Ipsen’s global development team recently celebrated the first build and testing of the Argos heat-treating system. The Argos uses low-pressure carburizing (AvaC®) in combination with 20-bar nitrogen quenching to provide metallurgical properties never before seen in gas quenching systems — even those utilizing 20-bar helium quenching.
This initial test was performed on one of the most difficult to quench vacuum carburized components: layshafts for large gears. Until now, helium gas, which is both expensive and declining in availability, was required to fully transform parts with very high cross-sectional thicknesses.
Test outcomes showed that the shafts processed in the Argos system with 20-bar nitrogen quenching achieved higher surface hardness and core hardness values than shafts processed in the existing vacuum heat-treating furnaces that use 20-bar helium quenching.
The Argos heat-treating system also offers several benefits, including:
- Flexible installation with a selectable number of carburizing, nitriding, subzero, and high vacuum process chambers with a nitrogen gas and/or oil quench module
- Excellent temperature uniformity during heating and cooling
- Minimal and controllable distortion due to temperature homogeneity throughout the entire load and the reversible gas flow during cooling
- Extremely high gas velocity and volume due to Ipsen’s unique cooling system design
Overall, the Argos furnace line represents a significant milestone in the growing trend to operate low-pressure carburizing (LPC) lines in combination with inert gas quenching.
For more information: www.Ipsen.de/en/Argos