Steel Case Hardening Using Deformational Cutting

Abstract

This paper describes some fundamental principles, specific features, and the technological capabilities of a new method of quenching steel surface by turning without separation of chips. The underlying process of this method is a deformational cutting (DC), which is based on the undercutting and deformation of surface layers that remain attached to the workpiece. The energy released in the area of DC is used to heat the undercut layer up to the temperatures of structural and phase transformation of workpiece material. This type of process results into a hardened structure formed at the surface which consists of inclined thin undercut layers tightly packed and stuck together and form a single solid body. The resulting hardened structures achieved in steels workpieces are presented in the paper. The samples hardened by DC showed a higher wear resistance compared to samples with traditional quenching. This paper also describes an estimation of the thermo-physical parameters of the DC process.