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Glite Dictionary
to face-harden

to face-harden

7.7
Make the surface of steel harder by adding carbon so it resists wear while the inside stays softer
  • verb
  • /feɪsˈhɑrdən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : endurecer la superficie
  • The steel plates were face-hardened to increase their durability against heavy use.

Examples

  • They are considering face-hardening the gears to extend their operational life.

  • Engineers often face-harden metal components that are exposed to significant friction.

  • The technician will face-harden the steel rods.

  • We need to face-harden the metal to improve its durability.

  • Manufacturers usually face-harden the tools to increase their resistance to wear and tear.

  • To enhance wear resistance, the engineer decided to face-harden the surface of the steel shaft.

  • After face-hardening the metal, it became more suitable for high-friction applications.

Synonyms

to harden
vsto face-harden
27 2.6

Make something hard or solid

applies to adding carbon to make the outer layer wear resistant while interior stays softer

Antonyms

to soften
55 1.3

Become soft or make something soft

How Hard

case-hardened steel
  • Specialized
6.7
to carburize
  • Specialized
9.9
to face-harden
  • Specialized
7.7
to harden
27 2.6

Surface Forms

face-harden infinitive
face-hardened past
face-hardened past participle
face-hardening present participle
face-hardens third person singular

Morphology

face-harden = face + harden (transparent) = face + hard + en

A literal compound of 'face' + 'harden' meaning to make the surface hard, which is readily inferable from the components.

Etymology

Face-harden comes from the simple words face and harden, where face means 'surface' and harden means 'to make hard'. So, to face-harden metal is to make its outer face hard, for example by adding carbon to steel, while the inside stays softer.