[autobot]

I'm wondering how people surface coat or treat their metal parts they fabricate in the machine shop. Maybe get a third party to do it? And how much would they cost? I suppose some kinda ion implanter oven sort of thing.

Say you mill out your gear profile in some metal with the intention to hob or broach out gears. Lets say you want to coat this home-made tool so it has a hard coat, how will one do it? E.g. TiN coatings etc.

[txcncman]

First, your base metal will need to be hard enough and tough enough to do the intended job. This usually requires selecting the correct metal, machining it, then heat treating it. I would highly recommend outsourcing the heat treating process. The cost of a kiln and cost to operate one is fairly high. Same for coatings. For coatings, except for basic case hardening, the temperatures are too high and chemicals too costly. I think you can case harden some materials as low as 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Most case hardening will not penetrate more than about 0.020-0.040" deep. The cost of outsourcing heat treat and coating really depends on what is wanted and needed, and is also based on batch size. A single piece could potentially cost over $50.00. Or, 50 of the same pieces could cost the same $50, or $1 each.

[djr76]

You can do plating like nickel and chrome in a do-it-yourself application. Requires a submersible solution (electrolyte), a sacrificial anode (plating material) and electricity.

[johneolson]

I think it depends on the work and type and should be asked to them directly.