Patent Application
20150031486
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an endless metal ring to be used for power transmitting of a continuously variable transmission of a vehicle and a manufacturing device thereof, and the endless metal ring.
As a continuously variable transmission (CVT) mounted in a vehicle, for example, there is used a belt-type CVT arranged such that an endless metal belt consisting of a plurality of stacked endless metal rings and a plurality of elements engaged with the rings, the endless metal ring being circumferentially moveable between a drive shaft pulley and a driven shaft pulley. This CVT can continuously change a transmission gear ratio in stepless manner, differently from a multistage transmission that shifts gears by changing combinations of gears. Thus, the CVT has superior fuel efficiency. In recent years, a gear ratio range tends to be increased for the purpose of further improving the fuel efficiency. However, such an increased gear ratio range causes an increase in load applied to the belt. Thus, a stronger endless metal ring than at present is demanded.
In general, as a material used for manufacturing an endless metal ring, there is known maraging steel having excellent strength characteristics. In order to increase the strength (in particular, fatigue strength) of an endless metal ring made of this maraging steel, there is disclosed a technique to generate reverse-transformed austenite phase by heating the endless metal ring in a specific range (about 500 to 750° C.) of a lower temperature than an austenitizing start temperature of about 750° C. (see Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example).
On the other hand, a factor that lowers the fatigue limit of the endless metal ring made of maraging steel in a very high cycle region (a region exceeding 107 cycles) is known as initiating at inner inclusions (TiN and others). Accordingly, a technique is disclosed in which raw material for Ti-containing steel (e.g., maraging steel) free from TiN inclusions is melted in a vacuum induction furnace and is cast as an electrode, and the thus obtained Ti-containing steel is re-melted by a vacuum arc melting method, thereby refining or miniaturizing the TiN inclusions (e.g., see Patent Document 3).
However, when a large amount of the reverse-transformed austenite phase is generated (15 to 25% by volume or 25 to 35% by volume) as in the techniques in Patent Documents 1 and 2, elongation increases in a tensile test, but yield strength decreases. Thus, fatigue life under high load obviously lowers. For example, according to an article “Influence of Reversion Austenite on Fatigue Property of 18% Ni Maraging Steel” in “Materials” (J. Soc, Mat. Sci., Japan), Vol. 44, No. 497, pp. 181-186, February 1995), the reverse-transformed austenite enhances the fatigue strength in the maraging steel up to on the order of 2 to 3% by volume.
However, it is necessary to hold the aging temperature at about 480° C. for 100 hours or more or at about 530° C. for 7 hours or more to stably control the residual austenite amount of on the order of 2 to 3% by volume by utilizing reverse transformation. Either case results in largely deteriorated productivity. In this case, a high temperature of about 600° C. is conceivable to enable a short-time treatment; however, this causes a problem that a nitride state varies or the austenite amount varies even under the same nitriding conditions, and thus stable strength could not be ensured.
In mass-production facilities in which re-melting by the vacuum arc melting method is conducted as in the technique of Patent Document 3, a cooling speed is generally slow and it is difficult to stably refine the size of the non-metallic inclusions to about 7 μm or less which is the size less likely to initiate fatigue failure. To increase the cooling speed in the mass-production facilities using re-melting by the vacuum arc melting method, it is preferable to reduce an amount of the material to be melted. However, this method greatly deteriorates the productivity and thus is not practical. Furthermore, in view of costs, it is not preferable to use high quality raw material free from non-metallic inclusions.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems and has a purpose to provide a method for manufacturing an endless metal ring, capable of refining a non-metallic inclusion to improve fatigue strength while ensuring a predetermined residual austenite amount without impeding the productivity, a manufacturing device, and an endless metal ring.
(1) To achieve the above purpose, one aspect of the invention provides a method of manufacturing an endless metal ring by cutting an annular member made of maraging steel containing molybdenum into a ring element having a predetermined width, wherein the method includes forming a melted-solidified layer on an outer circumference of the annular member so that the melted-solidified layer is arranged to be continuous in a circumferential direction.
