Knowledge-based process planning for economical re-scheduling in production control

Nowadays, high flexibility and responsiveness towards capacity adjustments are key to successful production planning and control in manufacturing. Moreover, many companies – especially job shops – have to deal with short-term re-scheduling. This article presents an approach for knowledge-based process planning to enable an economic evaluation of re-scheduling in the manufacturing system. For that purpose, the manufacturing costs for each workpiece are calculated based on determined parameter sets and process time under consideration of potential capacity adjustments. The knowledge-based process planning is necessary to derive reliable process times for re-scheduling and cost calculating. Hence, a pre-study is carried out to define flexible machine learning algorithms for knowledge-based process planning. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Production-related surface and subsurface properties and fatigue life of hybrid roller bearing components

By combining different materials, for example, high-strength steel and unalloyed structural steel, hybrid components with specifically adapted properties to a certain application can be realized. The mechanical processing, required for production, influences the subsurface properties, which have a deep impact on the lifespan of solid components. However, the influence of machining-induced subsurface properties on the operating behavior of hybrid components with a material transition in axial direction has not been investigated. Therefore, friction-welded hybrid shafts were machined with different process parameters for hard-turning and subsequent deep rolling. After machining, subsurface properties such as residual stresses, microstructures, and hardness of the machined components were analyzed. Significant influencing parameters on surface and subsurface properties identified in analogy experiments are the cutting-edge microgeometry, S, and the feed, f, during turning. The deep-rolling overlap, u, hardly changes the residual stress depth profile, but it influences the surface roughness strongly. Experimental tests to determine fatigue life under combined rolling and rotating bending stress were carried out. Residual stresses of up to −1000 MPa, at a depth of 200 µm, increased the durability regarding rolling-contact fatigue by 22%, compared to the hard-turned samples. The material transition was not critical for failure. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

A process-reliable tailoring of subsurface properties during cryogenic turning using dynamic process control

Considering the current demands for resource conservation and energy efficiency, innovative machining concepts and increased process reliability have a significant role to play. A combination of martensitic hardening of the subsurface and near-net-shape manufacturing represent a great potential to produce components with wear-resistant subsurfaces in an energy- and time-saving way. Within the scope of the present study, the influence of cryogenic machining of metastable austenitic steel on the martensitic transformation and surface quality was investigated. Different cooling strategies were used. A soft sensor based on eddy current in-process measurements was used to determine and subsequently affect the martensitic transformation of the subsurface. The feed rate and component temperature were identified as significant factors influencing the martensitic transformation. However, a high feed rate leads to an increase in surface roughness, and thus to a reduction in component quality. For this reason, a roughing process for achieving maximum martensitic transformation was carried out first in the present study and then a reduction in the surface roughness by maintaining the martensitic subsurface content was aimed for by a subsequent finishing process. With the knowledge generated, a dynamic process control was finally set up for designing the turning process of a required subsurface condition and surface quality

Feasibility study for the manufacturing of hybrid pinion shafts with the cross-wedge rolling process

The Collaborative Research Center 1153 is investigating an innovative process chain for the production of hybrid components. The hybrid workpieces are first joined and then formed by cross-wedge rolling. Pinion shafts were manufactured to investigate the behavior of the joining zone under increased complexity of the forming process. For this purpose, six types of workpieces produced by three types of joining processes were formed into pinion shafts. The reference process provides a shaft with a smooth bearing seat. It was found that the increased complexity did not present any challenges compared to the reference processes. A near-net shape geometry was achieved for the pinions made of steel

Investigations on Additively Manufactured Stainless Bearings

Additive manufacturing with multi-material design offers great possibilities for lightweight and function-integrated components. A process chain was developed in which hybrid steel–steel-components with high fatigue strength were produced. For this, a material combination of stainless powder material Rockit® (0.52 wt.% C, 0.9% Si, 14% Cr, 0.4% Mo, 1.8% Ni, 1.2% V, bal. Fe) cladded onto ASTM A572 mild steel by plasma arc powder deposition welding was investigated. Extensive material characterization has shown that defect-free claddings can be produced by carefully adjusting the welding process. With a tailored heat treatment strategy and machining of the semi-finished products, bearing washers for a thrust cylindrical roller bearing were produced. These washers showed a longer fatigue life than previously produced bearing washers with AISI 52100 bearing steel as cladding. It was also remarkable that the service life with the Rockit® cladding material was longer than that of conventional monolithic AISI 52100 washers. This was reached through a favourable microstructure with finely distributed vanadium and chromium carbides in a martensitic matrix as well as the presence of compressive residual stresses, which are largely retained even after testing. The potential for further enhancement of the cladding performance through Tailored Forming was investigated in compression and forging tests and was found to be limited due to low forming capacity of the material

