clamping the workpieces, tool holders or similar components have many threaded holes. In plasma nitriding, it is possible to not nitride threaded bores by setting the process parameters in a targeted manner.

Ductility despite hardness
This requirement is typical for components of machining centers. Soiling often leads to surface damage and thus inaccuracies or a shortened service life. A nitrated edge zone counteracts this without affecting the toughness of the base material.

Nitriding and coating
Machining tools are usually coated with PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) or PACVD (Plasma-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition). To ensure that this hard coating adheres perfectly to the base material and does not break down under point loads ("eggshell effect"), nitration is used in advance as a support coating and provides an optimal foundation.

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