A multi-track laser beam process for surface hardening a low-carbon and low manganese steel. The process includes providing cold rolled close annealed (CRCA) steel sheets having in weight percentage, C: 0.03-0.07, Mn: 0.15-0.25 or 1.4, S: 0.005-0.009, P: 0.009-0.014, Si: 0.005-0.02, Al: 0.04, V: 0.001, Nb: 0.001, and Ti: 0.002 and heating the surface of the steel sheet to an austenizing temperature using a multi-track laser beam, where, upon cooling, phase transformation of the initial microstructure to a harder dual phase structure occurs. The surface temperature of the steel sheet may be controlled based on a comparison of the on-line surface temperature effect with pre-stored data representing the desired surface temperature effect to eliminate any possibility of melting the sheet. The development of the desired microstructure of the sheet, including measurement of the hardness level and the fraction of different phases, may be periodically reviewed.

A method for manufacturing a high-strength steel bar can include the steps of: reheating a steel slab at a temperature ranging from 1000° C. to 1100° C., the steel slab including a certain amount of carbon (C), silicon (Si), manganese (Mn), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo), aluminum (Al), vanadium (V), nitrogen (N), antimony (Sb), tin (Sn), and iron (Fe) and other inevitable impurities, The method can further include finish hot-rolling the reheated steel slab at a temperature of 850° C. to 1000° C., and cooling the hot-rolled steel to a martensite transformation start temperature (Ms (° C.)) through a tempcore process.

A novel manufacturing method for functionally graded component includes a cold sprayed additive manufactured core material and a cold sprayed additive manufactured set of teeth around said core made from another material.

A method for heat treatment of an object of sheet metal, includes the step of heating at least one selected portion of the object using an energy beam. The beam is projected onto a surface of the object so as to produce a primary spot on the object, the beam being repetitively scanned in two dimensions in accordance with a scanning pattern so as to establish an effective spot on the object, the effective spot having a two-dimensional energy distribution. The effective spot is displaced in relation to the surface of the object to progressively heat the at least one selected portion of the object. The scanning pattern includes interconnected curved segments.

Disclosed is a tempering station for the partial heat treatment of a metal component, the station including a processing plane arranged in the tempering station, at least one nozzle, aligned to the processing plane, for discharging of a fluid flow for the cooling of at least a first sub-area of the component, and at least one nozzle box, arranged above the processing plane. The at least one nozzle box forms at least one nozzle area in which the at least one nozzle is at least partially arrangeable and/or which at least partially delimits a propagation of the fluid flow, with the at least one nozzle box being at least partially formed with a ceramic material. The tempering station permits a sufficiently reliable thermal delimitation of heat treatment measures partially acting on the component and/or a sufficiently reliable thermal separation of different heat treatment procedures partially acting on the component.

In order to fix a rail of a rail track using a rail machine, the rail machine is moved in a working direction so that at all times a portion of the rail which is not attached to a cross-member of the rail track passes through a thermal conditioning zone of a thermal conditioning device of the rail machine, a temperature of a surface region of the portion of the rail passing through the thermal conditioning zone is modified using the thermal conditioning device by generating a non-homogeneous temperature distribution in the portion of the rail, and the portion of the rail is fixed to a cross-member of the rail track, after modification of the temperature of the surface region of the portion of the rail, without waiting for the temperature distribution in the portion of the rail to be homogenized.

A method is provided for preventing cracking along the surface at the inner hole of a hollow shaft during water quenching, including: a step of water-quenching the inner hole of the shaft placed horizontally, while the outer circle of the shaft is in a state of air cooling, in which the cooling time of the outer circle is selected to be not lower than its A.sub.r1 temperature so as to induce a compressive stress in the surface layer of the inner hole; and a step of water-quenching the outer circle and the inner hole of the shaft simultaneously, moreover, the quenching intensity of the inner hole is gradually reduced to cause a temperature rise in the surface layer of the inner hole to allow martensite in the surface layer to undergo self-tempering, which prevents the formation of quenching cracks along the surface of the inner hole.

A laser shock peening device and components thereof. The optical system of the laser peening device includes sapphire optical elements, such as a lens or a prism. A water channel is provided in a pen for the laser shock peening device that has a curved flow path to direct the water. An air conduit in the pen provides a stream of air to the surface receiving the laser shock peening treatment.

Disclosed is a chain element (2), in particular for a power transmission chain of a chain drive, made of a carbon-containing material, especially steel, characterized by a core layer (5) that has a ferritic matrix structure including at least one hard phase that is distributed therein, and a hardened peripheral layer (6) that has a martensitic structure.

A method is disclosed for pressure forming a metal preform including shock annealing of the preform and subsequently preheating the preform prior to pressure forming. Shock annealing may be carried out as differential shock annealing in which different regions of the preform are annealed to different degrees. Preheating may be carried out by differentially preheating, optionally shock preheating, different regions of the preform for preheating at least those regions of the preform which will be subject to elevated expansion during pressure forming. Shock annealing by induction heating can lower energy consumption, reduce processing times and allow for larger expansion of the preform.