Heat treatment and fatigue performance of bearing balls

Bearings are parts of the machine which are the most commonly used due to their importance. They reduce the friction between moving parts of the machine and the rolling motion of the bearings makes the movements smoother. In this study, we will discuss about heat treatments and fatigue performances of bearing balls. Most commonly material used for making ball bearings is 100Cr6 chrome steel. In this study we will discuss about bainite and standard martensite heat treatment processes of the bearing balls and steels. Bearings are composed of different metal components and they come in to contact with each other. Life of bearings is critical when they are used as industrial applications. Sometimes bearings experience greater forces during their working condition due to carrying a higher load, so the cyclic stress acting on the components of bearings cause the fatigue of the material. Fatigue can also be occurred before the normal service life due to overloading, shocks, vibrations lack of lubrication etc. This study will also address about the rotating bending and rolling contact fatigue performance of the bearing balls. 100Cr6 bainitic and martensitic hardened bearing balls will be tested through rolling contact fatigue tests to check the fatigue performance of these bearing balls. We will also talk about the rotating bending fatigue performance of the specimens made with 100Cr6 and processed by bainite and standard martensite heat treatment processes.