Improvement of Powder Metallurgy Gears for Engines and Transmissions Paul Skoglund, Ola Litstrm Hgans China Ltd Anders Flodin Hgans AB Copyright 2013 SAE Japan and Copyright 2013 SAE International ABSTRACT This paper presents the progress in Powder Metallurgy (PM) Gears, including examples of how to combine the disciplines of materials-, design- and process technology to push the limits towards increased performance, reduced weight, energy consumption and total manufacturing cost. Advancements in materials and manufacturing technology for PM gears will be presented as well as the result from simulations and reverse engineering work on existing automotive transmissions. The results from this work show that the amount and type of load on the individual gears in auto transmissions are very different and this gives room for optimized selection of material and manufacturing process. PM gears do not have the same geometrical design limits as conventional gears machined from wrought steel, and in this paper it is exemplified how modifications of macro- and micro gear geometries of PM gears can reduce weight, inertia and stress levels and in such a way contribute to improved transmissions for cars and motorcycles. INTRODUCTION The future in automotive development points in the direction of lower energy consumption and lower emissions. There is also a general trend towards Reduced Time to Market and Total Cost Down that influences the selection of manufacturing technology. Powder Metallurgy is a well-established, however not so well known, environmentally friendly technology for cost effective mass production of high quality structural components. It offers unique shaping to complex geometries with no or very little materials loss. There are many examples of how PM successfully is used for making various engine and transmission components. PM contributes with solutions that help automotive industry meeting the goals for a challenging now and an even more challenging future. Examples of parts currently made by PM are sprockets, pulleys, components for Variable Valve Timing and Carriers in Automatic Transmissions. The average content of PM components in a passenger car ranges from 5 to 25kgs depending on country/continent. Also in motorcycles PM is used, the primary driven gear is probably the most common PM application in motorcycles. Powder metal components are also used in Lawn & Garden equipment. Automotive Transmissions are now developing in several directions at the same time: Automatic (AT), Manual (MT), Dual Clutch (DCT) and Continuous Transmissions (CVT). Most new auto transmissions use gears and there is an increasing number of 7- and 8 speed transmissions. Also many CVTs use planetary gears. Transmissions with high efficiency are crucial when it comes to meeting the demands of lower fuel consumption and lower emissions. Powder Metal Components typically have 10-20% porosity, that contributes to lower density and lower strength compared to wrought steel materials. A challenge for the PM industry is to make more automotive design engineers aware of PM and also convincing them that the technology is good enough for highly loaded components such as transmission gears. It is beneficial if gears and other components are designed for PM already from the beginning rather than being straight conversions from wrought steel. There are technologies for making PM components with similar or even higher strength than many wrought steels and these technologies are developing rapidly. The interest in PM gears for automotive transmissions is increasing and as a consequence of this there is also more research and development in the area, some of it to be highlighted in this paper: PM gear manufacturing technology - processes PM materials for high performance applications Forming of Helical Gears Load on Gears in Transmissions Design and Optimization of Gears Downloaded from SAE International by University of Michigan, Wednesday, October 29, 2014 SETC2013 MATERIAL AND MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY FOR PM GEARS POWDER MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING PROCESSES The most common way to make PM parts is to compact and sinter iron-copper-carbon type powder materials (Figure 1.). Densities of such components are in the range from 6.8-7.1 g/cc. It is common to add a heat treatment operation in order to increase strength and wear resistance. Typical strength levels of such materials can be found in various standards, such as MPIF Standard 35, and they can be enough for moderately loaded components including some gear applications.
Figure 1. Overview of Powder Metallurgy (PM) Manufacturing Route Strength can be increased by further increasing the density and also by selecting alternative alloying systems. The strength and the dimensional tolerances of Sintered Steels are compared with other manufacturing methods in Figure 2 and Figure 3. Higher density can be achieved by using more compressible metal powders and also by more extensive processing, such as double press double sintering. For gears, the load is usually concentrated to the flank and the root and it is possible to increase the density locally, just where the highest strength is needed, by selective surface densification. More complex manufacturing processes usually add extra manufacturing cost. In the case of selective densification by surface rolling there is an extra benefit from better dimensional tolerances, better surface finish as well as an opportunity of shaping the gear profile by crowning all in the same processing step. Higher strength can also be achieved by adequate selection of alloying systems (materials composition) and alloying methods. In Powder metallurgy it can be very easy to tailor the materials composition because the powder materials can be made by simply admixing alloying elements to a base metal powder, usually a pure iron powder or a low alloy base powder. Final selection is usually a compromise between mechanical performance, processability and cost. Here it is important to consider total cost in order to avoid that an apparent benefit of a cheap low quality material is consumed by excessive scrap and processing costs. Alternatives to pure iron powders are Pre-alloyed and Diffusion Bonded grades, often used when higher performance is required. Fe-Mo materials are easy to process and also widely used in high performance components.
