What is Degassing?
In vacuum degassing, molten metal (commonly steel) is placed in a vacuum in order to remove excess hydrogen or carbon. During the production process, a product’s metal parts or components can become infused with excess amounts of these gases. As a result, unwanted imperfections and side effects can impact the integrity or performance of the metal. In the past, removing hydrogen required cooling metals slowly, adding time to the manufacturing process. Vacuum degassing solves this problem by offering a faster and more precise method for removal, thereby shortening the production cycle.

Vacuum degassing to remove carbon not only reduces imperfections, but brings a larger added benefit. By removing the carbon, the metals become more ductile, or easily shaped and formed through cold metalworking.

Trains, planes and automobiles…
Vacuum degassing is the only way to make certain grades of steel that are particularly useful in the automotive, aerospace and railroad industries. The more ductile metals created are not only easier to form into complex shapes, but they are also lighter in weight and therefore more aerodynamic than their higher carbon content counterparts. According to an article in Mechanical Engineering Magazine, the increasing use of vacuum degassing was initiated by the demand for “lightweight but durable car panels for more fuel-efficient cars in the late 1980s and early 90s.” In the tool and die industry, the improved ductility of low-carbon steel is ideal for creating stamped parts.

At Quality Steel Treating (QST), we not only perform vacuum degassing to create more ductile, lower-carbon steels, but also to remove stress from aerospace components. By removing hydrogen from components such as wingspans, we increase their resistance to strenuous operating environments and help to significantly reduce any flaws that could lead to failure.

hardening + nitriding