Plasmatic hardening application to increase operational durability of rolling mills bearing units

In the article, ways of increasing wear resistance of rolling mills bearing units under conditions of sliding friction are studied. The working surfaces of these details need the surface hardening. Since the details of the bearing units are traditionally made of 45 grade steel, we have studied the features of the formation of the structure and properties of the steel of this grade after plasma hardening without surface reflow. Variation of microstructure depending on hardening regimes was investigated. The microstructure of the steel in the hardening zone was studied by X-ray diffraction and metallographic methods. The possibility of increasing the operational properties of rolling mills bearing units using of plasma hardening of rubbing surfaces was shown. (paper)