According to the above aspect in which the melted-solidified layer is formed on the outer circumference of the annular member made of maraging steel containing molybdenum, molybdenum (Mo) having a higher melting point than other alloy elements is preferentially solidified on the melted-solidified layer, forming a segregated area. Molybdenum is an austenite stabilizing element and thus the molybdenum segregated area contains much residual austenite phases in portions where austenite should inherently transform into martensite.
Since the melted-solidified layer is formed to be continuous in the circumferential direction of the ring element, the ring element is formed with the molybdenum segregated area continuous in the circumferential direction. That is, the residual austenite phases left by the molybdenum segregated area are formed to be continuous in the circumferential direction of the ring element. Austenite partially transforms into martensite (deformation induced martensite) under pressure from outside. At that time, a crystal structure changes from a face-centered cubic lattice to a body-centered cubic lattice with an expanded volume. Thus, compression stress acts on crystal grain boundary that is likely to be cracked. This can suppress development of cracks against external stress. The amount of residual austenite at that time is preferably on the order of 2 to 3% by volume which is effective for fatigue property. The present invention can realize this. The endless metal ring manufactured by the above method can provide greatly increased fatigue life even when constant stress amplitude repeatedly acts on the endless metal ring.
(2) In the method for manufacturing an endless metal ring set forth in (1), preferably, the melted-solidified layer is formed by locally heating and cooling the outer circumference of the annular member.
According to the above configuration, since the melted-solidified layer is formed by locally heating and cooling the outer circumference of the annular member, the molybdenum segregated area can be formed without deforming the annular member.
Because of the local heating and cooling, the melted-solidified layer is cooled immediately after it is melted. Accordingly, although the non-metallic inclusion such as TiN contained in a row material is dissolved in the course of melting, the cooling speed in the course of solidifying is fast and thus the growth of non-metallic inclusion during recrystallization is suppressed, thereby prompting refining. This refining of non-metallic inclusion enables suppression of fatigue failure which may initiate at the inclusion. The fatigue life of the endless metal ring can be further improved.
In this case, because of the local heating and cooling, it is unnecessary to perform re-melting in a raw-material manufacturing step as in the technique of Patent Document 3 and there is less influence on productivity. Furthermore, limitation to use only the high-pure raw material is reduced, contributing to cost reduction. The solution (annealing) heat treatment is performed after the melting-solidifying step as needed. This can uniformize molybdenum in the molybdenum segregated area.
(3) In the method for manufacturing an endless metal ring set forth in (1) or (2), preferably, the melted-solidified layer is formed by spirally or circularly heating and cooling the outer circumference of the annular member.
According to the above configuration, since the melted-solidified layer is formed by spirally or circularly (circumferentially) heating and cooling the outer circumference of the annular member, the spiral or circular width and feed pitch are arbitrarily set so that the melted-solidified layer is formed in the annular member over the entire circumference or in the part continuous in the circumferential direction. For instance, when the spiral or circular width and feed pitch are set within the width of the ring element, the outer circumference of the ring element can be formed with the melted-solidified layer of at least one turn. Thus, the molybdenum segregated area can be formed on the entire circumference of the ring element or may be formed only in a part desired for strengthening. This can ensure a predetermined residual austenite amount nearly equal in a predetermined width in the circumferential direction to improve the fatigue strength of the endless metal ring.
(4) In the method for manufacturing an endless metal ring set forth in (3), preferably, the melted-solidified layer is formed in an end of the ring element in an axial direction.
According to the above configuration, since the melted-solidified layer is formed in the axial end portion of the ring element, the predetermined residual austenite amount in the axial end portion of the ring element can be endured nearly equal in the circumferential direction. The stress amplitude during use of the endless metal ring in a CVT largely acts on the axial end portion more than an axial central portion of the endless metal ring. Thus, the predetermined residual austenite amount can be ensured to be nearly equal in the circumferential direction in the axial end portion of the endless metal ring on which the stress amplitude will largely acts. This can effectively improve the fatigue strength of the endless metal ring.
(5) In the method for manufacturing an endless metal ring set forth in (1) or (2), preferably, the melted-solidified layer is formed of a plurality of linear melted-solidified layers formed by heating and cooling the outer circumference of the annular member in an axial direction so that adjacent ones of the linear melted-solidified layers are continuous with each other.
