Blaze cost-effectively replaces conventional coating/finishing processes, such as: 

Boronizing, Carbonitriding, Carborization, CVD, Hexavalent Hard Chrome, HVOF, Nitriding, PVD, and many exotic alloys.

Our Blaze treatment differs from lesser coatings on the market because many of those coatings have just a SINGLE outstanding attribute, such as low friction, hardness, high wear resistance, etc. Hard Chrome, for instance, has a very hard surface and provides good wear resistance, but has high friction properties, struggles to achieve consistent bond strength, and is highly toxic. Similarly, Teflon-based coatings provide low friction, but have poor wear and abrasion resistance, and are also toxic for the environment. However, the Blaze treatment is revolutionary for metal coatings in that it’s a superior treatment in ALL of these categories—with additional benefits of no potential bond failure, excellent impact resistance, no growth distortion, and more. Most notably, Blaze is completely environmentally safe, with no toxic discharges or waste.

Understanding Blaze

The Blaze process uses chemistry and heat to produce a hard and slick inter-metallic surface (ranging in depth from 2.54 µm – 254 µm). The process uses a unique composition of chemicals and heat-treatment to chemically diffuse boron atoms directly into a metal substrate as opposed to depositing a coating on the exterior of the substrate. ‍ The result is a treated surface consisting of a uniform layer of iron boride (Fe2B) that exhibits no change in dimension from the pre-treated surface. (Currently, all coatings are used to treat metal to increase the dimension.) Boron carbide is one of the hardest materials known, surpassed only by diamonds and cubic boron nitride, yet it possesses superior thermal and chemical stability when compared to either of these materials. The Blaze process should not be confused with previous boronizing technology. The chemical formula found in the Blaze boron carbide process allows boron atoms to migrate into the treated material, converting the surface to a condition such as iron, nickel, cobalt, or chrome boride, depending on the substrate alloy. A Blaze-treated surface is extremely hard, yet not brittle, and has a very low coefficient of friction, producing the ultimate functional surface for reducing wear and abrasion on interacting surfaces. The unique ability of Blaze technology to increase the abrasion and corrosion resistance of a part without adding dimension makes it, unlike any other traditional coating to protect metal parts available on the market today.

The Economics of Blaze

Operating costs are 20% less than competitive processes; startup capital costs are 70% less. Blaze also brings another cost-saving opportunity to some applications. It brings such an increased level of performance that in certain cases, you may actually be able to use less-expensive materials with superior results. More important are the savings that Blaze can help many operations achieve through increased component life, reduced production downtime, and less frequent component replacement.

Processed at our Facility or Yours

We have four sites throughout North America that can handle the conversion of your parts. But we can also equip your facility with the Blaze diffusion process (scaled to the size of your components and your operation) so that you can integrate this game-changing, easy-to-apply technology into your own workflow. It’s an option that can eliminate the time and costs of shipping…to compound the other economic benefits of Blaze for your company.