Method of producing bearing component and bearing comprising the bearing component

Abstract: A method of producing a bearing component for a bearing having an inner ring (2), an outer ring (1) and rolling elements (3) having a solid lubricant on a frictional surface part thereof, which consists in forming a coating layer (6′, 7) of a material on a frictional surface part of a metal substrate, the solubilities of the coating material in the substrate metal and in the solid lubricant being higher than the mutual solubility of the substrate metal and the solid lubricant, forming on a surface part of the coating layer (6′, 7) a solid lubricant layer (8) consisting of a metallic material having a low solubility in the substrate metal, and maintaining the solid lubricant layer (8), the coating layer (6′, 7) and the metal substrate for a predetermined period of time at a predeter­ mined temperature of below the lower one of the maximum operating temperature of the bearing component and the melting point of the solid lubricant so as to induce mutual diffusion between the metal substrate, the coating and the solid lubricant, thereby increasing the bonding strength between them.

Description: This invention relates to a method of producing a bearing used, for example, for an X-ray tube and to a bearing comprising the bearing component. In general, lubrication of a bearing is effected by supplying a liquid lubricant such as an oil to the frictional part of each component of the bearing, for example, an outer ring, an inner ring, rolling elements, a cage member, a shaft, etc. However, in some cases the liquid lubricant cannot be used because of the temperature or atmosphere to which they are subjected. For instance, in such conditions as high temperature, a high degree of vacuum, low temperature or a radioactive atmosphere, liquid lubricants tend to be evaporated, solidified or deteriorated, loosing their lubricating function. U.S. Patent No. 2354763 discloses an example of a bearing in which a solid lubricant is used in place of a liquid lubricant when liquid lubricants cannot be used. However, in the example described in the U.S. Patent, the coating of solid lubricant was liable to be exfoliated and the process for coating the solid lubricant was complicated. In Japanese Patent Publication No. 5586/74, it is disclosed to produce rolling elements for a bearing from tungsten carbide when liquid lubricants are inapplicable. However, it is difficult to produce rolling elements of tungsten carbide with good accuracy, and tungsten carbide is poor in shock resistance and wear strength. As to the materials for a metallic substrate composing a solid-lubricated bearing and for a solid lubricant to be coated on the surface of the substrate, for example, when a ferrous material is used for the substrate, it is preferable to use silver or lead as the solid lubricant. This example of material application is particularly desirable, from the viewpoint of use or forming, in the case of a bearing for an X-ray tube which employs a small-diameter rolling bearing of a shaft diameter of 10 mm or less and is used at a high temperature of not lower than 300°C in a high vacuum of at least 10⁻⁶ torr. The reasons why silver or lead is desirable as the solid lubricant are as follows: (1) it is hardly soluble in, and hardly adhered to, other metals, particularly ferrous metals; (2) therefore adhesive wear is reduced when silver or lead is used as solid lubricant; (3) it is highly adaptive since it is a soft metal; (4) since silver has a low vapor pressure even at high temperatures, it is hardly losed through evaporation and it pollutes the atmosphere very little, etc. However, when silver or lead is used as a solid lubricant for a bearing, the characteristic feature of hardly being adhered to the ferrous metal constituting the substrate offers a problem itself. Namely, when silver or lead is coated on a frictional surface of the substrate (this is required for using it as a solid lubricant in a bearing), mere coating of it on the substrate will result in the exfoliation thereof for the above-mentioned reasons. It seems that the problem of exfoliation encountered in the case of bonding such materials to each other can be solved relatively easily by a conventional technique in which an element easily soluble in both the substrate and the solid lubricant is previously disposed between them by an ion plating method with the intention of obtaining a sufficient adhesion strength therebetween (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 138929/78). However, the ion plating method is inadvantageous in that a solid lubricant film produced by the method is liable to exfoliate when used in a bearing component and that the method is low in productivity. The ion plating method is particularly unsuitable to mass-produced single-kind articles such as roller bearing. The reason is that the method requires processing in vacuum, complicated apparatus, troublesome operations, high techniques for the process and rigorous setting of optimum process conditions. In