Bearing cage treated with plasma-nitriding
AssigneeSchaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG
InventorsRoland Plum, Peter Glöckner, Johannes Bedenk
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Abstract
A method of forming a bearing cage is generally disclosed herein. The method includes (i) forming a bearing cage from either titanium or a titanium alloy; and (ii) applying a plasma-nitriding treatment to at least one surface of the bearing cage to form a compound layer of titanium nitride including TiN and Ti2N on an outer region of the at least one surface. Step (ii) further forms a diffusion zone adjacent to the outer region, in one aspect. A surface hardness of the bearing cage that is treated by the plasma-nitriding step is at least 1000 HV. The bearing cage is configured to be used in a turbofan, turboprop, or turboshaft engine or in a helicopter gearbox, in one aspect.
Claims16
A method of forming a bearing cage, the method comprising:
- (i) forming a bearing cage from Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al;
- (ii) applying a plasma-nitriding treatment to at least one surface of the bearing cage to form a compound layer of titanium nitride including TiN and Ti2N on an outer region of the at least one surface, wherein a surface hardness at the outer region of the at least one surface is at least 1300 HV.
A bearing cage comprising:
- a cage structure defining a plurality of rolling element pockets configured to support rolling elements,
- wherein the bearing cage is formed from Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al, and at least one surface of the bearing cage is plasma-nitrided to form a compound layer of titanium nitride including TiN and Ti2N on an outer region of the at least one surface, and
- wherein the bearing cage is used in a turbofan, turboprop, or turboshaft engine, or in a helicopter gearbox.
A method of forming a bearing cage, the method comprising:
- (i) forming a bearing cage from Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al;
- and
- (ii) applying a plasma-nitriding treatment to at least one surface of the bearing cage to form:
- a compound layer of titanium nitride including TiN and Ti2N on an outer region of the at least one surface, and
- a diffusion zone adjacent to the outer region;
- wherein the compound layer has a depth of at least 0.0015 mm and the diffusion zone has a depth of at least 0.03 mm.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.