Engineered Surfaces2003
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UNDERSTANDING AND BENEFITING FROM TIMKEN ENGINEERED SURFACES
The Timken Company
Operating environment directly impacts the life and reliability of motion control components. Factors such as inadequate lubrication, poor maintenance, excessive load, increased friction, vibration and debris can result in component failures due to wear, fatigue, pitting, scuffing and bending.
To help resolve many types of performance problems, several engineered surface technologies exist to improve the wear, fatigue and frictional performance of equipment including bearings, hydrostatics, engine components and gear systems.
These engineered surface technologies range from topographical changes to complex coatings that yield low friction and superior wear resistance. Ideally, these coatings and surface finishes are carefully selected based on a thorough analysis of the material, operating environment and application requirements. Both surface finish and coating technology may be applied alone or in combination to maximize the performance characteristics of the component.
Engineered Surfaces:
THE TIMKEN CORPORATION
Engineered Surfaces2003
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- increase component life
- maximize torque capacity/power density
- reduce frictional power losses
- reduce component wear
- reduce replacement costs
- increase debris resistance
- address poor lubrication applications
- increase performance
THE TIMKEN CORPORATION
Engineered Surfaces2003
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- minimize redesign costs
ADVANCED RESEARCH
The Timken Company's Engineered Surfaces business is a service which treats a component and returns it to the customer for use in their application. The company's toolbox of technologies is an innovation that Timken researchers have been studying for years. Through the company's understanding of the mechanisms of friction, lubrication and wear of interacting surfaces, Timken is uniquely able to use specialized vapor deposited coatings and surface finishes that change the surface material, surface design or subsurface design of a component.
SELECTING THE RIGHT SURFACE ENGINEERED SOLUTION
Selecting the right coating or modification is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Applying engineered surfaces requires the understanding of how surface modification and coatings interact to diminish or enhance performance. This requires a high level of expertise in analyzing the operating environment, understanding the performance limits and developing an optimized solution to achieve the performance requirements of the customer. These requirements call for a special level of technical knowledge. Topographical modification or specialized coatings are offered in varying degrees to enhance the performance of new or existing designs.
Some engineered surfaces offered by The Timken Company include topographical modifications designed to address wear, friction and increase fatigue life. Various surface coatings exist to provide superior scuffing and fretting protection to sliding contacts, fatigue-life enhancement to rolling contacts, resistance to abrasion wear, adhesive shaft wear, and tribochemical wear from sliding contact.
APPLICATIONS
Engineered Surfaces technology is not restricted to use on Timken components, and is available to component manufacturers across the industrial marketplace. To date, this successful technology is being utilized in a variety of applications for bearings, precision components, gears and more. New applications are evaluated daily as Timken's experience and expertise grow with this technology.
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One example where various engineered surface technologies are currently used to address common problems is with a tapered roller bearing. Here, researchers have addressed situations where inadequate lubrication occurs which in the past resulted in the scoring and scuffing at roller ends and rib faces. With the application of this technology, Timken has found that Engineered Surface tapered roller bearing survived these extreme operating conditions. This surface coating also combats problems caused by foreign material (bruising and abrasive wear), peeling, electric current (arc pitting or fluting), fatigue spalling and false brinelling.
Each application or problem needs an engineering review and an individual solution. Turnaround time for initial analysis can be as quick as one to two weeks, with a total turnaround time for treated components, depending on volume and current factory loading, of less than four to six weeks.
OUTSTANDING RESULTS
Positive results continue to emerge as Timken's Engineered Surface business grows in the industrial marketplace.
One example of success in the field is in high performance race engine applications. Problems in valve spring performance stemmed from surface defects and fatigue, resulted in the fracture of the valve spring and ultimately catastrophic engine failure. Surface modifications resulted in a decrease of the quantity and size of surface defects, directly decreasing the number of fatigue initiation sites and longer life under the rigors of NASCAR racing.
Another example is in gearing systems where significant performance improvements are found. Here, treating a sun gear in a power train drive system increased the gear life in excess of 300 percent. And independent tests have shown to increase the scuffing torque limit by as much as 70 percent and increase pitting torque limit by as much as 33 percent.
To find out more about Timken Engineered Surfaces and how they can work best for your application, visit
THE TIMKEN CORPORATION