Nitriding of high speed steel

Current practice when nitriding HSS cutting tools is to avoid embrittlement of the cutting edge by limiting the depth of the diffusion zone. This is accomplished by reducing the nitriding time and temperature and eliminating any compound layer formation. However, in many applications there is an argument for generating a compound layer with beneficial tribological properties. In this investigation results are presented of a metallographic, XRD and XPS analysis of nitrided surface layers generated using active screen plasma nitriding and reactive vapour deposition using cathodic arc. These results are discussed in the context of built up edge formation observed while machining inside a scanning electron microscope. (author)