Advantages of induction hardening with no soft zone on large bearings

Large bearings are required to carry large axial and radial forces and their resulting torques. Typical applications include general machinery and construction equipment, as well as onshore and offshore energy technologies. These diverse applications have one thing in common: their components are highly stressed mechanically, and are therefore induction hardened to increase their dynamic strength and wear resistance. In the past, conventional progressive induction scan hardening necessarily left a small, unhardened zone in the bearing race. This soft zone compromised the bearing's load-bearing capacity and smoothness. SMS Elotherm has solved this problem with a new induction hardening technology to fully harden the bearing raceway with no soft zone. This scan hardening with no residual soft zone is essential; where systems do not allow any vibration (e.g. magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI technology), where extremely high mechanical stresses need to be considered (e.g. tunnel drilling machines), where continuous rotation is required, or where challenging environmental conditions mandate maintenance-free systems with high lifetime (e.g. offshore technology such as wind turbines, tidal plants or oil platforms).