Influence of Some Superfinishing Processes on Surface Integrity in Automotive Industry

Due to the increasing demand on many transmissions parts, such as synchronizing gears, crankshafts or camshafts, surface integrity along with appropriate fatigue performance is becoming a key issue in automotive industry. This paper proposes an experimental study covering the influence of three superfinishing processes on surface integrity of a SAE 5120 steel: belt-finishing, ball burnishing and mass-finishing. Surface and sub- surface properties, i.e. residual stresses, near surface microstructure, surface roughness and bearing parameters, have been analyzed to highlight the influence of different process parameters, to compare each process to another and assess the benefits compared to conventional turning.