GCr15 (laser surface quenching) metallographic diagram

GCr15 Steel

GCr15 is a carbon steel, with excellent hardening properties and is favoured within the bearing industry. It is mainly used to produce rolling bearings and components such as balls, rings and rollers. GCr15 steel is the Chinese equivalent of the widely used SAE 52100 grade.

History

GCr15 was first developed in China in the early 1950s. It was the first Chinese steel grade to be certified by the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry and is widely accepted in China as a superior quality bearing steel. The unique characteristics of GCr15 steel make it ideal for a variety of applications and industries, including mechanical engineering, aerospace, textile and oil and gas.

Chemical Composition

GCr15 steel is an alloy steel and consists of a high levels of carbon, chromium and molybdenum. It also contains small amounts of manganese, silicon, sulphur and phosphorus. The most common chemical composition is: 0.90-1.05 % Carbon, 0.95-1.25 % Chromium, 0.25-0.45 % Molybdenum, 0.20-0.35 % Manganese, 0.20-0.35 % Silicon and 0.025 % Sulphur.

GCr15 Properties

GCr15 steel has excellent hardening properties and is used in a variety of applications. Some of the key properties of GCr15 steel are:

•Good Hardness – GCr15 steel has a hardness of 60-65 HRC, which makes it ideal for bearing applications.

•Balanced Strength – GCr15 has a balanced strength-to-weight ratio which makes it a suitable choice for a variety of components.

•High Toughness – The combination of carbon and chromium gives the steel high toughness and makes it an excellent choice for high load applications.

•High Wear Resistance – GCr15 has an excellent combination of wear resistance and hardness, which makes it an ideal choice for tough applications.

•High Corrosion Resistance – The high levels of chromium give the steel excellent corrosion resistance.

Manufacturing

GCr15 steel is typically manufactured via a process known as laser surface hardening. This process involves using a high-powered laser to heat the steel and to alter its surface properties. The steel is laser surface hardened at a controlled temperature and then quickly cooled to ensure the desired hardness is achieved.

The laser surface hardening process locks the material’s atoms in a lattice-like structure, which gives GCr15 a combination of excellent properties such as wear resistance, hardness and corrosion resistance.

Applications

GCr15 is a versatile steel and is used in a variety of applications. It is commonly used to produce components for rolling bearings, such as balls and rings. It is also used in automobile transmissions and forklift parts. GCr15 is an excellent choice for aerospace components due to its combination of hardness, strength and wear-resistance. Furthermore, due to its corrosion resistance and low-cost, GCr15 is ideal for oil and gas industry components.

Conclusion

GCr15 is a high-quality carbon steel with excellent hardening properties. It has a balanced combination of hardness, strength and wear-resistance which makes it suitable for a variety of industrial applications. The laser surface hardening process ensures that GCr15 retains its excellent properties and makes it an excellent choice for high-load and low maintenance components.

介绍

GCr15 is a commonly used bearing steel with its mirror-like surface and precision hardness. As a carbon chromium bearing steel, its performance is stable and reliable, and its main characteristics are high-temperature strength, anti-fatigue strength, anti-corrosion, high hardness and good processing performance.

GCr15 is used as the main material for rolling bearings. The toughness and viscosity of its surface are improved by laser surface quenching. The hardness of the surface can reach HRC 58-62, while the LASERHQ of the depth of quenching can reach 0.2mm. Moreover, it has good particle size stability, so it can be used in various fields, such as high-speed operation shafts, medium-to-high loading crankshafts, camshafts, high-speed gearboxes, etc.

In the metallographic structure analysis, GCr15 has a high content of chromium and carbon, so the second phase is M23C6, and the retained austenite has an average percentage of about 20%. The grain size is between 6 and 8. After being quenched and tempered, the center of the etchant was very fine and the grain structure was uniform.

The microstructure of GCr15 with laser surface quenching is composed of martensite and retained austenite with appropriate proportions. The grain boundary of the microstructure after laser quenching is greatly refines, the hardness of the surface layer is improved, the wear resistance and fatigue strength of the bearing are also improved, and its service life is longer.

In conclusion, GCr15 bearing steel with laser surface quenching is one of the better bearing steel materials, and it is widely used in precision optics and precision bearings, gear shafts and high-speed rotating parts. It has high temperature resistance, anti-fatigue strength, anti-corrosion and good machinability, which ensures its excellent performance.