JP2010236049A - Method for manufacturing bearing part excellent in rolling-fatigue characteristics under foreign-matter environment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for achieving the drastic improvement of rolling-fatigue service life under foreign-matter environment. <P>SOLUTION: To a steel material composed of 0.7-1.3% C, 0.1-0.8% Si, 0.2-1.2% Mn, ≤0.025% P, ≤0.02% S, 0.01-0.03% Ti, ≤0.1% Al, 0.9-1.8% Cr, ≤0.3% Mo, ≤0.005% N, ≤0.003% O and as 0.005+3.42×N[mass%]≤Ti[mass%], and the balance Fe with inevitable impurities, after performing a carbo-nitriding quenching treatment, a high-frequency induction-heating tempering is performed, and in the forming-work after these, after applying the working, with which the improving degree of the hardness is made to be 20 point or more of Vickers hardness to at least the surface layer portion of the steel material, the high-frequency induction-hardening and tempering, are applied to this surface layer portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a bearing component having an excellent rolling fatigue life in an environment in which foreign matter such as metal powder generated by abrasion or metal shavings generated during cutting is present.

  Conventionally, a high carbon bearing steel such as SUJ2 in JIS G4805 generally draws rolling fatigue characteristics in a product by performing furnace quenching and tempering after forming by forging or the like. However, in recent years, the usage environment of bearings has become more severe than before, and for example, development of bearings having excellent rolling fatigue characteristics under the above-described foreign matter environment has been promoted. As a method of improving the life characteristics of a bearing used in such a foreign environment, a soft retained austenite (hereinafter referred to as residual γ) is applied to the surface layer while ensuring surface hardness by carbonitriding the product surface. Is secured in a larger amount (about 20 to 30% by mass) than a normal bearing.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, after carbonitriding-quenching, the steel is again heated and quenched in the “low-temperature austenite / carbide” region, and the austenite grain size of the surface layer is 10 or less (old austenite grain size is 12.5 μm). ) And a residual γ content of 16.1%, the rolling fatigue life in a foreign environment (life with a cumulative failure probability of 10%) has been successfully improved by a factor of 2 compared to a normal hardened material. Yes.

JP 2005-113257 A

However, there is a need for further improvement in rolling fatigue life, and there is a tendency that the improvement by 2 times compared to the normal quenching material is insufficient, and there is a demand for the development of a technology aiming at an improvement of 4 times or more. It was.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to propose a method for realizing a significant improvement in rolling fatigue life particularly in a foreign substance environment.

Thus, the inventors have conducted intensive studies on improving the rolling fatigue life in a foreign substance environment and obtained the following knowledge.
First, a carbonitriding layer is formed on the surface layer by carbonitriding-quenching. Thereafter, when induction tempering is performed, fine carbides are generated by decomposition of C and residual γ, which were dissolved in the martensite of the carbonitrided layer. Thereafter, processing distortion corresponding to an increase of 20 points in Vickers hardness is introduced into at least the surface layer by processing such as drawing or forging. Further, when induction hardening is performed on the surface layer portion into which processing strain has been introduced, the prior austenite grains are refined by the effect of short-time heating, which is a characteristic of high frequency. In addition, because processing strain has been introduced, dislocations become austenite nucleation sites, carbides produced by tempering show a pinning effect, refinement of prior austenite grains progresses, average prior austenite grain size 3.0 A structure of μm or less is obtained, and the rolling fatigue life is improved by 4 times or more. Furthermore, when the Ti and N contents of the steel material are optimized in accordance with the formula 0.005 + 3.42 × N [mass%] ≦ Ti [mass%], the solid solution Ti in the steel becomes very fine TiN during the carbonitriding process. As a result, it was found that the rolling fatigue life of the final product in a foreign matter environment is further improved by a factor of 5 or more as compared with the case where it is not optimized.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above knowledge, and the gist thereof is as follows.
(1) By mass% C: 0.7% to 1.3%,
Si: 0.1-0.8%
Mn: 0.2-1.2%
P: 0.025% or less,
S: 0.02% or less,
Ti: 0.01-0.03%,
Al: 0.1% or less,
Cr: 0.9% to 1.8%
Mo: 0.3% or less,
N: 0.005% or less and O: 0.003% or less, 0.005 + 3.42 × N [mass%] ≦ Ti [mass%]
The steel material containing the balance Fe and inevitable impurities is subjected to carbonitriding-quenching treatment, followed by induction tempering, and in the subsequent forming process, the amount of improvement in hardness is 20 points in terms of Vickers hardness. A method for producing a bearing component having an excellent rolling fatigue life in a foreign substance environment, wherein the above processing is applied to at least a surface layer portion of a steel material, and then the surface layer portion is induction-quenched and tempered.

