Time and again, our highly skilled heat treatment team applies their expert knowledge to achieve better results for our customers. For example, our controlling furnaces regularly achieve over 6.5mm case depths to help customers achieve longer service lives for their components.

Crown Engineering’s state-of-the-art heat treatment plant boasts a wide range of equipment, including: 

• A large Controlled Atmospheric Furnace capable of treating items up to 1800mm in diameter and 1500mm in length 
• Two Fluid Bed furnaces capable of treating items up to 2400mm in length and 900mm in diameter 
• Two atmospheric furnaces capable of temperatures up to 650ºC used for tempering 
• One 22000L Quench Tank (medium rate quench oil) 
• One 16000L Quench Tank 
• CNC controlled, dedicated induction hardening machine capable of 4000mm diameter and face width of 1500mm.

Heat Treatment Processes

Heat treatment is a fundamental method used to alter steel’s mechanical properties and surface hardness. At Crown Engineering, we use four surface hardening processes: 

• Quench and tempering

Typically used to alter the mechanical properties of the material, this is a through-hardening process that affects the whole body of steel. 

• Case carburising
  

A localised hardening process which allows us to create a very hard working surface with a tough internal core, to achieve better performances over standard quench and tempered gearing. 

• Induction Hardening

We minimise the wear and tear of your gear teeth with our induction hardening services. Our experience in this area means we can tackle a vast array of geared and non-geared products to improve their working life. Click here for more information on our induction hardening service.

• Nitriding

A heat treatment process that alloys nitrogen onto the surface of a metal to create a case hardened surface. It is predominantly used on steel, but also titanium, aluminium and molybdenum.

We prepare products for these procedures by normalising, annealing and stress relieving. For case carburising and through hardening we use a medium rate quench oil to allow for a consistent, accurate target microstructure, whilst eliminating quench cracking and limit distortion.

The induction hardening process typically uses a polymer type quench. We can also cryogenically quench where necessary.

Our in-depth metallurgical knowledge lets us achieve the best heat treatment results, whichever procedure our customers require.

Quality control

We perform regular maintenance checks on equipment, procedures and items.

All case carburised and induction hardened items are checked in our onsite laboratory – with tests including sectioning, micro-hardness tests, and macro-hardness assessment of metallic microstructure.

Qualified and experienced staff assess and report on the depth, microstructure and microhardness before the item is approved and permitted to proceed to the next stage of manufacturing. All test pieces are retained for the period of the warranty and are traceable on request. 

Want an engineering partner that is committed to absolute precision?
Contact Crown Engineering today via email or click here for our easy online quotation form.