According to the above configuration, since the melted-solidified layer is formed of a plurality of linear melted-solidified layers formed by heating and cooling the outer circumference of the annular member in the axial direction so that adjacent ones of the linear melted-solidified layers are continuous with each other. Thus, the predetermined residual austenite amount can be ensured to be nearly equal in the entire outer circumference of the annular member. Accordingly, the predetermined residual austenite amount can be ensured nearly equal in the entire circumference of the severed ring element having a predetermined width. Herein, when the linear melted-solidified layers are to be formed so that adjacent ones are continuous with each other, they do not always need to be continuous on the inner circumference side of the annular member as long as they are continuous on the outer circumference side. This is because, in a case where the endless metal ring is used in a CVT, the stress amplitude more largely acts on the outer circumferential side than on the inner circumferential side of the endless metal ring.
(6) In the method for manufacturing an endless metal ring set forth in any one of (2) to (5), preferably, the cooling is forcibly performed.
According to the above configuration, the forced cooling can shorten the solidification time, thereby enabling forming the melted-solidified layer while maintaining the outer shape and thickness of the annular member. Since the re-crystallization speed of TiN and others in the course of solidification is fast, the growth of non-metallic inclusion is suppressed and thus refining can be further prompted. In addition, this further prompted refining of non-metallic inclusion can suppress the fatigue failure which is likely to initiate at inclusion. This makes it possible to further improve the fatigue life of the endless metal ring.
(7) In the method for manufacturing an endless metal ring set forth in any one of (2) to (6), preferably, the heating is laser heating or plasma heating.
According to the above configuration, since the heating is laser heating or plasma heating, even alloy steel containing alloy elements (e.g., molybdenum) with heat input density and high melting point melts at high speed, thereby enabling forming the melted-solidified layer in a short time on the outer circumference of the annular member made of maraging steel containing molybdenum. Thus, the productivity of the endless metal ring is not inhibited. Since the laser heating or plasma heating is local heating and cooling, the refining of the non-metallic inclusion is prompted, thus suppressing fatigue failure which may initiate at inclusion.
(8) In the method for manufacturing an endless metal ring set forth in any one of (1) to (7), preferably, the annular member is formed by joining end portions of a plate material made of the maraging steel.
According to the above configuration, the annular member is formed by joining the ends of a plate material made of maraging steel. This annular member can be easily manufactured with an arbitrary outer diameter. This joining method includes diffusion joining and others as well as laser welding or plasma welding.
(9) In the method for manufacturing an endless metal ring set forth in any one of (1) to (8), preferably, the annular member is formed by extrusion-molding a billet made of the maraging steel.
According to the above configuration, since the annular member is formed by extrusion molding of a billet made of maraging steel, a seamless annular member can be manufactured. Since the seamless annular member made of maraging steel containing molybdenum is formed, the residual austenite is left to be continuous in a more uniform amount in the circumferential direction in the molybdenum segregated area formed by melting and solidifying.
(10) To achieve the above purpose, another aspect of the invention provides a device of manufacturing an endless metal ring, the device being to be used in the method of manufacturing an endless metal ring according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the device includes a retaining device for retaining the annular member rotatably in a circumferential direction, and a local heating device that will be placed to aim at an outer circumferential surface of the annular member.
According to the above configuration, it is sufficient to provide the retaining device for retaining the annular member rotatably in the circumferential direction and the local heating device placed to aim at the outer circumferential surface of the annular member. Thus, the melted-solidified layer can be formed in a short time to be continuous on the outer circumference of the annular member with a simple device. For instance, the retaining device is configured to continuously rotate the annular member in order to form the melted-solidified layer in spiral or circular form and to intermittently rotate the annular member in order to form a plurality of linear melted-solidified layers. Movement of the annular member in the axial direction can be performed by the retaining device. Instead of moving the annular member in the axial direction, a torch of the local heating device may be moved or swung.
(11) To achieve the above purpose, another aspect of the invention provides an endless metal ring to be used in a continuously variable transmission for a vehicle, wherein the endless metal ring is made of low carbon alloy steel containing molybdenum, and a ring element is melted and solidified over an entire circumference or in a part continuous in a circumferential direction.