addition, since the process is carried out in an isolated atmosphere of vacuum, the setting of the thickness of the film, for example, may require an extremely large volume of experimental work. Furthermore, the yield of the material is low. Namely, in the ion plating method in which silver or lead is vapourized in a vacuum and is coated on a substrate being applied with a high voltage, all the vapourized silver or lead is not coated effectively on the substrate, but rather, a considerable amount of the metal is deposited on the interior walls of the vacuum vessel or on parts inside the vessel. This is a great loss, in view of the high price of silver. It is proposed in US-A-2,283,219 to make a bearing from a length of nickel-copper alloy tubing which is given a silver-lead alloy layer by heating to 2000-2100°F (about 1090-1150°C), which is above the melting point of silver, stated to be 1800°F (about 1000°C). FR-A-981 367 describes electrolyte deposition of two metals, e.g. Ag-Pb, Cu-Pb, on a bearing component, followed by assembly of the bearing and thereafter heat treatment of the bearing to achieve mutual diffusion of the two metals to form an alloy. This alloy constitutes the lubricant layer. DD-A-71264 proposes the production of a hard layer on a sliding surface in a sliding arrangement by applying two metal layers, e.g. Cu/Sn, Cu/In-Pb, and heating at a temperature above the melting point of the second layer to produce an alloy. Only flat surfaces are exemplified for this treatment. The present invention in its method aspect is set out in claims 1 and 2. The bearing of the invention is set out in claim 7. The diffusion heat treatment is carried out in such thermal conditions as to ensure that an elemental metal acting as a solid lubricant exists at a surface part of the solid lubricant layer, while the other part of the solid lubricant layer and the intermediate coating layer are alloyed with each other by mutual diffusion to increase the bonding strength at the interface therebetween and to enhance the mechanical properties of the bulk of both the intermediate coating layer and the solid lubricant layer. Accordingly, based particularly on the fact that a rigid alloy layer can be obtained by heating two kinds of metals to a high temperature to induce mutual diffusion of the metals, this invention aims at producing a bearing component of high adhesion strength by relatively simple means, that is, by coating on a substrate of a bearing at least one layer of an element having a high solubility in the substrate, heat-treating the substrate and the coating, and further coating a solid lubricant thereon, followed by a heat treatment so as to cause mutual alloying of the layers. Incidentally, diffusivity of a metal is briefly discussed below. The concentration Cx of a diffusing metal A in a diffusion model varies depending on the distance x, time t and the diffusivity D, as expressed by the following equation (1): Cx=Co+{1-( x 2 Dt )}(Cs-Co) where Cs and Co are concentrations determined by the following boundary conditions C=Co at t=0 and 0<x<∞ C=Cs at x=0 and 0<t<∞ The function ( x 2 Dt ) in the equation (1) is Gauss' error function, the relationship between ( x 2√Dt ) and x 2 Dt is shown in Fig. 2. It is clear from Fig. 2 that the concentration Cx at a given distance x increases as the diffusivity D and time t increase. Since the diffusivity D is larger at a higher ambient temperature, it is favorable to carry out the diffusion heat treatment at a higher temperature. The above explanation applies also to the diffusion of metal B into metal A. Ferrous metals, which are generally used as material for the substrate of a bearing, and a solid lubricant of silver or lead are hardly soluble in each other. Therefore, if silver or lead is directly coated on a bearing substrate, the adhesion between the substrate and the coating is poor and the coating is liable to exfoliate. Furthermore, since the ferrous metal displays alloy phases as a result of addition of carbon and other various alloying elements and of heat treatments, it has a D value smaller than those of pure metals. However, in the method of this invention, as described above, an element highly soluble in ferrous metals is coated on a ferrous metal substrate, the thus obtained material is heated to a predetermined temperature for diffusion treatment to form a pure metallic element layer adhered to the ferrous metal with a sufficient adhesion strength. Then, at least one layer of an element having a solubility in silver or lead higher than that of the ferrous metal, or of an element having a high solubility in the previously coated element, is further coated and the whole is subjected to a diffusion heat treatment to induce mutual alloying of the layers, thereby enhancing the connection between them. Other features and effects of this invention will be apparent from the following description of the examples, referring to the attached drawings wherein: Fig. 1 is a partial sectional view of a bearing comprising rolling elements which are the solid-lubricated bearing component produced by the method of this invention; Fig. 2 is a graph showing Gauss' error function; Figs. 3a and 3b are model diagrams showing the diffusion conditions of metals; Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view of the rolling element shown in Fig. 1 and shows the enlarged details of the solid lubricant and the intermediate coating layer provided for the rolling element. Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a part of a rolling bearing comprising the rolling elements (3) produced by the method of this invention, in which numeral 1 denotes an outer ring, numeral 2 denotes an inner ring, numeral 4 denotes rolling element supporting members (the rings 1, 2 and the members 3 are made of high speed steel), numeral 5 denotes a solid lubricant and an intermediate coating layer, and numeral 6 denotes a shaft 6. In this example, the outside peripheral surface of the rolling element made of high speed steel is finally coated with a silver layer which acts as the solid lubricant. The shaft 6 is made of high speed steel. The maximum operating temperature of the high speed steels is about 550°C. Firstly, the rolling element 3 is sufficiently washed and degreased. Then an element more soluble than silver in bearing steels, for example, nickel was coated as a first intermediate layer on the peripheral surface of the rolling element 3 in a thickness of 0.1-0.3 µm, for example, by electroplating. The Ni bath used in electroplating was one containing 100-300 g of NiCl₂ and 50-150 g of HCI per 1 l of aqueous nickel solution. The rolling elements 3 were placed in a conductive basket which was immersed in the Ni bath, and electroplating was carried out at a current density of 4-5 A/dm² for 30 sec to 2 min. A preferable bath temperature is 10-25°C. In the electroplating process, the basket is swung at a frequency of 0.1-1 times per second and at an amplitude of 1-10 cm, whereby the rolling elements 3 are moved freely in the basket and nickel 6' (Fig. 4) is deposited on the peripheral surfaces of the rolling elements in a substantially uniform thickness. As is shown in Fig. 4, a copper layer 7 is then deposited on the outside peripheral surface of the nickel layer 6' by electroplating, in a thickness smaller than that of the nickel layer 6' and in the range of 0.05-0.2 µm. The copper bath used for the electroplating was one containing 20-70 g (preferably 40-60 g) of CuCN, 30-70 g (preferably 40-60 g) of KCN and 40-80 g (preferably 50-70 g) of potassium sodium tartrate per 1 l of aqueous copper solution. The same basket as used in the Ni electroplating step was immersed in the copper bath, the rolling elements were placed in the basket and electroplating was conducted at a current density of 4-5 A/dm² for 10-60 sec. A preferable bath temperature is 40-60°C. The basket was swung in the same swinging conditions as in Ni electroplating, whereby a copper coating layer 7 is formed on the surface of the nickel layer 6' in a substantially uniform thickness. Then, a silver layer 8 acting as a solid lubricant is deposited on the surface of the copper coating layer 7 by electroplating, in a thickness larger than that of the Ni layer 6' and in the range of 0.2-0.6 µm. The silver bath used was one containing 20-60 g (preferably 30-50 g) of AgCN, 55-95 g (preferably 65-85 g) of KCN and 5-25 g of K₂CO₃ per 1 l of aqueous silver solution. The same conductive basket as used in the Ni electroplating step was immersed in the silver bath, the rolling elements 3 were placed in the basket and electroplating was conducted at a current density of 0.2-1.0 A/dm² for 1-5 min. A preferable bath temperature is 40-60°C. The basket was swung in the same manner as in the Ni electroplating step, whereby a silver coating 8 was formed on the surface of the Cu layer 7 in a substantially uniform thickness. It is preferable that the total thickness of the Ni layer, the Cu layer and the Ag layer is in the range of 0.4-1.0 µm. Then, the rolling elements having the Ag layer in addition to the Ni and Cu coating layers thereon were maintained at a temperature of not higher than 550°C (the maximum operating temperature for the high-speed steel), preferably 500-540°C in a reduction gas atmosphere (H₂ gas) or in a reducing atmosphere, preferably in a vacuum of about 10⁻⁵ torr for 30 min to 2 hours. By this heat treatment, mutual diffusion was induced between the Ag layer, the Ni and Cu coating layers and the metal substrate over the entire surfaces thereof, resulting in that the Ag layer and the Ni and Cu coating layers were rigidly bonded to the metal substrate. In this case, as a result of the above-mentioned diffusion heat treatment conditions in addition to the above-mentioned layer thickness criteria (wherein the thickness of the Ag layer is set to be larger than that of the Cu layer), the pure silver layer displaying a lubricating action remains even after the diffusion heat treatment, and the coating layers other than the pure silver layer and the part between the coating layer and the pure silver layer are entirely