An Interview with Dr. Valery Rudnev, FASM, IFHTSE Fellow, Director of Science & Technology at Inductoheat, Inc.

This paper examines the expanding capabilities of induction hardening of gears through methods like spin hardening or tooth-by-tooth techniques.

In recent years, there has been significant interest in expanding the use of induction hardening in gear manufacturing operations. Over the past several years, many of the limits to induction hardening have shrunk, thanks to recent advances in technology, materials and processing techniques.

So, you've been assigned the task to buy an induction heating system for heat treating: It's an intimidating, but by no means impossible, assignment. With the help of the information in this article, you could be able to develop common ground with your supplier and have the tools to work with him or her to get the right machine for your jobs.

Many potential problems are not apparent when using new induction heat treating systems. The operator has been trained properly, and setup parameters are already developed. Everything is fresh in one's mind. But as the equipment ages, personnel changes or new parts are required to be processed on the old equipment ages, personnel changes or new parts are required to b processed on the old equipment, important information can get lost in the shuffle.

In the typical gear production facility, machining of gear teeth is followed by hear treatment to harden them. The hardening process often distorts the gear teeth, resulting in reduced and generally variable quality. Heat treating gears can involve many different types of operations, which all have the common purpose of producing a microstructure with certain optimum properties. Dual frequency induction hardening grew from the need to reduce cost while improving the accuracy (minimizing the distortion) of two selective hardening processes: single tooth induction and selective carburizing.