According to the above aspect, the endless metal ring to be used in a continuous variable transmission (CVT) for a vehicle is made of low carbon alloy steel containing molybdenum and the ring element is melted and solidified over the entire circumference or in a part continuous in the circumferential direction. Thus, the molybdenum segregated area is formed in the entire circumference or the part continuous in the circumferential direction of the endless metal ring. Since molybdenum is an austenite stabilizing element, much austenite phases are left in the molybdenum segregated area. Austenite transforms into martensite (deformation induced martensite) under external stress. At that time, the crystal structure changes from a face-centered cubic lattice to a body-centered cubic lattice with an expanded volume. Thus, compression stress acts on crystal grain boundary that is likely to be cracked. This can suppress development of cracks against external stress. Consequently, the endless metal ring can provide greatly increased fatigue life even when constant stress amplitude repeatedly acts on the endless metal ring. It is to be noted that the low carbon alloy steel forms less thermally transformed martensite, and thus can avoid an increase in hardness more than necessary and maintain predetermined elongation. According to the above configuration, it is possible to make sure the predetermined residual austenite amount continuous in the circumferential direction of the endless metal ring while maintaining the predetermined hardness and elongation, and improve fatigue strength to the stress amplitude repeatedly acting in the circumferential direction.
(12) In the endless metal ring set forth in (11), preferably, the low carbon alloy steel is maraging steel.
According to the above configuration, since the low carbon alloy steel is maraging steel, the excellent strength characteristic can be ensured by the aging treatment.
According to the invention, it is possible to refine non-metallic inclusions and improve fatigue strength while ensuring a predetermined residual austenite amount without inhibiting productivity.
A detailed description of preferred embodiments of a method and a device for manufacturing an endless metal ring, and the endless metal ring, according to the present invention will now be given referring to the accompanying drawings.
<Manufacturing Process of Endless Metal Ring>
As shown in
This annular-member forming step (a) is a step to form a cylindrical body having a predetermined length in an axial direction and opening in the axial direction. This annular-member forming step is achieved by a cutting and bending method of cutting a coiled band steel to a sheet and then bending the cut sheet, an extrusion molding method of extrusion-molding a predetermined billet, a pipe cutting method of cutting a pipe-shaped steel pipe, or the like. For instance, in the cutting and bending method shown in
The thickness of the annular member 1 is on the order of 0.4 to 0.5 mm. The diameter of the annular member 1 is on the order of 100 to 200 mm. The maraging steel used in the present embodiment inevitably contains iron, nickel, and molybdenum and also additionally contains cobalt, titanium, aluminum, and others as needed. The content of nickel in the maraging steel is not limited to 18 weight % and may be on the order of 20 to 25 weight %. The content of molybdenum is preferably at least 3 weight % or more. If nickel is increased, the austenite phase is easily formed. However, if molybdenum higher in melting point than other alloy elements is not contained to a certain degree, the molybdenum segregated area is less likely to be formed in the course of solidification.
The joining step (b) is a step to join the ends to each other when the annular-member forming step uses the cutting and bending method. This joining method includes a welding method to weld the ends to each other, a method of removing oxidation coating of the ends and diffusion joining them, and other methods. In the welding method shown in
The melting-solidifying step (c) is a step of heating and cooling from the outer circumference side of the annular member 1 by a local heating device 3 placed above the outer circumference of the annular member 1 to aim at it, hereby continuously forming melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) on the outer circumference of the annular member 1. As the method of forming the melted-solidified layers, various methods are available as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As the forced cooling method, there is also a method of cooling the annular member 1 from the inner circumference side thereof, instead of using the above cooling nozzle 32. In one example of such methods, a retaining device 7 for retaining the inner circumference side of the annular member 1 is provided with a recirculation pipe (not shown) for recirculating cooling water. If the amount of heat input from the heating torch 31 is small, self-cooling may be adopted instead of forced cooling.
The method shown in
The method shown in
The method shown in
The first solution treatment (annealing) step shown in
<Increase in Residual Austenite>
The endless metal rings made of the maraging steel having the following components in the above manufacturing process were subjected to measurement of the austenite amounts in each step.
An alloy composition ratio (weight %) of maraging steel is that nickel (Ni) is about 18%, cobalt (Co) is about 9%, molybdenum (Mo) is about 5%, titanium (Ti) is about 0.45%, aluminum (Al) is about 0.1%, and carbon (C) is 0.03% or less.