(2) In the above (1), the steel material is further added by mass%.
Cu: 0.05% to 0.50%,
Ni: 0.05-0.50%,
A method for producing a bearing component having excellent rolling fatigue life in a foreign matter environment containing one or more selected from Sb: 0.003% or less and B: 0.003% or less.

(3) Foreign matter environment in (1) or (2), wherein the average austenite grain size in the hardened surface layer after induction hardening is 3 μm or less, and the amount of retained austenite in the part is 20 to 35% A manufacturing method for bearing components with excellent rolling fatigue life.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the rolling fatigue life in a foreign material environment can be improved 4 times or more, and it becomes possible to provide the bearing component excellent in the rolling fatigue life also in the foreign material environment.

Hereinafter, the constituent requirements of the present invention will be described in order from the reasons for limiting the steel material components.
First, the reasons for limiting each component will be described. In addition, “%” indicated below indicates “% by mass” unless otherwise specified.
C: 0.7% to 1.3%
C is an element having the greatest influence on the hardenability, and is a useful component for increasing the hardness of the hardened hardened layer and improving the rolling fatigue life. In other words, if it is less than 0.7%, the required rolling fatigue life cannot be secured, so 0.7% or more. On the other hand, if the content exceeds 1.3%, the workability such as cutting and forming forging before quenching is remarkably deteriorated, so the content is made 0.3% or less. Therefore, C content is 0.7% or more and 1.3% or less. Preferably, it is 0.75 to 1.1%.

Si: 0.1-0.8%
Since Si is an element effective in improving the rolling fatigue life, it is positively added. However, if it is less than 0.10%, its effect is poor, so the content is 0.1% or more. However, if the content exceeds 0.8%, the workability such as cutting and forming forging, which is performed before the quenching treatment as in the case of C, is remarkably deteriorated, so the content is made 0.8% or less. Therefore, the Si content range is 0.1% to 0.8%. Preferably, it is 0.15-0.60%.

Mn: 0.2-1.2%
Mn is an essential component for improving the hardenability and ensuring the hardening depth at the time of quenching, and is an element effective for increasing the amount of residual γ, so it is positively contained. That is, if the content is less than 0.2%, the effect is poor. On the other hand, if the content exceeds 1.2%, it is performed before the quenching treatment as in the case of C. In order to significantly deteriorate workability such as cutting and forming forging, the content is set to 1.2% or less. Therefore, the Mn content range is 0.2% to 1.2%. Preferably, it is 0.25 to 1.00%.

P: 0.025% or less P segregates at the grain boundaries of austenite and reduces the grain boundary strength, thereby promoting quench cracking during quenching. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the content as much as possible, but it is acceptable if it is 0.025% or less. In addition, Preferably it is 0.020% or less.

S: 0.02% or less S may form MnS in steel and improve forgeability and machinability. Preferably, it may be added at 0.003% or more, but if added over 0.02%, rolling fatigue occurs. Addition of 0.02% or less because the rolling fatigue strength may decrease due to the starting point of fracture in the test. Preferably, it is 0.015% or less.

Ti: 0.01-0.03%
Ti is an important element in the present invention. When solid solution Ti is ensured to be 0.005% or more before carbonitriding, fine TiN precipitates during carbonitriding, and the rolling fatigue life of the final product in a foreign matter resistant environment is increased. Improve. Therefore, the content is 0.01% or more and 0.005 + 3.42 × N [%] ≦ Ti [%] is satisfied. On the other hand, if contained in a large amount, the TiN formation size at the time of carbonitriding is large and the amount thereof is also increased, so that the rolling fatigue life is reduced, so 0.03% or less. Preferably, it is 0.02 to 0.03%.

