Cylindrical samples of type AISI D2 tool steel were submitted to the thermal treatments of annealing, quenching and tempering, as well as low temperature stress relieving. Then, they were nitrided in a cathodic cage at the temperatures of 400 and 480°C for 3 and 4 hours, to assess the best conditions of treatment for this material. In this technique the samples are placed on an insulating plate inside a cage that shields the cathodic potential. A systematic study was conducted to assess the efficiency of this technique in improving the hardness of the steel and without the appearance of the common problems of conventional ion nitriding, such as the edge effect. The samples nitrided using this new technique, for smaller treatment times presented layer thicknesses, crystalline phases and hardness comparable to those reported in the literature for conventional ion nitriding. It was found that nitriding for 3 hours at 480 ºC resulted in a thicker compound layer, among the 3 nitring conditions tested.
cathodic cage; steel AISI D2; edge effect; hardness
