Cathodic cage plasma nitriding of Ti6Al4V alloy

Abstract

Glow discharge nitriding is being used increasingly more often for modifying the properties of titanium and its alloys with the aim to increase their frictional wear resistance, fatigue strength, and, in the case of medical applications, to eliminate the metallosis effect. Unlike PVD methods, ion nitriding ensures the formation of diffusive layers with very good adhesion to the substrate, but which still have some disadvanteges such as the “edge effect” or “hollow cathode effect” which hinders treatment of complex workpieces. The paper compares nitrided layers produced on Ti6Al4V alloy using two different types of nitriding processes. The first process is conventional dc plasma nitriding (DCPN) where the samples were placed at the cathode potential, while the second one is a new method of cathodic cage plasma nitriding (CCPN) process, where the substrate is insulated from the cathode and anode. The experiments have shown that the treatment conducted in a cathodic cage can be alternative for conventional ion nitriding, especially when used for small parts with complicated shapes used in the space or medical industry.