As shown in
This is conceived that when segregation of the alloy compositions (mainly, molybdenum) occurs in the course of melting-solidifying, austenite is stabilized in the segregated portion, the austenite remains left without transforming into martensite even when returned to room temperature. The residual austenite amount at that time is about 3% by volume. The residual austenite amount of about 2 to 3% by volume is a value whereby remarkable improvement of fatigue strength can be expected. In the rolling step (f), the rolling is performed at a rolling reduction of about 50%, so that martensitization of metastable austenite phase advances and thus the austenite amount temporarily decreases.
<Reduction of Non-metallic Inclusion>
Successively, TiN which is non-metallic inclusion was measured on inclusion size before and after the melting-solidifying step (c).
The TiN inclusion size is measured in such a manner that 5 gram of a material is extracted and dissolved in acid, and then the material filtered with a 3-μm filter is observed through an electronic microscope. Based on the measurement result, a maximum inclusion size is estimated by an extremal statistics method.
A conventional inclusion size shown in
The reason why the maximum inclusion size greatly decreases at that time is presumed that the non-metallic inclusion such as TiN contained in the material is dissolved during melting and rapidly cooled by self-cooling or forced cooling due to local melting in the aforementioned melting-solidifying step (c), thereby suppressing growth of the non-metallic inclusion during re-crystallization in the course of solidification.
<Improvement of Fatigue Strength>
Next, regarding the endless metal ring 10 fabricated in the above manufacturing process, a result of a fatigue test (a dedicated test) on a ring alone is explained below.
As shown in
<Mechanism of Improvement of Fatigue Strength>
From the above details, the mechanism of improving the fatigue strength of the endless metal ring 10 is briefly explained as below. Specifically, the endless metal ring 10 is made of low carbon alloy steel (maraging steel) containing molybdenum. The ring element 5 is formed, over its entire circumference or in a part continuous in the circumferential direction, with the molybdenum segregated area in which the molybdenum with a high melting point is preferentially solidified. In the molybdenum segregated area, much austenite phases are left. Austenite transforms into martensite (deformation induced martensite) under external stress. At that time, the crystal structure changes from a face-centered cubic lattice to body-centered cubic lattice with an expanded volume. Thus, compression stress acts on crystal grain boundary that is likely to be cracked. This can suppress development of cracks against external stress. That is, the austenite phase left in the molybdenum segregated area formed in the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) provides an effect of suppressing crack growth or development.
When the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) are formed by local heating, the non-metallic inclusion such as TiN contained in the material is refined in the course of solidification by rapid cooling. Because of refining of the non-metallic inclusion, the non-metallic inclusion which may initiate inner crack(s) is significantly decreased. Specifically, the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) formed by local heating can also provide an effect of reducing cracks that initiate at inclusion in a very high cycle region (a region exceeding 107 cycles).
From the above, the endless metal ring 10 produced from the ring elements 5 formed with the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) on its entire circumference or in a part continuous in the circumferential direction is formed with the molybdenum segregated area in which much austenite phases are left and also the non-metallic inclusion which may initiate cracks is reduced, thus largely improving the fatigue strength.
<Operations and Effects>
As explained above in detail, according to the manufacturing method of the endless metal ring 10 in the present embodiment, the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) are formed on the outer circumference of the annular member 1 made of maraging steel containing molybdenum. Thus, in the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43), molybdenum (Mo) with a higher melting point than other alloy elements is preferentially solidified, forming a segregated area(s). Molybdenum is an austenite stabilizing element and therefore the molybdenum segregated area contains much residual austenite phases in portions where austenite should inherently transform into martensite.
Since the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) are arranged to be continuous in the circumferential direction of the ring element 5, the ring element 5 is formed with the molybdenum segregated area continuous in the circumferential direction. That is, the residual austenite phases left by the molybdenum segregated area are formed to be continuous in the circumferential direction of the ring element 5. Austenite partially transforms into martensite (deformation induced martensite) under pressure from outside. At that time, a crystal structure changes from a face-centered cubic lattice to a body-centered cubic lattice with an expanded volume. Thus, compression stress acts on a crystal grain boundary that is likely to be cracked. This can suppress development of cracks against external stress. The amount of residual austenite at that time is preferably on the order of 2 to 3% by volume which is effective for fatigue property. The present invention can realize this. The endless metal ring 10 manufactured by the above method can provide greatly increased fatigue life even when a constant stress amplitude repeatedly acts on the endless metal ring 10.
