Minimizing Deformations in High-Temperature Vacuum Carburizing

This article presents the results of a study on reducing deformations resulting from high-temperature vacuum carburizing and post-carburizing heat treatment. The idea was to increase the strength of steel at elevated temperatures by pre-carburizing at heat-up to the process temperature (SC—stage carburizing). It has been shown that the use of carburizing in stages from a lower temperature to the target temperature, compared to traditional vacuum carburizing at a constant temperature (Constant-Temperature Carburizing—CTC), has a significant impact on the chemical and phase composition of the technological layer, surface after the process and, consequently, on its mechanical properties. It was shown that the retained austenite content after stage carburizing was reduced by approximately 45%, as was the thickness of the gear teeth measured at the pitch diameter. Additionally, uniform stress distribution was demonstrated for the SC process. Carbon saturation of austenite increases the yield strength, and therefore the dimensional stability of steel heat-treated at elevated temperatures also improves, which effectively permits high-temperature treatment of critical steel parts such as, for example, gear wheels, for which high dimensional accuracy is required.