SelectingtheBestCarburizingMethodfortheHeat.PDFVIP

Selecting the Best Carburizing Method for the Heat Treatment of Gears Gerald D. Lindell Twin Disc, Inc. David J. Breuer Daniel H. Herring Metal Improvement Company, Inc The HERRING GROUP, Inc. ABSTRACT A very good compromise between cost and performance is achieved by atmosphere carburizing, the present day de facto standard processing method used in the gear industry. A typical workload is shown in Figure 1. All indications are, however, that the greatest potential for future growth will come in vacuum carburizing. Figure 2 shows a load of gears ready to be charged into a typical vacuum carburizer. This method of carburizing has been shown to offer proven metallurgical and environmental benefits. For the industry to stay competitive both technologies will be needed in the future. This is to insure that the challenges posed by ever Figure 1: Load of Production Gears (650 lbs net) increasing performance requirements in smaller in Position for Loading into an Atmosphere packages and by a new generation of materials Carburizing Furnace followed by Oil Quenching. and manufacturing methods can be met. INTRODUCTION Of paramount importance today is lowering unit cost that can only be achieved by improved dimensional control and more cost effective manufacturing methods. The benefits achieved by vacuum carburizing can be realized in high volume, critical component manufacturing. Vacuum carburizing has proven itself a robust heat tr