Wojciech Stachurski

Precision Case Hardening by Low Pressure Carburizing (LPC) for High Volume Production

Abstract Traditionally, case hardening is based on carburizing in atmospheres and oil quenching; this is carried out in sealed quench furnaces and in continuous lines (pusher, roller or rotary furnaces). They are technologies and devices developed more than 50 years ago and, over the course of time, they have exhausted their development potential. At present, they hardly meet the incoming requirements of the modern industry regarding quality and replicability, integration and organization of production, and environment protection. A solution for weak points of traditional case hardening is the use of vacuum technologies and equipment. Vacuum carburizing increases the resulting precision and replicability, and the variety of vacuum equipment for heat treatment allows the adaptation to modern industry requirements. Two applications are described in the article. The first one – evolutionary – is based on the triple- chamber vacuum furnace for semi-continuous production as a wide alternative for traditional devices. The second system – innovative – is based on the true single-piece flow method. Both solutions have specific and characteristic properties that predispose them for different applications depending on quality requirements and organization of production.

INFLUENCE OF AXIAL FEED IN HOBBING WITH MINIMAL QUANTITY LUBRICATION (MQL) ON WEAR OF THE HOB AND CUTTING FORCES

In the paper evaluation of the influence of axial feed on the hob wear in hobbing with minimal quantity lubrication technique has been done. As a work material C45 carbon steel has been investigated. Wear resistance of the hob made from high speed steel HS6-5-2 without coating has been investigated. For comparison tests with conventional fluid supply method have been carried out. Gears have been generated with full depth of cut and with two axial feed with constant cutting speed value. During hobbing cutting forces have been measured by experimental stand. Tool wear has been measured directly as a width of flank wear land of the hob cutter teeth. During investigation any significant wear changes on the rake faces haven’t been detected, so those results haven’t been taken into consideration. A constant length of cut parameter has been established as a criteria value. Results of investigation have been presented in the form of graphs describing changes of wear land width parameter in comparison to the most loaded tooth wear land parameter. Also changes of cutting forces in time are presented too. On the base of obtained results conclusion has been formulated that MQL technique might be used as an alternative solution for supplying cutting fluid into the cutting zone during hobbing process.

HARDENING-RELATED DEFORMATIONS OF GEAR WHEELS AFTER VACUUM CARBURISING AND QUENCHING IN GAS

The purpose of modern surface hardening technology is obtaining reproducible, precisely planned parameters of the carburized layer, minimizing the negative phenomena that result in dimensional changes after hardening and making it possible to determine the nature and magnitude of these changes. This concerns mainly the concept of singlepiece flow in heat treatment applied for the purposes of mass production, employing a special autonomous 4D Quenching chamber for high pressure gas quenching (HPGQ). The main components of the 4D Quenching chamber include a system of cooling nozzles surrounding the processed item and providing a uniform inflow of cooling gas from all directions (3D) and a table rotating together with the item processed, contributing to uniform cooling (4D). Within the framework of this paper there was studied the impact of gear wheel quenching in a 4D Quenching chamber using nitrogen at pressure of 6 and 10 bar on changes in geometry. Geometric measurements of facewidth of gear, hole diameter and outside diameter were performed before and after carburization and quenching. The results obtained allowed us to determine the impact of quenching pressure inside a 4D Quenching chamber on dimensional changes in gear wheels analyzed. The thermo-chemical treatment resulted in a decrease in outside diameters and hole diameters measured and an increase in facewidth of gears.

System of single-piece flow case hardening for high volume production

Purpose: Purpose of this paper is development of single-piece flow system to precision thermal treatment of parts of mechanical gear using a short-pulse low-pressure carburising technology (developed for a new large-chamber furnace). Design/methodology/approach: Sections of the article discuss the novel constructions of the device in which parts being carburised flow in a stream, as well as the low-pressure carburising experiment. Findings: The method has been found proper carburised layers on typical gear used in automotive industry. Research limitations/implications: The short-pulse low-pressure carburising technology needs further investigation to fully understand its all mechanisms. Practical implications: The device resulting from the experiment can be a fully robotised part of a production line which can be included in a system of automatic control of a production process. Originality/value: The device resulting from the experiment is only known solution on the world.