Abstract
With the growing shift toward renewable energy, the production of large gears and bearing rings, such as those used in wind turbines, is becoming increasingly important. Until recently, these large components were typically custom-manufactured to order, but today, they are often produced in small series. This shift has driven the need for cost reduction, quality improvement, and process automation. For case-hardened transmission and roller bearing components, case depths of several millimeters are required to compensate for the significant distortion caused by conventional quenching—often resulting in out-of-roundness of several millimeters. Correcting this distortion requires time-consuming and costly grinding processes. Additionally, deep carburization increases manufacturing costs due to extended furnace holding times. An in-depth analysis of the fixture hardening process for large gears and bearing rings was conducted to address these challenges. The findings from this project enabled targeted measures to counteract shape deviations such as out-of-roundness and concentricity during quenching, significantly reducing distortion and improving overall process efficiency.
