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The analysis of the used steels for nitrided parts is carried out. On the basis of a new methodology for increasing the strength of structural steels and parts, new scientific approaches and practical solutions are proposed and considered for the creation of gear wheels strengthened by nitriding both when using aluminum containing steels and a new material, 40ХМФА (40KhMFA) steel, that does not contain aluminum. To improve the efficiency and manufacturability of parts production from aluminum-containing 38Х2МЮА (38Kh2MYuA) steel, widely used in mechanical engineering, a fundamentally new technology of preliminary heat treatment of part blanks, “incomplete quenching”, has been developed, which provides both an increase in the machinability and accuracy of large-sized gear wheels, and an increase in strength due to the elimination of flaking of nitrided layer. The research results are presented on 40ХМФА (40KhMFA) steel, which does not contain aluminum, has increased heat resistance, hardenability and workability of parts, as well as the characteristics of the hardened layer. The nitrided layer of gears with a thickness of 0.5–0.7 mm does not contain brittle components, which, with a core hardness of 300–320 HB, also excludes its flaking and subsequent destruction of parts. The use of 40ХМФА (40KhMFA) steel makes it possible to solve the problems of reliability and life of large-sized nitrided gears, but it is also promising for the entire range of gears with internal gearing, as well as parts of movable spline gearings and fine-modular gears in order to replace carburizing with nitriding.

The experience of using known and new steels to improve the manufacturability and strength of the main parts of machines, hardened by nitriding, is generalized. New approaches to manufacture of gear wheels hardened by nitriding, both when using aluminum-containing steels and a new material, steel 40ХМФА, are considered. To improve the efficiency and man ufacturability of parts production from aluminum-containing steel 38Х2МЮА, widely used in mechanical engineering, a fundamentally new technology of preliminary heat treatment of workpieces of parts – “incomplete hardening” has been developed, which provides both an increase in the machinability and accuracy of large-sized gear wheels, and an increase in strength due to the elimination of the brittleness of nitrided layer. The high hardness of the nitrided surface of the parts – up to 900 HV – also ensures high wear resistance of the parts. Gear wheels made of new aluminum-containing steel 20ХН4МФЮА solidified at the nitriding stage, have strength characteristics equal to cemented parts, which allows not only increasing the bearing capacity of a number of products, but significant simplification of the technology of manufacturing precise parts that are complex in shape, replacing carburizing with nitriding, thereby eliminating the necessary after-carburizing finishing operation – grinding. Steel 40ХМФА, which does not contain aluminum, has increased heat resistance, hardenability and machinability of parts, as well as the characteristics of their hardened layer. The nitrided layer of gears 0.5–0.7 mm thick does not contain brittle components, which, with a core hardness of 300–320 HB, excludes its “flaking” and subsequent destruction of parts. The use of 40ХМФА steel makes it possible to solve the problems of reliability and service life of large-sized nitrided gears, but it is also promising for the entire range of gears with internal gearing, as well as parts of movable spline gearings. These characteristics also in some cases allow replacing the carburizing of gears (modulus less than 4 mm) by nitriding when using 40ХМФА steel.

The analysis of the influence of electroslag remelting steel structure on the properties of cemented and nitrided surfaces of machine parts is carried out. It is noted that when using electroslag remelting, the greatest efficiency is achieved in the production of large-sized gearwheels, hardened by cementation and ion nitriding. It is shown that cast steel, crystallized in a water cooled crystallizer, has a strength not lower than forged or rolled with significantly lower anisotropy properties and accelerated carbon diffusion when cementation. The discovered patterns are caused by the structural and chemical homogeneity of boundary grain volumes, which formation is affected by copper impurities. Uniform density of copper in the said volumes not only reduces their propensity to localize plastic deformation, but contributes to a higher ability for uniform carburization of these steels in the process of cementation. This causes a change in the main characteristics of the cemented layers and is the basis for increasing the bearing capacity of the gearwheels. The obtained results also testify to the fact that controlling grain-boundary effects in steel material at the stage of crystallization of blanks can be a significant factor in increasing the characteristics of the hardened layer in the manufacture of nitrided gearwheels from cast blanks of the electroslag redistribution. A set of studies was carried out and results were obtained which indicate that the control of grain boundary effects in modern steel material at the stage of its crystallization may be a significant factor in improving the characteristics of the hardened layer in the manufacture of cemented and nitrated gear wheels from cast billets electroslag remelting.