Distortion Engineering – Identification of Causes for Dimensional and Form Deviations of Bearing Rings

Distortion of power transmission parts after heat treatment is influenced by each step of the process chain, ranging from material production to hard-machining. However, an experimental analysis for each production step in the manufacture of bearing rings has shown that distortion is significantly influenced by turning before heat treatment. Elastic ring deformation caused by fixing the workpiece in the chuck leads to a variation of the depth of cut and polygonal form deviations occur after machining. In addition the cutting process induces locally varying residual stresses which also contribute to dimensional and form deviations of machined rings. In this paper results from experimental investigations of the principle physical causes for the distortion of bearing rings are presented and discussed. Finally, strategies for the minimization of distortion are derived.