Deep Cryogenic Treatment FAQ

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FAQs Q: What is Cryogenic Treatment? A: Cryogenic Treatment is the process of deep freezing materials at cryogenic temperatures (-300慚). It has been proven to increase the strength and durability of the material being treated, relieve stress, create a more uniform material, and micro-smooth surface. Q: What happens during deep cryogenic treatment? A: During the process of deep cryogenic treatment, austenite is transformed into martensite, which is then tempered to change into tempered martensite. In addition, small complex carbides called eta-carbides are precipitated out. This greatly reduces residual stress and promotes "micro-smoothing" of the surface. Q: What items or materials can be successfully treated? A: There are many applications for different materials, which can be treated. Look under Materials on previous Portal page for a complete list. If a material that you want treated is not on the list then contact us and we would be more than happy to advise you on whether or not is is a good candidate for Cryogenic Treatment. Q: Will my materials become more brittle? Will the material become damaged? A: No. The strength of the material is actually increased after the process. The molecular structure is "filled in" increasing the strength of the material by up to 400%! Also, the material will not be damaged and it will retain its shape. Q: Is there a need to re-treat materials after sharpening? A: Cryogenic Treatment is a one time, permanent and irreversible process. It is a "through" process, not a surface treatment. In fact, in the case of blades or drill bits, the sharpness will not only last longer, but you will be able to sharpen more times with less removal of material. Each sharpening will demonstrate the benefits of the treatment. Q: How long does cryogenically treating take? A: The process takes several days to complete, depending on the material being treated. To learn more about specific times for certain applications please contact us and we will answer any questions that you might have. Q: Does Cryogenic Treatment make the metal harder? A: Although cryogenic processing makes metals (and other materials) more wear resistant, it rarely increases the hardness any significant amount. The wear resistance comes from a refined crystal structure and the transformation of retained Austenite into Martensite, not an increase in hardness. Most items are post-tempered after cryogenic treatment to ensure they are not more brittle after processing. Q: Aren't hard coatings the best strategy for reducing metal wear? A: A hard coating is a good strategy where light abrasion, friction, or light galling is a factor in wear. Hard coatings cannot strengthen metal, and if the metal underneath them succumbs to stress, abrasion, fatigue, or other wear factors, the coating will not protect it. We recommend cryogenic treatment to increase wear resistance in metals and alloys. Q: Cryogenic processing is easy, just put the part into liquid nitrogen. A: You might get away with this 10% of the time. Successful cryogenic treatments involve bringing the part down in temperature at a controlled rate. Dropping the part into liquid nitrogen will expose the part to thermal shock. This could crack the surface or induce tensile residual stresses. People have cracked engine blocks by pouring ambient temperature water into an over heated engine. 60 degree F water into a 300-degree engine block is only a 240-degree difference. A 60-degree F part dropped into liquid nitrogen represents a 375-degree difference. Q: We can't afford to put any more money into our tooling or product, even to make it better, so what to do? A: Our research has shown that the original cost of a tool is about 10% of the total cost of using the tool. It also shows that the greatest costs of using a tool are tooling failures and maintenance. Tooling failures and maintenance create down time, lost production time, delays and product failures. Cryogenically treating tooling parts can significantly improve the ROI (return on investment) of tools. Q: Does Cryogenic processing replace a heat treatment process or other existing treatments? A: No, cryogenic treatment of metals and alloys it is an additional treatment to further improve what has already been done. The cryogenic process should always be applied after the high heat treatment has been completed. Post tempering of some items after cryogenic treatment uses a lower heat than that used in the metal hardening heat treatment process. Q: Can the extreme cold temperatures cause warping and dimensional changes? A: It is very unusual for this to happen, but under certain circumstances, it can, such as when there is an inordinate amount of stresses in the steel, or if there is a large amount of retained austenite present. In both of these cases we are dealing with a poorly made sample. Q: How often do you have to re-apply the Cryogenic Process? A: Never. The Cryogenic treatment is once only and is effective throughout the metal. Once the item has under gone cryogenic treatment, it will retain the benefits for the full life of the item. Generally blade edges demonstrate an increased in life of 100~300% after the Cryogenic treatment. The treated blade (or similar items) will give you the same benefits after being sharpened, time and time again. Q: Will it take special sharpening equipment to sharpen a blade that has been cryogenically processed? A: No. As there is no significant increase in the Hardness of the item you will be able to sharpen the item exactly the same as you always have. Q: Will the Cryogenic treatment fix a problem with a poor heat treatment or an inferior metal? A: No, it is not a cure all for poorly made tools and or components. A cheaply made tool will show little improvement from this treatment. However, the better the tool is to start with, the greater the improvement tends to be. Improvements in the life of quality metal components exposed to impact, abrasion, or heat can be up to 300%.