alloyed with each other, whereby mechanical properties are improved and the pure silver layer is made to be less liable to exfoliate. In addition, the melting point of silver used as the solid lubricant metal is about 960°C, whereas the final diffusion heat treatment is carried out at a temperature of 550°C at maximum, so that the silver can not melt during the treatment. When the intermediate coating layers or the solid lubricant layer is not substantially uniform in thickness, or when the thicknesses of the layers are in excess of the above-mentioned ranges, the solid lubricant becomes more liable to be exfoliated, for example, by a local deformation arising from the stresses applied to the rolling elements during operation thereof. Besides, rolling bearings must satisfy the requirements of very high dimensional accuracy. Particularly, the shape and the surface roughness of the rolling elements and the inner and outer rings have great effects on the performance of the bearing. Therefore, when a solid lubricant is coated on the surfaces of these components, the lubricant must be applied in the smallest thickness possible and the surface roughness must be reduced. According to this invention, a metallic element easily soluble in the ferrous metal constituting the material for the bearing is coated on a bearing component and then, after a diffusion treatment or without this diffusion treatment, a layer of an element easily soluble in silver is provided thereon, whereby silver can be adhered to the bearing component in a minimum required thickness. Thus, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the solid lubricant film to 1 µm or less. For maintaining a high accuracy of a rolling bearing, the inner and outer rings and the rolling elements are always treated as a unitary combination. Therefore, in the invention the heat treatments for the bearing components are carried out in the condition where the components are assembled into a unit. However, when the components are heat-treated in the assembled condition, they may adhere to each other. For this reason, the heat treatment in the invention is conducted while surrounding each bearing component with a powder of a nonmetallic solid lubricant such as MoS₂, WS₂, NbSe₂ and WSe₂ of a particle size of 0.5-5 µm. In this case, since the bearing components are separated from each other by the nonmetallic solid lubricant, it is possible to conduct a diffusion heat treatment without causing any adhesion between the components. The above-mentioned nonmetallic solid lubricant has also an effect of promoting the running-in of a solid-lubricated rolling bearing, it is not necessary to remove the nonmetallic lubricant after the heat treatment. Although the bearing component to be treated was the rolling element in the above-described example, other components such as outer ring, inner ring, rolling element support member, bearing holder part, shaft, etc. can also be treated in the same manner. In the case of a rolling bearing, since a solid lubricant given to rolling elements is applied with compressive stresses, it is less liable to exfoliate as compared with the case of providing the lubricant on an outer or inner ring. In addition, although electroplating was used as a means for coating a metal on a substrate in the above-described example, this is preferable merely because of the short treating time and, of course, other means can also be used, e.g., vacuum deposition, sputtering, friction coating method, etc. In the example described above, a ferrous metal, particularly bearing steel was used as the material for the substrate, silver being used for the solid lubricant layer, and nickel and copper being used as elements to be interposed between the substrate and the lubricant layer. This is an example of use of materials suitable to the most usual bearing, and other materials may, of course, be used according to the kind, use and etc. of the bearing. As has been stated above, this invention is based on the fact that when metals are heat-treated at a high temperature, they can form an alloy through mutual diffusion, thereby increasing the adhesion strength, and the parts of layers other than surface parts are also alloyed and strengthened. In the method of this invention, at least one intermediate layer of an element having a solubility into the solid lubricant (silver or lead) higher than solubility of a substrate of bearing thereinto is provided between the solid lubricant and the substrate, and the whole body is heat-treated to induce alloying between the layers. Therefore, a solid-lubricated bearing comprising a coating of silver, lead, or the like with high adhesion strength can be produced easily and inexpensively. Accordingly, a solid-lubricated bearing component comprising a coating of silver or lead can be obtained without employing the ion plating method which requires expensive equipment and high technique. There is also obtained a bearing comprising a solid lubricant having a higher adhesion strength as compared to those produced by the ion plating method.

