ACCELERATED CARBIDE SPHEROIDISATION IN 100CR6 STEEL.

The importance of bearing steels in industrial production is continuously increasing. These steels are not fit for working unless soft-annealed. The purpose of this annealing process is to obtain globular carbides which will be uniformly distributed in the matrix. Conventional methods of annealing steel stock to obtain globular pearlite require long soaking times: up to several tens of hours, which is due to the diffusional nature of the process. The research into rapid carbide spheroidisation aims to significantly shorten selected heat treatment processes. The present paper presents investigation of rapid carbide spheroidisation and a decrease in hardness in 100Cr6 bearing steel. The newly designed schedules are several times shorter than conventional heat treating procedures. This brings a vast potential in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]