Rough operation of the roller bearing mounted in an electric motor/gearbox assembly was observed. The bearing components made of low-alloy steel (4620 or 8620) and the cup, cone and rollers were carburized, hardened and tempered. The contact surfaces of these components (cup, cone and roller) were revealed to be uniformly electrolytically etched by visual examination. The action similar to anodic etching was believed to have occurred as a result of stray currents in the electric motor (not properly grounded) and the presence of an electrolyte (moisture) between the cup and roller surfaces of the bearing. As a remedial action, the bearing was insulated for protection from stray currents by grounding of the motor and the moisture was kept out by sealing both bearings in the assembly.

Drastic reduction in the service life of a production gearbox was observed. Within the gearbox, the axial load on a bevel gear (8620 steel, OD 9.2 cm) was taken by a thrust-type roller bearing (3.8 cm ID, 5.6 cm OD) in which a ground surface on the back of the bevel gear served as a raceway. Spalling damage on the ground bearing raceway at five equally spaced zones was disclosed by inspection of the bevel gear. The bearing raceway was checked for runout by mounting the gear on an arbor. It was found that the raceway undulated to the extent of 0.008 mm total indicator reading and a spalled area was observed at each high point. The presence of numerous cracks that resembled grinding cracks was revealed both by magnetic-particle inspection and microscopic examination. Spalling was produced by nonuniform loading in conjunction with grinding cracks. As corrective measures, the spindle of the grinding machine was reconditioned to eliminate the undulations and retained austenite was minimized by careful heat treatment.

Occasional failures were experienced in spool-type valves used in a hydraulic system. When a valve would fail, the close-fitting rotary valve would seize, causing loss of flow control of the hydraulic oil. The rotating spool in the valve was made of 8620 steel and was gas carburized. The cylinder in which the spool fitted was made of 1117 steel, also gas carburized. Investigation (visual inspection, low magnification images, 400x images, metallographic exam, and hardness testing) supported the conclusion that momentary sliding contact between the spool and the cylinder wall caused unstable retained austenite in the failed cylinder to transform to martensite. The increase in volume resulted in sufficient size distortion to cause interference between the cylinder and the spool, seizing, and loss of flow control. The failed parts had been carburized in a process in which the carbon potential was too high, which resulted in a microstructure having excessive retained austenite after heat treatment. Recommendations included modifying the composition of the carburizing atmosphere to yield carburized parts that did not retain significant amounts of austenite when they were heat treated.

A pushrod made by inertia welding two rough bored pieces of bar stock installed in a mud pump fractured after two weeks in service. The flange portion was made of 94B17 steel, and the shaft was made of 8620 steel. It was disclosed by visual examination that the fracture occurred in the shaft portion at the intersection of a 1.3 cm thick wall and a tapered surface at the bottom of the hole. The fatigue crack was influenced by one-way bending stresses initiated at the inner surface and progressed around the entire inner circumference. A heavily decarburized layer was detected on the inner surface of the flange portion and sharp corner was found at the intersection of the sidewall and bottom of the hole. It was concluded that the stress raiser due to the abrupt section change was accentuated by decarburized layer. As a corrective measure, the design of the pushrod was changed to a one-piece forging and circulation of atmosphere during heat treatment was permitted through a hole drilled in the flange end of the rod to avoid decarburization.

The 8620 steel latch tip, carburized and then induction hardened to a minimum surface hardness of 62 HRC, on the main-clutch stop arm on a business machine fractured during normal operation when the latch tip was subjected to intermittent impact loading. Fractographic examination 9x showed a brittle appearance at the fractures. Micrograph examination of an etched section disclosed several small cracks. Fracture of the parts may have occurred through similar cracks. Also observed was a burned layer approximately 0.075 mm (0.003 in.) deep on the latch surface, and hardness at a depth of 0.025 mm (0.001 in.) in this layer was 52 HRC (a minimum of 55 HRC was specified). Thus, the failure was caused by brittle fracture in the hardness-transition zone as the result of excessive impact loading. The burned layer indicated that the cracks had been caused by improper grinding after hardening. Redesign was recommended to include reinforcing the backing web of the tip, increasing the radius at the relief step to 1.5 x 0.5 mm (0.06 x 0.02 in.), the use of proper grinding techniques, and a requirement that the hardened zone extend a minimum of 1.5 mm (0.06 in.) beyond the step.

The first part of this article focuses on two major forms of machining-related failures, namely machining workpiece (in-process) failures and machined part (in-service) failures. Discussion centers on machining conditions and metallurgical factors contributing to (in-process) workpiece failures, and undesired surface layers and metallurgical factors contributing to (in-service) machined part failures. The second part of the article discusses the effects of microstructure on machining failures and their preventive measures.