According to the present embodiment, since the melted-solidified layers 4, (41, 42, 43) are formed by locally heating and cooling the outer circumference of the annular member 1, the molybdenum segregated area can be formed without deforming the annular member 1.
Because of the local heating and cooling, the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) are cooled immediately after they are melted. Accordingly, although the non-metallic inclusion such as TiN contained in a row material is dissolved in the course of melting, the cooling speed in the course of solidifying is fast and thus the growth of non-metallic inclusion during recrystallization is suppressed, thereby prompting refining. This refining of non-metallic inclusion enables suppression of fatigue failure which is apt to initiate at inclusion. Consequently, the fatigue life of the endless metal ring 10 can be further improved.
In this case, because of the local heating and cooling, it is unnecessary to perform re-melting in a raw-material manufacturing step as in the technique of Patent Document 3 and there is less influence on productivity. Furthermore, limitation to use only high-pure raw material is reduced, contributing to cost reduction. The solution (annealing) heat treatment is performed after the melting-solidifying step as needed. This can uniformize molybdenum in the molybdenum segregated area.
According to the present embodiment, since the melted-solidified layers 42 and 43 are formed by circularly or spirally heating and cooling the outer circumference of the annular member 1, the circular or spiral width and feed pitch are arbitrarily set so that the melted-solidified layers 42 and 43 are formed in the annular member over the entire circumference or in the part continuous in the circumferential direction. For instance, when the circular or spiral width and feed pitch are set within the width of the ring element 5, the outer circumference of the ring element 5 can be formed with the melted-solidified layers 42 and 43 of at least one turn. Thus, the molybdenum segregated area can be formed on the entire circumference of the ring element 5 or may be formed only in a part desired for strengthening. This can ensure a predetermined residual austenite amount nearly equal in a predetermined width in the circumferential direction to improve the fatigue strength of the endless metal ring 10.
According to the present embodiment, since the melted-solidified layers 42 or 43 are formed in the axial end portions 53 of the ring element 5, the predetermined residual austenite amount in the axial end portions 53 of the ring element 5 can be endured nearly equal in the circumferential direction. The stress amplitude during use of the endless metal ring 10 in a CVT largely acts on the axial end portions 53 more than an axial central portion of the endless metal ring 10. Thus, the predetermined residual austenite amount can be ensured to be nearly equal in the circumferential direction in the axial end portions 53 of the endless metal ring 10 on which the stress amplitude will largely acts. This can effectively improve the fatigue strength of the endless metal ring 10.
According to the present embodiment, the melted-solidified layers 4 are formed of the plurality of linear melted-solidified layers 41 formed by heating and cooling the outer circumference of the annular member 1 in the axial direction so that adjacent ones of the layers 41 are continuous with each other. Thus, the predetermined residual austenite amount can be ensured to be nearly equal in the entire outer circumference of the annular member. Accordingly, the predetermined residual austenite amount can be ensured nearly equal in the entire circumference of the severed ring element 5 having a predetermined width. Herein, when the linear melted-solidified layers 41 are to be formed so that adjacent ones are continuous with each other, they do not always need to be continuous on the inner circumference side of the annular member 1 as long as the outer circumference side is continuous. This is because, in a case where the endless metal ring 10 is used in a CVT, the stress amplitude more largely acts on the outer circumferential side than on the inner circumferential side of the endless metal ring 10.
According to the present embodiment, the forced cooling can shorten the solidification time, thereby enabling forming the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) while maintaining the outer shape and thickness of the annular member 1. Since the re-crystallization speed of TiN and others in the course of solidification is fast, the growth of non-metallic inclusion is suppressed and thus refining can be further prompted. In addition, this further prompted refining of non-metallic inclusion can suppress the fatigue failure which is likely to initiate at inclusion. This makes it possible to further improve the fatigue life of the endless metal ring 10.