Al: 0.1% or less
Al is an element effective for deoxidation and is an element useful for reducing oxygen, and for that purpose, it is preferably added at 0.01% or more. On the other hand, it is better not to add more than necessary because the oxide of Al deteriorates rolling fatigue characteristics. Therefore, the addition is 0.1% or less. Preferably, it is 0.05% or less.

Cr: 0.9% to 1.8%
In the case of bearing steel, Cr is an element useful for spheroidizing carbide in spheroidizing annealing, and is actively added, but if it is less than 0.9%, its effect is poor, and if it exceeds 1.8%, Only the effect is saturated and the cost is high. Therefore, it is set to 0.9% to 1.8%. Preferably, it is 1.0 to 1.6%.

Mo: 0.3% or less
Mo may be added preferably at 0.05% or more in order to improve the rolling fatigue life. However, since the cost is high, the addition amount is made 0.3% or less.

N: 0.005% or less N is an important element in the present invention, and in order to secure solid solution Ti before carbonitriding and to precipitate TiN during carbonitriding, the content is 0.005 + 3.42 × N [%] ≦ Ti [%] should be satisfied. However, if there is a large amount of N, it is necessary to add a large amount of Ti to ensure solid solution Ti, so the amount is made 0.005% or less.

O: 0.003% or less O is present as a hard oxide-based nonmetallic inclusion, and an increase in this amount coarsens the size of the oxide-based nonmetallic inclusion. Since these are particularly harmful to rolling fatigue characteristics, it is desirable to reduce them as much as possible, and it is necessary to reduce them to 0.0030% or less. Preferably it is 0.0010% or less.

Furthermore, in addition to the above basic component composition, one or more of Cu, Ni, Sb and B may be added as necessary.
Cu: 0.05% to 0.50%
Cu: Cu may be added because it is an element that improves hardenability. However, if less than 0.05%, the effect is poor, so 0.05% or more is added. However, if over 0.5% is added, hot workability is impaired, so 0.5% or less is added.

Ni: 0.05-0.50%,
Ni is an element that improves hardenability and can be used to adjust hardenability. At that time, since addition is less than 0.05%, the effect is small, so 0.05% or more is added. On the other hand, Ni is an extremely expensive element, and as the amount of addition increases, the price of the steel material increases, so 0.5% or less is added.

Sb: 0.003% or less
Sb may be mixed in from steelmaking raw materials such as scrap. If the amount exceeds 0.003%, the rolling fatigue life is reduced, so the upper limit is made 0.003%.

B: 0.003% or less B may be added because it is an element that improves hardenability. However, excessive addition deteriorates workability, so it is 0.003% or less.

  The steel material having the above component composition becomes a bearing part through the following manufacturing steps. Each manufacturing process will be specifically described. Here, prior to carbonitriding-quenching the steel material, it is preferable to adjust the structure of the steel material to be composed of ferrite and spheroidized carbide. That is, the bearing material targeted by the present invention is usually required to have a low hardness because cutting and forming forging are performed. Therefore, it is preferable that the material before carbonitriding is subjected to spheroidizing annealing and the structure thereof is adjusted to be composed of ferrite and spheroidizing carbide.

[Carbonitriding and quenching]
Carbonitriding is preferably performed at a processing temperature of 820 to 900 ° C. When the carbonitriding temperature is lower than 820 ° C., the inside may not be sufficiently hardened during quenching, and it is preferable to perform the treatment at 820 ° C. or higher in order to avoid thinning of the carbonitriding layer. On the other hand, if the treatment temperature exceeds 900 ° C., the carbide is excessively dissolved in the martensite, the martensite becomes brittle, and the rolling fatigue life may be reduced.
The carbonitriding time is preferably 120 minutes or longer. This is because when the time is less than 120 minutes, the carbonitriding depth is insufficient and the variation of the rolling fatigue test results becomes large.

  The carbonitriding depth is preferably 2 mm or more. This is because when the carbonitriding depth is less than 2 mm, the variation in rolling fatigue life becomes large. Here, the carbonitriding depth is determined by measuring the hardness of the material after carbonitriding-quenching from the surface layer to the inside at a pitch of 0.1 mm, and the carbonitriding depth is the depth at which there is no increase in hardness due to carburizing.

  In the quenching after carbonitriding, the structure is martensite + carbide. This is to facilitate precipitation of fine carbides on the lath boundary or the like by high-temperature tempering in the subsequent process.

