How to Choose a Cryogenic Treatment Company: Seven Questions to Ask

Deep cryogenic treatment is a simple idea and a surprisingly easy thing to do badly. The difference between a process that makes your parts last three times longer and one that cracks a cylinder head comes down to how it is run. This post gives you seven questions to ask any provider, including us, before you hand over anything you would be sorry to lose.

1. Is the cycle computer controlled?

The whole benefit depends on slow, even temperature change. A provider should be able to tell you the ramp rate down, the hold time and the ramp rate back up, and show you that a controller manages it rather than a person with a valve and a stopwatch. If the answer is vague, walk away.

2. Do parts ever touch liquid nitrogen?

They should not. Liquid contact cools the surface far faster than the core and introduces exactly the kind of thermal stress the treatment is supposed to remove. The chamber should contain gas only. Ask directly. Our chamber never exposes parts to liquid and we are happy to show you.

3. How cold and for how long?

Deep cryogenic treatment means approximately minus 195 degrees Celsius, the temperature of nitrogen, held for an extended period. Shallow treatments at minus 80 or so are a different and far less effective process. A complete cycle should take days, not hours. Ours takes three days. Anyone offering same day turnaround is not doing the same thing.

4. What happens to the part after the cold stage?

Depending on the material a low temperature temper may be needed to settle newly formed martensite. A good provider will know when that applies and when it does not. If they have never heard the question, that tells you something.

5. What evidence can they point to?

Testimonials are easy. Published research is harder. Ask whether the provider can point you to peer reviewed work on the materials you care about. We keep a Research page with papers on tool steels, aluminium alloys, copper, brake rotors and piston rings, and we have sponsored cryogenic studies at the University of Leicester for years because we would rather the evidence was public.

6. How do they price and how do they schedule?

Pricing by weight is normal and fair. Be wary of per part pricing that does not scale. Ask how often they run and how they handle deadlines. We run roughly every four weeks, publish the date and will try to hold a slot if you have a fixed date.

7. What do they want you to do before sending?

A provider who gives you preparation advice is one who has seen things go wrong. We ask for parts not to be torqued together, pressed bearings removed where possible and bare ferrous metal lightly oiled. We also tell you how to pack and that shipments are not insured unless you ask. If a provider says just send it, be cautious.

How to run a fair trial

Whichever provider you pick, test them the same way. Take a batch of identical parts from one manufacturer and one lot, split it in half and treat one half. Mark the parts so they cannot be mixed up. Run both halves on the same machine, car or line under the same conditions and record life in hours, strokes, laps or tonnes rather than impressions. A fair trial costs very little because treatment is priced by weight.

If a provider is reluctant to be tested like this, or wants you to commit a large batch before you have seen a result, that is an answer in itself.

A note on what treatment cannot do

It will not fix a cracked part, correct a bad heat treatment or make a poor quality casting into a good one. It will not change dimensions or finish, so it cannot be used to correct a machining error. What it does is make a sound part more stable, tougher and longer lasting. Anyone promising more than that is overselling.

Frequently asked questions

Is cheaper cryogenic treatment a false economy?

Often. A short or badly controlled cycle delivers little benefit and can damage parts. Ask the seven questions above before comparing prices.

Should I test a provider before sending valuable parts?

Yes. Send a set of brake discs or a box of tooling first, run treated against untreated and measure the difference.

Does Cryogenix meet its own checklist?

Computer controlled cycle, gas only chamber, approximately minus 195 degrees Celsius, three day cycle, published research, pricing by weight and preparation advice on our FAQ page. Yes.

What is the difference between cryogenic treatment and cryogenic deburring?

Deburring uses cold to make burrs brittle so they can be knocked off. It is a finishing process.

Deep cryogenic treatment is a metallurgical process that changes the whole part.

Cryogenix Ltd runs deep cryogenic treatment from Yaxley in Peterborough and takes parts from across the UK by post or in person. Ask us these questions too. We would rather you chose on the answers than on price. Call 01296 433457 or email info@cryogenix-uk.com and we will tell you what it would cost and when the next run is.