According to the present embodiment, since the heating is laser heating or plasma heating, even alloy steel containing alloy elements (e.g., molybdenum) with high heat input density and high melting point melts at high speed, thereby enabling forming the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) in a short time on the outer circumference of the annular member 1 made of maraging steel containing molybdenum. Thus, the productivity of the endless metal ring 10 is not inhibited. Since the laser heating or plasma heating is local heating and cooling, the refining of the non-metallic inclusion is prompted, thus suppressing fatigue failure which may initiate at inclusion.
According to the present embodiment, the annular member 1 is formed by joining the ends of a plate material made of maraging steel. This annular member 1 can be easily manufactured with an arbitrary outer diameter. This joining method includes diffusion joining and others as well as laser welding or plasma welding.
According to the present embodiment, since the annular member 1 is formed by extrusion molding of a billet made of maraging steel, a seamless annular member 1 can be manufactured. Since the seamless annular member 1 made of maraging steel containing molybdenum is formed, the residual austenite is left to be continuous in a more uniform amount in the circumferential direction in the molybdenum segregated area formed by melting and solidifying.
According to another embodiment, it is sufficient to provide the retaining device 7 retaining the annular member 1 rotatably in the circumferential direction and the local heating device 3 placed to aim at the outer circumferential surface of the annular member 1. Thus, the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) can be formed in a short time to be continuous on the outer circumference of the annular member with a simple device. For instance, the retaining device 7 is configured to continuously rotate the annular member 1 in order to form the melted-solidified layers 42 or 43 in circular or spiral form and to intermittently rotate the annular member 1 in order to form a plurality of linear melted-solidified layers 41. Movement of the annular member 1 in the axial direction can be performed by the retaining device 7. Instead of moving the annular member 1 in the axial direction, the torch 31 of the local heating device 3 may be moved or swung.
According to another embodiment of the invention, since the endless metal ring 10 to be used in a vehicle CVT is made of low carbon alloy steel containing molybdenum and the ring element is melted and solidified over the entire circumference or in the part continuous in the circumferential direction, the molybdenum segregated area is formed in the entire circumference or the part continuous in the circumferential direction of the endless metal ring 10. Since molybdenum is an austenite stabilizing element, much austenite phases are left in the molybdenum segregated area. Austenite transforms into martensite (deformation induced martensite) under external stress. At that time, the crystal structure changes from a face-centered cubic lattice to a body-centered cubic lattice with an expanded volume. Thus, compression stress acts on crystal grain boundary that is likely to be cracked. This can suppress development of cracks against external stress. Consequently, the endless metal ring 10 can provide greatly increased fatigue life even when constant stress amplitude repeatedly acts on the endless metal ring 10. It is to be noted that the low carbon alloy steel forms less thermally transformed martensite, and thus can avoid an increase in hardness more than necessary and maintain predetermined elongation. According to the configuration of another embodiment of the invention, it is possible to make sure the predetermined residual austenite amount continuous in the circumferential direction of the endless metal ring 10 while maintaining the predetermined hardness and elongation, and improve fatigue strength to the stress amplitude repeatedly acting in the circumferential direction.
According to another embodiment, since the low carbon alloy steel is maraging steel, the excellent strength characteristic can be ensured by the aging treatment.
The aforementioned embodiments may be changed without departing from the essential characteristics of the invention.
For instance, although the above embodiments shows that the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) formed on the outer circumference of the annular member 1 are formed to penetrate from the outer circumference 11 to the inner circumference 12 of the annular member 1, they are not always necessary formed to penetrate to the inner circumference 12 of the annular member 1. This is because the stress amplitude that will act on the endless metal ring 10 used in a CVT is larger on the outer circumference side of the endless metal ring 10 than on the inner circumference side. In this case, the melted-solidified layers 4 (41, 42, 43) can be formed in a shorter time and thus the productivity can be further improved.
The present invention is utilizable to a method and device for manufacturing an endless metal ring that will constitute a drive belt to circularly turn between a drive shaft pulley and a driven shaft pulley of a vehicle, a manufacturing device, and an endless metal ring.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2012/058124 | 3/28/2012 | WO | 00 | 8/4/2014 |
