Parts Quality Testing
CASE DEPTH

While the outer surface of the part is hardened, the inner core of the material remains soft enough that it is ductile and flexible. With both of these layers together, this combination makes the material strong and versatile, with all the mechanical properties of the metal material enhanced.

The depth or thickness of the case depth of the part, affects the properties of the metal part. The deeper the case hardening goes to the inner core, the harder the metal material becomes. But at the same time, the material becomes less ductile due to the decreasing size of the inner core area. Likewise, the shallower the case hardening, the more ductile the metal material becomes, but the tradeoff is that the hardness of the metal material decreases.

There are two types of case depth: the effective case depth and the total case depth. They are different points in the metal material and should not be confused with each other. The effective case depth is the point towards the inner core of the metal material where the case hardening appears to be the most effective. The total case depth is the point towards the inner core of the metal material when it appears to be composed entirely of the same chemical composition. The case depth of a metal part is affected by the case hardening method and the resulting chemical composition of the case of the metal part.

The case depth of metal materials is significant because the case hardening process is used by most industries, including the automotive industry. Many automobile parts are likely to be subjected to torque, so they need to be resistant to wear and tear. So case hardening these parts is the most appropriate response to enhancing these mechanical properties.