Also known as low-pressure carburizing, vacuum carburizing involves heating under reduced pressure and introducing carburizing gases, such as acetylene, into the furnace to allow contact between the gas and the high-temperature treated material for carburizing.
A key difference from regular gas carburizing is that in vacuum carburizing, methane or propane is introduced directly into the furnace to control the carburizing and diffusion times to achieve the desired treatment.
The process takes place under reduced pressure, resulting in the following characteristics:
•No grain boundary oxidation due to the absence of oxygen and moisture in the carburizing atmosphere.
•Treatment at higher temperatures compared to gas carburizing, allowing for shorter carburizing times and nearly identical effective depths.
•Uniform carburizing even with complex shapes and varying thicknesses.
