A constant velocity universal joint includes an inner ring and an outer ring. A cage is disposed between an outer spherical surface of the inner ring and an inner spherical surface of the outer ring, and has windows in which respective balls are received. The cage has ball contact surface areas with which the balls come into contact, and includes soft portions that are lower in hardness than the ball contact surface areas. The soft portions are formed by local heat treatment at portions of the windows that are kept out of contact with the balls or surface portions around the windows.

In a tandem type cold rolling mill of a circulating oil-feeding system for continuously rolling a steel sheet by feeding a coolant serving as a rolling oil and a cooling water to each stand, an edge heater for heating both edge portions of the steel sheet to not lower than 60° C. as a steel sheet temperature at an entry side of a roll bite is arranged at an upstream side of the first stand in the cold rolling mill and a device for jetting a coolant having a concentration higher than that of the coolant fed to the firsts stand onto surfaces of both edge portions of the steel sheet is arranged between the edge heater and the first stand. The cold rolling mill can be used to roll a hard-to-roll material such as silicon or stainless steel sheet without causing an edge crack or sheet breakage in low-speed rolling.

A method of joining a first component to a second component at respective connection surfaces, comprising, in order, applying a local surface treatment to the connection surface of at least one of the first and second components in order to locally alter the microstructure to a depth of between 60 μm and 10 mm below the connection surface; and joining the first component to the second component using a welding process.

A steel for wheel contains, in mass %, C: 0.65 to 0.84%, Si: 0.4 to 1.0%, Mn: 0.50 to 1.40%, Cr: 0.02 to 0.13%, S: 0.04% or less and V: 0.02 to 0.12%, wherein Fn1 expressed by formula (1) is 32 to 43, and Fn2 expressed by formula (2) is 25 or less, the balance being Fe and impurities. P, Cu and Ni as impurities are P: 0.05% or less, Cu: 0.20% or less and Ni: 0.20% or less:
Fn1=2.7+29.5'C+2.9'Si+6.9'Mn+10.8'Cr+30.3'Mo+44.3'V   (1)
Fn2=exp(0.76)'exp(0.05'C)'exp(1.35'Si)'exp(0.38'Mn)'exp(0.77'Cr)'exp(3.0'Mo)'exp(4.6'V)  (2).
The steel has excellent properties for use as a wheel.

A method for manufacturing a high-strength cold-rolled steel sheet includes a temperature distribution forming step of forming a temperature distribution in a width direction of a steel sheet such that a temperature of the steel sheet increases from an end of the steel sheet in the width direction toward a center part of the steel sheet in the width direction, and a water quenching step of performing water quenching treatment on the steel sheet by immersing, in cooling water, the steel sheet on which the temperature distribution is formed in the width direction.

A method for producing a component by forming a plate from steel at room temperature having a high formability and reduced crack sensitivity of edges that have been mechanically cut or punched on the plate, includes: cutting the plate from a strip or metal sheet at room temperature; heating edge regions of the plate that underwent strain hardening as a result of the cutting step to a temperature of at least 600° C. for a time period of at most 10 seconds; and forming the plate in one or more steps into a component at room temperature, wherein in the forming step the edge regions heated in the heating step are subjected to cold forming.

A method of tempering a plate workpiece entails first fitting the plate workpiece with a shield between first and second shield parts each having a respective mask element so as to cover only an edge region of the workpiece while leaving a more central region of the workpiece exposed. The shield and workpiece are then put in an oven with the plate workpiece fitted between the first and second shield parts. The shield also comprises first and second seals on the first and second parts confronting each other and each displaceable on the respective part between a closely juxtaposed working position in which inner portions of the seals are spaced apart by a distance equal generally to a thickness of the plate workpiece and outer portions of the seal bear on each other and a starting position spaced more widely from and out of engagement with each other. The seals engage and clamp the workpiece in the working position.

A welded steel part with a very high mechanical strength is provided. The welded steel part is obtained by heating followed by hot forming, then cooling of at least one welded blank obtained by butt welding of at least one first and one second sheet. The at least one first and second sheets including, at least in part, a steel substrate and a pre-coating which includes an intermetallic alloy layer in contact with the steel substrate, topped by a metal alloy layer of aluminum or aluminum-based alloy. A method for the fabrication of a welded steel part and the fabrication of structural or safety parts for automotive vehicles are also provided.

A welded steel part with a very high mechanical strength is provided. The welded steel part is obtained by heating followed by hot forming, then cooling of at least one welded blank obtained by butt welding of at least one first and one second sheet. The at least one first and second sheets including, at least in part, a steel substrate and a pre-coating which includes an intermetallic alloy layer in contact with the steel substrate, topped by a metal alloy layer of aluminum or aluminum-based alloy. A method for the fabrication of a welded steel part and the fabrication of structural or safety parts for automotive vehicles are also provided.

A method that improves stretch flange formability of a steel sheet by individual treatment matching a material of the steel sheet without performing heat treatment in a die. This method is a method for manufacturing a steel sheet for cold press, and the steel sheet is manufactured by heating an edge of the steel sheet to a temperature within a heating temperature range preset according to a microstructure of the steel sheet and cooling the steel sheet. A region, within an edge of the steel sheet subjected to shearing in a shearing step, where it is estimated that a stretch flange crack is likely to occur when a press component is formed by cold pressing is determined, and a site to be heated and cooled is set within the region. By press-forming the manufactured steel sheet, a target press component is manufactured.