[Induction tempering]
After carbonitriding, the reason for performing induction tempering instead of normal furnace tempering by short-time tempering by induction tempering is to make carbide in the parent phase (carbonitriding part) finely and uniformly by rapid heating. This is because the coarsening of the prior austenite grains in the high-frequency heating in the final step can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the carbides are finely and uniformly dispersed in the induction hardening layer, sufficient hardness can be secured in the surface layer portion even if the amount of residual γ is increased. The tempering temperature at this time is set to 400 ° C. or more and AC ₁ point (temperature at which austenite starts to be generated from the ferrite + carbide phase) or less, and the hardness of the carbonitrided layer at that time can be adjusted to Hv 500 or less in terms of Vickers hardness. preferable. In addition, it is preferable that the heating time at the time of rapid heating is within 60 s. Cooling after high-frequency heating is not particularly specified such as water cooling, oil cooling, and air cooling.

[Molding]
The steel material after induction tempering is formed into bearing parts. The forming is performed by drawing or processing such as forging, forging and rolling, but distortion is applied at that time. By introducing this strain, the prior austenite grains are refined in the subsequent induction hardening process. This processing strain is to be managed by Vickers hardness, and it is important to increase the Vickers hardness by 20 points or more at a position of 0.5 mm from the quenched surface layer. When the increase in Vickers hardness is less than 20 points, the prior austenite grains are not sufficiently refined by induction hardening.

[Induction hardening]
Quenching shall be induction hardening. Ordinary furnace heating does not refine the prior austenite grain size. By using high-frequency heating, the amount of nucleation of austenite increases due to rapid heating, and the prior austenite grains become finer. The induction hardening temperature is preferably 820 ° C to 900 ° C. That is, when it is less than 820 ° C., quenching may be insufficient and the rolling fatigue life may vary. On the other hand, when heated above 900 ° C., the prior austenite grain size becomes coarse, the white structure is likely to break, and the rolling fatigue life may be reduced.

Further, although the high frequency heating time is not specified, it is preferably within 30 s from the viewpoint of suppressing the prior austenite grain growth. There is no particular limitation on the frequency of induction hardening. By increasing the number of times, the prior austenite grain size can be made uniform, but its effect on improving the rolling fatigue life is not so great. However, increasing the number of times of quenching causes the risk of quenching cracks and the problem of increased costs.
With respect to the quenching depth, it is preferable that the hardened layer having a Vickers hardness of Hv450 or more is 0.6 mm or more. When the quench hardened layer is less than 0.6 mm, the rolling fatigue life may be significantly reduced.

[Tempering]
Tempering after induction hardening. This tempering method is not particularly specified, such as high-frequency heating or furnace heating, but furnace heating return is recommended in consideration of tempering to the inside. The tempering conditions are set as appropriate according to the application, but because crushing characteristics are required in addition to rolling fatigue characteristics, the Vickers hardness is reduced by about 20 to 80 points. Tempering will be carried out. The surface hardness after tempering should be at least Hv 700 in terms of Vickers hardness. When it is less than Hv700, the rolling fatigue characteristics are greatly reduced.

[Residual γ amount]
In the bearing component obtained through the above steps, the residual γ amount is preferably 20 to 35%. That is, the residual γ amount is effective for improving the rolling fatigue life in a foreign environment, and if the amount is less than 20%, a sufficient rolling fatigue life may not be obtained. On the other hand, when the residual γ amount is 35% or more, the hardness of the hardened layer portion cannot be sufficiently obtained, and as a result, the rolling fatigue life may be deteriorated. The residual γ amount is measured at the surface layer. That is, X-ray diffraction is performed and measured in the rolling element transfer unit after finishing the bearing part.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on examples.
Steel having the chemical composition shown in Table 1 was melted by a converter-continuous casting process to produce a slab of size 300 × 400 mm. The slab was rolled into a 150 mm square billet through a breakdown process, reheated to 1050 ° C., and then rolled into a steel bar having a diameter of 20 mm.

  From the center of this steel bar, a rough specimen having a diameter of 13.0 mm and a length of 300 mm was collected. The rough-processed test piece was subjected to carbonitriding-quenching treatment at 860 ° C. for 3 hours in a mixed gas of Rx gas, butane gas and ammonia gas. At this stage, a test piece was cut out, and the carbonitriding depth was measured by Vickers hardness (measured at a 0.1 mm pitch near the surface layer).

