Innovation in nitriding

Society has, over the last 20 years, gained immensely from the emerging global knowledge economy. In the modern world there is a relatively easy flow of knowledge and the International Federation for Heat treatment and Surface Engineering has a vitally important role in providing a global platform for the dissemination and generation of knowledge intensity in heat treatment and surface engineering. If we invest time, money and human capital wisely we can look optimistically to an even brighter, more sustainable future. The suggestion implicit in this paper is that if we stand on the shoulders of giants, for example, Professor Tom Bell, we can be successful in areas of technology that might be considered mature. We have selected, by way of example, two areas of technology with which Professor Bell was closely associated over his long career, namely, nitrocarburising and plasma nitriding, where innovation has opened up scientific, technical and commercial pathways.