In particular, the plan proposes to implement a special plan for improving the quality of gear steel. At present, the quality of gear steel in China can not meet the requirements of high-end gear products in terms of service life and reliability. Moreover, with the transformation and upgrading of equipment manufacturing industry, gear products will further move to high-end, and the contradiction between supply and demand of gear steel in terms of quality will further increase.
Industry insiders pointed out that to improve the quality of gear steel, we need to solve the two problems that perplex the gear steel production enterprises.
First, there are many kinds of gear steel systems in China, which directly affect the metallurgical quality of gear steel. China’s gear steel system is the integration of the original Soviet Union, the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and other countries as well as China’s independent system. In addition, in recent years, the automobile industry has carried out joint ventures and technology introduction with Germany, Japan, the United States, South Korea and other countries, which makes it difficult to make statistics on the types of automobile gear steel, seriously affecting the metallurgical quality identification of gear steel.
Second, the standard of gear steel in China is low, which is not recognized by automobile enterprises. Although China’s gear steel standards refer to American standards astma304-2004, saej1268-2010, Japanese standards JIS 64052-2008 and European standards en 10084-2008, some indexes are lower than foreign standards.
Gear steel is the basis of ensuring the quality of gears. To improve the strength, service life and reliability of gears, the quality of gear steel must be improved.
The goal of the implementation of the special project for improving the quality of gear steel is to formulate and promote the application of gear steel standards to meet the needs of domestic middle and high-end gear products, break the monopoly of foreign automobile gear steel technology, achieve the advanced level of foreign similar products in the quality of high-end gear steel, and reduce the cost of gear steel by more than 5%.
The main contents of the project include five aspects.
First, gear branch of China Machinery General Parts Industry Association specially invited relevant departments and leaders of Ministry of industry and information technology and China Machinery Industry Federation to form a research group with industry experts to investigate the current situation of gear steel and find out the specific situation of automobile gear and industrial gear steel in China.
The second is to carry out a series of experimental researches on the influence of metallurgical quality of gear steel on the strength and reliability of gear, the smelting technology of high-purity steel, the influence of quality of gear steel on the distortion and strength of gear heat treatment, and the fatigue limit stress test of gear steel.
The third is to formulate Chinese gear steel standards, which can be divided into three grades: high-end, middle and high-end, and middle end (the main indicators of high-end standards reach the international advanced level), so as to meet the needs of different products.
Fourth, gear branch of China Machinery General Parts Industry Association cooperates with gear steel production and use enterprises to jointly promote gear steel standardization.
The fifth is to promote the centralized purchase of gear steel through the centralized purchase alliance of gear steel, in combination with gear steel production and use enterprises and banks, so as to improve the quality of gear steel, reduce costs and purchase prices.