Step 3 of 4
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Why surface treating exists
Why tool surfaces and tool interiors need to be different things, and why every shop runs into the hardness-toughness tradeoff.
Step 3 of 4Surface treatments break the tradeoff
The point of surface treating is that you do not have to pick one number for the whole part. Heat treatment sets the bulk. Nitriding and carburizing diffuse a hard case into the outer few thousandths of an inch while the core stays at its bulk hardness. Induction hardens only the surface. PVD lays a ceramic film a few microns thick on top of an already heat-treated tool. Different mechanism, same job: hard surface, tough core, same piece of steel.
Quick check
Through-hardening, gas nitriding, induction hardening, and PVD coating all sit in the same toolbox. What single problem are they all solving, from different angles?