Method for manufacturing a rolling element bearing

A method for manufacturing a rolling-element bearing, which includes an inner ring having an inner-ring raceway, an outer ring having an outer-ring raceway and a plurality of rolling elements that are rollable on the inner-ring raceway and on the outer-ring raceway, the method comprising:

• forming the inner ring from a steel having a sulfur content of 0.006 to 0.015 mass % and an oxygen content of less than 10 ppm, the inner ring having an inner diameter of at least 50 centimeters,
• subjecting the inner ring to a hardening heat treatment that ends by performing a final hardening heat treatment step at a predetermined temperature,
• cold working the inner-ring raceway to generate compressive residual stresses at least in a surface layer of the inner-ring raceway, the compressive residual stresses having an absolute value of at least 500 MPa at 0.2 mm beneath an outer surface of the inner-ring raceway and a maximum value of 800 MPa or less throughout the inner ring,
• subjecting the cold-worked inner ring to a bluing treatment to form a blued layer on an outer surface of the inner-ring raceway, and
• subjecting the blued inner ring to a thermal post-treatment process at a temperature of at least 100° C. and between 10-100° C. below the predetermined temperature of the final hardening heat treatment step.