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Nitride surfacing of suspension members

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by jselevan, Jan 13, 2005.

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  1. jselevan

    jselevan Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,879
    #1 jselevan, Jan 13, 2005
    Has anyone information about nitride surfacing of various ferrite parts? The process hardens the surface, but more important for suspension members is that it creates a very hard, black surface that will not chip. It is used on camshafts and cranks, etc. The only issue is that it should not be used on parts where the metal was annealed at 1000 F as this is the temperature required for the process.

    My understanding is that suspension A members are simply steel parts welded together, and no special annealing was done at the time of manufacturing.

    Any information or thoughts are appreciated. The process is rather inexpensive.

    Jim S.
     
  2. Verell

    Verell F1 Veteran
    Consultant Owner

    May 5, 2001
    7,022
    Groton, MA
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    Verell Boaen
    #2 Verell, Jan 14, 2005
    Better check on nitriding's rust/corrosion resistance. Cranks, etc. are very prone to rust at the drop of a hat.

    IMHO you'd do better to either powdercoat or POR15 your suspension parts. Either is highly chip resistant.
     
  3. jselevan

    jselevan Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,879
    #3 jselevan, Jan 14, 2005
    Verell - the Nitriding process renders the ferrite material resistant to rust or corrosion, comparable to stainless steel. It is quite impressive. Better and less costly than the alternatives.

    Dino owners - are the uprights (spindle hubs) black from the factory?

    Are the swivel joints (ball joints) rubber boots available for replacement without replacing the ball joint?

    Jim S.
     
  4. rexrcr

    rexrcr Formula 3
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    Nov 27, 2002
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    Rob Schermerhorn
    #4 rexrcr, Jan 17, 2005
  5. racerboy9

    racerboy9 F1 Rookie
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 3, 2003
    2,669
    #5 racerboy9, Jan 17, 2005
    I have found that using Rustoleum satin black paint and then baking them for an hour or so at 200-250 degrees leaves a very hard surface. Much more so than just normal air drying. Running you finger nail across the baked paint finish tells the story. I think the powder coated A-arms is way over sold. The wheels on many sports cars were "stove-enameled" which was just baked on paint. Cheap, easy and maybe not as durable as powder coating but a close second.
     
  6. Hubert

    Hubert F1 Rookie

    Jan 3, 2002
    2,642
    The Left Coast
    #6 Hubert, Jan 17, 2005
    I don't know what the advantage would be of Ni-ing a static sus member like an A-arm or wishbone; TiNi is done to rotating parts and dynamic parts (cranks, fork tubes of motorcyles) to reduce stiction; perhaps I'm failing to understand, but are you wanting to structurally fortify a static sus member via Ti coating, or is there a dynamic load that youre trying to smoothen out? Forgive me if I've asked a really obvious question.
     
  7. Mark 328

    Mark 328 Formula Junior

    Nov 6, 2003
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    Orange, Ca
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    Mark Foley
    #7 Mark 328, Jan 18, 2005
    It sounds like the terms might be getting mixed--Nitriding is different than Nitrotec. Nitriding is a surface hardnening process that is applied to certain alloy steels. Nitriding is commonly performed on chrome-molly types of alloy steels eg 4130,4140 4150, 4340, etc. and there is actually an alloy called Nitralloy. The process is done by heating the furnace up past the critical tempature of the steel (Approx 950 Deg F) and nitrogen is introduced usually in the form of ammonia gas. The material is cooled slowly (no quench/no distortion) and the nitrogen absorbes into the surface of the steel and the surface gets very hard while the core remains ductile--this is an ideal situation for a crankshaft. It is like case hardening except that with Nitriding the material is not quenched and the base material needs to contain carbon.
    Allthough I am not familiar with Nitrotec, it sounds like a type of a black oxide finish.

    Mark
     

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