Surface® Combustion has always placed a high value on customer relationships. We believe that an equipment purchase is the beginning of something much more than a finite transaction. Our first-class customer service, rebuild/retrofit, and aftermarket parts departments are a testament to this way of thinking.

A few years back, Surface released a mobile application to calculate case depth. It was used by our engineers and customers alike to complete quick, accurate calculations from the shop floor. It quickly became evident that there was an opportunity to provide our customers with even more complementary calculators to aid in easier recipe adjustments. We are proud to introduce you to the new Surface Depths™ and hope that you find it as helpful as we do.

Current calculators include:

• Case Depth Calculator – This calculator provides a quick, back-of-the-envelope style estimate of case depth (or time to achieve a case depth) during carburization and carbonitriding by the saturation or boost/diffuse methods. It can also be used to estimate times for carbon restoration. The model is based on work by F.E. Harris.

• Carbon Calculator – This calculator calculates the carbon potential of an atmosphere based on the carbon monoxide (CO) level, the carbon dioxide (CO2) level, and the furnace temperature. These readings may come from instruments such as infrared controllers or three-gas analyzers.

• Dewpoint Calculator – This calculator calculates the carbon potential of an atmosphere based on the dewpoint of the furnace atmosphere, the carbon monoxide (CO) level, the hydrogen (H2) level, and the furnace temperature. These readings may come from instruments such as dewpoint analyzers.

• S-1™ Oxygen Probe Calculator – This calculator calculates the carbon potential of an atmosphere based on the millivolt signal from an oxygen probe, the carbon monoxide (CO) level, and the furnace temperature. Two types of oxygen probes may be selected: a Surface Combustion S-1™ Oxygen Probe or a generic oxygen probe.

• Kn Calculator – This calculator calculates the nitriding potential (Kn) of an atmosphere based on the flows of ammonia (NH3), nitrogen (N2), and hydrogen (H2) into the furnace, the furnace pressure, and either the reading from the thermal conductivity hydrogen probe of the ammonia dissociation ratio (α) as given by an ammonia burette.

Surface Depths can be found on both the Apple App Store and on Google Play. If you would like more information on how to apply these calculations to your every day operations or if you have suggestions of other calculators that might be helpful, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from our customers and look for every opportunity to show you the Value of Surface™.