The Care Of Carburizing Compounds
:
CASE-HARDENING OR SURFACE-CARBURIZING
:
The Working Of Steel
Of all the opportunities for practicing economy in the heat-treatment
department, there is none that offers greater possibilities for
profitable returns than the systematic cleaning, blending and reworking
of artificial carburizers, or compounds.
The question of whether or not it is practical to take up the work
depends upon the nature of the output. If the sole product of the
hardening department consist
of a 1.10 carbon case or harder,
requiring a strong highly energized material of deep penetrative
power such as that used in the carburizing of ball races, hub-bearings
and the like, it would be best to dispose of the used material to
some concern whose product requires a case with from 0.70 to 0.90
carbon, but where there is a large variety of work the compound
may be so handled that there will be practically no waste.
This is accomplished with one of the most widely known artificial
carburizers by giving all the compound in the plant three distinct
classifications: New, being direct from the maker; half and
half, being one part of new and one part first run; and 2 to 1,
which consists of two parts of old and one part new.