Influence of hardening on the microstructure and the wear capacity of gears made of Fe1.5Cr0.2Mo sintered steel

High demands are set on gears made from sintered steel regarding wear, fretting, tooth fracture and pitting load capacity. The hardening obtained after the sinter process will affect the microstructure of the sintered steel so that the wear load capacity can increase to higher values. This report shows the influence of different hardenings methods on crossed helical gears fabricated from Fe1.5Cr0.2Mo sintered steel and the changes induced on the microstructure, the surface and the core hardness and the wear load capacity. The research presented in this paper is aimed at finding the most appropriate additional treatment which leads to higher wear load capacity as compared to the wear of sintered steel gears without any additional treatment.