Heat Treatment of Gears

Abstract

Heat Treatment of Gears: A Practical Guide for Engineers describes the processes and procedures used to harden alloy steel gears and explains how to optimize benefits, such as improved fatigue life, while minimizing distortion and costs. The first few chapters familiarize readers with the basic concepts of heat treating and its effect on the composition, structure, and properties of iron-carbon alloys. The chapters that follow compare and contrast the heat treatments typically used for gears, including through hardening, induction hardening, carburizing, nitriding, and carbonitriding. Carburizing and nitriding are covered in much greater depth than the other methods because of their extensive use and the advantages they offer. As the book explains, carburizing produces gears with three to four times the torque density than that achieved by other methods, while nitriding causes the least amount of distortion. The book also addresses the disadvantages of each process and, using examples, presents various ways to get around them. It also discusses secondary operations, such as shot peening and finish grinding, and provides insights on material and process selection as well as gear design. For information on the print version, ISBN 978-0-87170-694-2, follow this link.