In the foundry, blazing hot furnaces melt metal and produce castings, parts that are imbued with crude properties. It is then down to special alloy-refining facilities to alter those material characteristics, to intelligently manipulate key microcrystalline properties within the alloy so that the metal suits its application.
In documenting the essential characteristics of the black oxide coating process, we've illustrated the engineering science and the main advantages of the procedure. More than a smart finishing process, a material depositing technique; the metal surfaces that undergo this process are actually converted into a new form, one that shields the underlying metal while gifting it with a superb onyx-black finish.
Industrial foundries manufacture formidable products, mammoth components and intricate parts that go into service in the harshest applications. The thing is, we can't just melt iron and fill a cavity. The cooled metal part would hold its form and even look tough enough to handle the stresses of its coming role, but this isn't the way of steel and cast iron.
In adding chemistry to heat, we gain a powerful partnership, a fine means of blending two contrasting metal treatment techniques. Heat, obviously, changes the mechanical characteristics of a processed metal. On the other hand, chemical solutions support and even enhance thermal treatment cycles by providing a secondary transformative pathway. The nitriding process is an eloquent example of process-blending alchemy, an instance where surface hardening pairs chemical compounds with heat to surface harden steel parts.
Oxidation is a chemical reaction that takes place between oxygen molecules and the floating ring of electrons that orbit another element. Rusting iron is an out of control example of oxidation, a reaction that weakens the mechanical strength of the metal, and will actually see the material waste away unless it's treated or coated in a special finish.