Effect of Induction Quenching and Tempering Temperature on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure Evolution of 45 Steel for Linear Guide

In this paper, the influence of induction quenching and tempering temperatures on the evolution of mechanical properties and microstructure of 45 steel for linear guides were investigated based on the tensile, impact, hardness tests and fracture morphology. The results indicate that the hardness of untempered and 200 degrees C tempered samples are higher and the difference is not significant, while the hardness of 300 and 400 degrees C tempered samples decrease as tempering temperature increases. Lower tensile strengths are observed in untempered and 200 degrees C tempered samples, which increase significantly after being tempered at 300 degrees C and then decrease slightly after being tempered at 400 degrees C. As the tempering temperature remains constant, the impact toughness value steadily declines as the quenching temperature rises, whereas when the quenching temperature remains constant, the impact toughness increases as the tempering temperature rises. The optimum induction quenching temperature was finally determined to be 850-900 degrees C, and the optimum tempering temperature was 300 degrees C. The findings of this study can be used to develop technical guidelines for the design of induction hardening and tempering process parameters for linear guides.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the influence of induction quenching and tempering temperatures on the mechanical properties and microstructure evolution of 45 steel for linear guides. The results show that the tempering temperature has a significant effect on the hardness and tensile strength, with a decrease in hardness and an increase in tensile strength after tempering. The quenching temperature has a significant effect on the impact toughness, with a steady decline in impact toughness as the quenching temperature rises.