Product Code: ICA12_1206

Laser Hardening of Gear Wheels
Authors:
Stanislav Nemecek, MATEX PM; Pilsen Czech Republic
Tomas Muzik, MATEX PM; -
Michal Misek, MATEX PM; -
Presented at ICALEO 2012

Laser hardening achieves higher heating and quenching rates than other surface hardening methods. High heating rate minimizes the risk of degradation of the underlying material. Self-quenching is based on removing the heat from the surface into the part's core by conduction, instead of the conventional cooling by water spray. Gear wheels, which tend to exhibit numerous cracks upon induction hardening, do not crack during laser hardening. In addition to the above-mentioned principles, this paper explains how fine microstructure enhances fatigue resistance of parts operating under dynamic loads. In discussions with a customer, a query about fatigue resistance is typically the one that follows the initial question on hardening depth and hardness. In this paper, a description will be given of fatigue crack propagation and tribological behaviour of laser-hardened surfaces, which exhibit less wear than conventionally-treated ones. This process produces hardened gear wheels with long life.