Investigations on tailored forming of aisi 52100 as rolling bearing raceway

Hybrid cylindrical roller thrust bearing washers of type 81212 were manufactured by tailored forming. An AISI 1022M base material, featuring a sufficient strength for structural loads, was cladded with the bearing steel AISI 52100 by plasma transferred arc welding (PTA). Though AISI 52100 is generally regarded as non-weldable, it could be applied as a cladding material by adjusting PTA parameters. The cladded parts were investigated after each individual process step and subsequently tested under rolling contact load. Welding defects that could not be completely eliminated by the subsequent hot forming were characterized by means of scanning acoustic microscopy and micrographs. Below the surface, pores with a typical size of ten µm were found to a depth of about 0.45 mm. In the material transition zone and between individual weld seams, larger voids were observed. Grinding of the surface after heat treatment caused compressive residual stresses near the surface with a relatively small depth. Fatigue tests were carried out on an FE8 test rig. Eighty-two percent of the calculated rating life for conventional bearings was achieved. A high failure slope of the Weibull regression was determined. A relationship between the weld defects and the fatigue behavior is likely. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Production-Related Surface and Subsurface Properties and Fatigue Life of Hybrid Roller Bearing Components

By combining different materials, for example, high-strength steel and unalloyed structural steel, hybrid components with specifically adapted properties to a certain application can be realized. The mechanical processing, required for production, influences the subsurface properties, which have a deep impact on the lifespan of solid components. However, the influence of machining-induced subsurface properties on the operating behavior of hybrid components with a material transition in axial direction has not been investigated. Therefore, friction-welded hybrid shafts were machined with different process parameters for hard-turning and subsequent deep rolling. After machining, subsurface properties such as residual stresses, microstructures, and hardness of the machined components were analyzed. Significant influencing parameters on surface and subsurface properties identified in analogy experiments are the cutting-edge microgeometry, S¯, and the feed, f, during turning. The deep-rolling overlap, u, hardly changes the residual stress depth profile, but it influences the surface roughness strongly. Experimental tests to determine fatigue life under combined rolling and rotating bending stress were carried out. Residual stresses of up to −1000 MPa, at a depth of 200 µm, increased the durability regarding rolling-contact fatigue by 22%, compared to the hard-turned samples. The material transition was not critical for failure

Surface Integrity of Laser Beam Welded Steel–Aluminium Alloy Hybrid Shafts after Turning

The demands for high-performance solid components are constantly increasing. The reason for this development are the steadily growing requirements such as weight reduction, higher resistance to load stresses, and more functional integration. By using material compounds, for example high-strength steel and aluminium alloy, hybrid massive components, whose properties are specially adapted to the specific application, can be manufactured. The first challenge is the joining of two dissimilar materials like steel and aluminium alloy by laser beam welding. In particular, the formation of hard and brittle intermetallic phases (IMP) has a high influence on the mechanical properties of the joining zone. The second challenge is to examine the machinability of such dissimilar compounds. The machining process is mandatory in order to reach an adequate level of accuracy of shape and dimensions. Furthermore, the functionalization of the hybrid compounds will be realized with the machining process where required surface roughness and lifetime-determining residual stresses are adjusted. Connections between induced residual stresses and material properties have been investigated. A significant influence of machining parameters on the surface and subsurface properties is evident. In particular, the cutting edge rounding has a deep impact on the residual stresses as well as on surface roughness

Investigations on Additively Manufactured Stainless Bearings

Additive manufacturing with multi-material design offers great possibilities for lightweight and function-integrated components. A process chain was developed in which hybrid steel–steel-components with high fatigue strength were produced. For this, a material combination of stainless powder material Rockit® (0.52 wt.% C, 0.9% Si, 14% Cr, 0.4% Mo, 1.8% Ni, 1.2% V, bal. Fe) cladded onto ASTM A572 mild steel by plasma arc powder deposition welding was investigated. Extensive material characterization has shown that defect-free claddings can be produced by carefully adjusting the welding process. With a tailored heat treatment strategy and machining of the semi-finished products, bearing washers for a thrust cylindrical roller bearing were produced. These washers showed a longer fatigue life than previously produced bearing washers with AISI 52100 bearing steel as cladding. It was also remarkable that the service life with the Rockit® cladding material was longer than that of conventional monolithic AISI 52100 washers. This was reached through a favourable microstructure with finely distributed vanadium and chromium carbides in a martensitic matrix as well as the presence of compressive residual stresses, which are largely retained even after testing. The potential for further enhancement of the cladding performance through Tailored Forming was investigated in compression and forging tests and was found to be limited due to low forming capacity of the material