Stainitec

The Stainitec process produces an extremely hard surface ‘S-phase’ layer by a plasma treatment similar to the Stainihard® NC treatment that is conducted in gas. The surface hardness of the layer can reach up to 1400HV and is always over 1000HV.

The depths of layers created with these treatments depends on the type of stainless steel that is used, the amount of work hardening in steel surface as well as the specific treatment applied. 

One of the main reasons Stainless Steels are chosen for applications is because they are highly resistant to rusting. However many, such as austenitic stainless steels, are relatively soft, cannot be hardened and have poor wear resistance. Stainitec delivers hardening onto 316 Stainless Steel. 304 stainless steel is also a common steel that we treat to achieve high surface hardness. You can however surface harden stainless steels by nitriding or carburizing to create a very hard layer without reducing the corrosion resistance – in fact, in some cases the corrosion resistance is even improved. This provides anti galling, scratch resistance and high surface hardness.