Claims: A method of producing a bearing comprising an inner ring (2), an outer ring (1), a rolling element (3) and optionally a shaft (6), one of the bearing components having a solid lubricant at a frictional surface part of a metal substrate constituting that bearing component, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: (a) providing a coating layer (6',7) of a material on the frictional surface part of said metal substrate, the solubility of said material in the substrate metal and in the solid lubricant being higher than the mutual solubility between the substrate metal and the solid lubricant, (b) providing on a surface part of said coating layer a solid lubricant layer (8) which consists of a metal having a lower solubility in said substrate metal, and (c) when the said inner ring (2), outer ring (1) and rolling element (3) are assembled together and with a powder of a non-metallic solid lubricant placed between these assembled components, maintaining said solid lubricant layer (8), said coating layer (6',7) and said metal substrate (3) at a temperature below both the maximum operating temperature of the bearing component and the melting point of the solid lubricant layer (8) for a period of time sufficient to induce mutual diffusion between the substrate metal, the coating material and the solid lubricant layer, thereby increasing the strength of bonding between them. A method of producing a bearing comprising an inner ring (2), an outer ring (1), a rolling element (3) and optionally a shaft (6), one of the bearing components having a solid lubricant of silver at a frictional surface part of a metal substrate of ferrous material constituting that bearing component, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: (a) providing a coating layer (6',7) on said frictional surface part of said metal substrate by electroplating, the solubilities of the coating material in said ferrous material and in the silver lubricant being higher than the mutual solubility of the ferrous material and the silver lubricant, said coating layer comprising a nickel layer (6') bonded to said frictional surface part and a gold or copper layer (7) bonded to said nickel layer, the thickness of the nickel layer being larger than that of the gold or copper layer; (b) electroplating a solid lubricant layer (8) on a surface part of said coating layer (6',7) which consists of silver having a low solubility in said ferrous material and is thicker than said nickel layer; and (c) when the said inner ring (2), outer ring (1) and rolling element (3) are assembled together and with a powder of a non-metallic solid lubricant placed between these assembled components, maintaining said solid lubricant layer (8), said coating layer (6',7) and said metal substrate at a temperature below the maximum operating temperature of the bearing component for a period of time sufficient to induce mutual diffusion of the substrate metal, the coating material and the solid lubricant layer while permitting elemental silver to remain on the surface part of the solid lubricant layer, thereby increasing the strength of bonding between the metal substrate, the coating layer and the solid lubricant layer and strengthening by alloying the coating layer and the interior of the solid lubricant layer. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the thickness of the solid lubricant layer (8) is 0.2-0.6 µm, and the total thickness of the coating layer (6',7) and the solid lubricant layer (8) is 0.4-1.0 µm. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the thickness of the solid lubricant layer (8) is 0.2-0.6 µm, the thickness of the Ni layer (6') is 0.1-0.3 µm and the thickness of the Au or Cu layer (7) is 0.05-0.2 µm, the total thickness of the intermediate coating layers (6',7) and the solid lubricant layer (8) being 0.4-1.0 µm. A method according to claim 2, characterized in that the heat treatment for inducing diffusion is conducted at a temperature of 500-540°C for 30 minutes to 2 hours in a reduction gas atmosphere or in a reducing atmosphere. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said non-metallic solid lubricant is MoS₂, WS₂, NbSe₂ or WSe₂. A bearing having as bearing components an inner ring (2), an outer ring (1) and rolling elements (3) and having a layer of solid lubricant on at least one of the frictional surfaces of metal substrates constituting said bearing components, characterized in that said bearing component having said layer of solid lubricant comprises an intermediate coating layer (6',7) provided between the solid lubricant layer (8) and the metal substrate, the solubility of the material of the coating layer in the metal substrate and in the solid lubricant layer being higher than the mutual solubility between the metal substrate and the solid lubricant layer, the bonding strength between the solid lubricant layer (8) and the intermediate coating layer (6',7) and that between the intermediate coating layer (6',7) and the metal substrate being increased by mutual diffusion, and the solid lubricant layer (8) being a metallic material and in that there is present between said bearing components a powder of non-metallic solid lubricant. A bearing according to claim 7 characterized in that the metal substrate consists of a ferrous material, the solid lubricant layer (8) consists of silver or lead alloy except for the surface thereof and the coating layer (6',7) consists of at least a layer (7) of gold or copper alloy. A bearing according to claim 7 characterized in that the metal substrate consists of a ferrous material, the solid lubricant layer (8) consists of silver or lead alloy except for the surface thereof, and the coating layer (6',7) comprises a Ni alloy layer (6') bonded to the metal substrate and a Au- or Cu-alloy layer (7) bonded to both said Ni alloy layer (6') and the solid lubricant layer (8). A bearing according to claim 9 characterized in that the thickness of the solid lubricant layer (8) is 0.2-0.6 µm and is larger than that of the Ni alloy layer (6'), the thickness of the Ni alloy layer (6') is 0.1-0.3 µm and is larger than that of the Au- or Cu-alloy layer (7), and the thickness of the Au- or Cu-alloy layer (7) is 0.05-0.2 µm, the total thickness of the solid lubricant layer (8) and the coating layer (6',7) being 0.4-1.0 µm. A bearing according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that between the inner ring (2) and the outer ring (1) rolling elements (3) alternate with supporting members (4).

Inventors: DOI MOTOMICHI, NII KATSUTOSHI, OKANO KINPEI, YOKOTA YOSHIHARU, DOI, MOTOMICHI, NII, KATSUTOSHI, OKANO, KINPEI, YOKOTA, YOSHIHARU
Applicants: HITACHI LTD, HITACHI, LTD.
Application year: 1982
Main classification: C25D7
IPC codes: F16C33, C23C10, C23C28, C25D7