Next, tempering was performed at a heating temperature of 500 ° C. using an induction hardening apparatus with a frequency of 4 kHz for induction tempering. Even at this stage, a sample for hardness measurement was cut out and measured for Vickers hardness (measured at 5 points on the surface 0.5 mm position and calculated an average value).
Furthermore, after the induction tempering, a drawing process was performed to a diameter of 12.3 mm or 12.6 mm. The Vickers hardness measurement (measured 5 points at the surface layer 0.5 mm and calculated the average value) was performed on the material after drawing, and the Vickers hardness improvement allowance before and after drawing was calculated.
Finally, induction hardening was performed using an induction hardening apparatus with a frequency of 200 kHz and induction hardening after heating to 860 ° C. Thereafter, tempering was performed at 170 ° C. for 80 minutes using an oil bath. The specimen after tempering was finished into a cylindrical specimen having a diameter of 20.0 mm and a length of 22.0 mm.

The rolling fatigue was measured using the test piece thus obtained. The rolling fatigue test uses a cylindrical rolling fatigue tester manufactured by NTN Corporation, Hertz stress 500 kg / mm ² , specimen 3/4 inch steel ball (contact with 2 balls), stress load speed 46240 cpm, PBK # The test was conducted under the condition of 68 turbine oil lubrication. The test was conducted by mixing 300 ppm of iron powder having a particle size of 74 to 150 μm with a Hv of about 800 as a foreign substance in the lubricating oil.
For the evaluation, 10 types of rolling fatigue tests were performed for each steel type, and the relationship between the cumulative failure probability and the rolling life was arranged using Weibull plot paper, and the life B ₁₀ with a cumulative failure probability of 10% was obtained. The obtained B ₁₀ life was evaluated as a rolling fatigue life ratio with respect to the case where no Ti was added.
That is, the steel No.1~4 based steel Ti not added, and evaluated by the value divided by the B ₁₀ in the B ₁₀ reference steel for steel with added Ti respectively these reference steel. In Table 1, the standard steel of steel material No. 5 and steel material No. 6 is steel material No. 1, the standard steel of steel material No. 7 is steel material No. 2, and the standard steel of steel material No. 8 is steel material No. 3 and the standard steel of steel material No. 9 is steel material No. 4.

The surface hardness and surface residual stress were measured on the surface of the test piece after finishing. For the former austenite grains on the surface, cut the test piece after finishing at 1/2 length position, corrode with the former austenite grain boundary corrosive liquid (gamma R liquid), and then at the 0.2 mm position from the surface layer. After taking a picture with an optical microscope (1000 times, 3 fields of view) and drawing a line equally divided into 3 in the photograph, the average prior austenite grain size was calculated from the number of grain boundaries cut by the line (cutting method). .
These measurement results are shown in Table 2.

Claims (3)

In mass% C: 0.7% to 1.3%,
Si: 0.1-0.8%
Mn: 0.2-1.2%
P: 0.025% or less,
S: 0.02% or less,
Ti: 0.01-0.03%,
Al: 0.1% or less,
Cr: 0.9% to 1.8%
Mo: 0.3% or less,
N: 0.005% or less and O: 0.003% or less, 0.005 + 3.42 × N [mass%] ≦ Ti [mass%]
The steel material containing the balance Fe and inevitable impurities is subjected to carbonitriding-quenching treatment, followed by induction tempering, and in the subsequent forming process, the amount of improvement in hardness is 20 points in terms of Vickers hardness. A method for producing a bearing component having an excellent rolling fatigue life in a foreign substance environment, wherein the above processing is applied to at least a surface layer portion of a steel material, and then the surface layer portion is induction-quenched and tempered. 2. The steel material according to claim 1, further comprising mass%.
Cu: 0.05% to 0.50%,
Ni: 0.05-0.50%,
A method for producing a bearing component having excellent rolling fatigue life in a foreign matter environment containing one or more selected from Sb: 0.003% or less and B: 0.003% or less.   Rolling fatigue in a foreign matter environment according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the average austenite grain size in the hardened surface layer portion after induction hardening is 3 µm or less, and the amount of retained austenite in the portion is 20 to 35%. A method for manufacturing bearing parts with excellent service life.