Figure 2.Comparison of Materials Strength
However, fluctuations in raw material prices for Mo and also Ni contribute to making the future cost predictions uncertain for some of the popular pre-alloyed grades. Low alloy Fe-Cr and Fe-Cr-Mo grades offer a unique combination of high mechanical performance and low cost. The abundant availability of Cr makes the raw material cost lower and more stable compared to the case of Mo and Ni. Fe-Cr alloys are sensitive to oxidation which excludes low quality protective atmospheres for sintering and heat treatment of such materials.
Figure 3. Typical tolerance ranges (IT) for various materials and manufacturing processes
Technologies that can offer high density components with just one pressing and one sintering step have an obvious cost advantage. By using Warm Die Compaction and Warm Compaction in combination with suitable powder mixes it is possible to reach higher strength by higher density (7.2- 7.4g/cc). An interesting choice for the most high performance sprockets and gears is to use high density compaction (7.5-7.6g/cc) of special powder grades. Gears from such materials can match and exceed the performance of gears made from common wrought steel grades and they are also suitable for surface densification by rolling thanks to high core density. Powder Forging (PF) is used for the making of almost full density components (7.6-7.8g/cc). The process comprises compaction and sintering of a pre-form that is hot-forged to final density. PF is established for industrial mass production of automotive connecting rods. Downloaded from SAE International by University of Michigan, Wednesday, October 29, 2014 SETC2013 Even if this technology offers very high density and high strength, the cost of processing and subsequent machining seems too high for industrial mass production of transmission gears. (Ref 1) Designing for PM already from the beginning makes it possible to get the most out of the opportunities and therefore it is an advantage if designers of transmission systems are aware of the choices in powder metallurgy. The downside with all the options and opportunities is the complexity and difficulty to get a clear overview of all materials, processes and design criteria. However, branch organizations such as MPIF, EPMA and JPMA as well as major parts manufacturers and materials suppliers offer training, education and also seminars to increase the awareness of PM. TECHNOLOGY FOR COMPACTION OF HELICAL GEARS Spur gears are straight forward to produce by PM route and the making of compaction tools for such applications is established. In most Automotive Transmissions, however, helical gears are used in order to reduce noise and the size (width of gear) of the gear box. PM helical gears for moderate demanding applications such as power tools are well established. Now, thanks to advancement in technologies for compaction tools and tool adapters in combination with CNC presses, highly efficient compaction of helical precision gears is possible. (Ref 2) SURFACE DENSIFICATION OF GEARS BY ROLLING Selective densification by surface rolling has already been briefly described. Rolling of PM gears and sprockets with the purpose of improving dimensional tolerances and surface finish has been used industrially for decades and burnishing of wrought steel gears basically utilizes the same type of equipment. The step to modify the already existing type of equipment and process for rolling to also include plastic deformation of the most loaded areas of a gear is not far. Suppliers of equipment for surface rolling have done significant advancements and their capabilities in process simulation/FEA have facilitated the design of tools and the selection of processing parameters. (Ref 3, 4) ADVANCEMENT IN SINTERING AND HEAT TREATMENT Low Pressure Carburization (LPC) combined with gas quench is used for industrial heat treatment of automotive wrought steel gears. Compared to heat treatment processes using atmosphere with carbon potential and quenching in oil such processes offer better consistency, cleaner components and less distortion of the components. With this technology, Fe-Cr alloyed materials that are sensitive to oxidation can be processed in a better way. It is also possible to combine sintering and heat treatment in the same batch process, reducing the overall number of processing steps. This means an opportunity for better energy utilization, productivity and reduced investment. (Ref 5) SIMULATION AND REVERSE ENGINEERING OF AN AUTOMOTIVE TRANSMISSION Design of Powder Metal (PM) gears should not just be copied from the steel gear that it may be replacing in an automotive transmission. The implications of copying the micro geometry of original steel gear when rebuilding a 6 speed manual transmission (Opel Insignia 4 cylinder turbocharged 1.6 litre engine - 220hp/320Nm) are shown by simulation (Ref 6). A different micro geometry of a PM gear teeth coupled with the lower Youngs modulus can theoretically enhance performance compared to the solid steel design. Reverse engineering and redesign have been done in order to understand and map the performance of the Solid wrought steel gears versus the PM gears.
When designing PM gears special attention has to be paid to the use of the correct material properties, meaning Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio. Youngs modulus and Poissons ratio can be empirically calculated as a function of density. (Ref 7)
SYSTEM ANALYSIS In order to investigate how much different the micro gear design has to be in relation to solid steel design and also what possibilities for weight reduction that exist, a redesign of the GM M32 gearbox was performed. Another aim of this work was to understand how much load the PM gears have to sustain and from that judge the material and manufacturing process necessary to fulfill the stress criteria.
A M32 gearbox was purchased, disassembled and reverse engineered - data was collected and imported to FE software for system analysis and the information from the system analysis was carried over to the gear analysis. The output from the system analysis is gear misalignment and transmission deflections, which were used as an input to the gear analysis where the micro geometry was tweaked to give the best working behaviour of the gears considering the misalignment and bending from shafts and bearings.
GEAR ANALYSIS Macro geometry of the gears was created with focus on surface stress levels and peak-to-peak transmission error. For 1st, reverse and 2 nd , the driver member could not be exchanged since they were cut directly on the shaft - so for these parts, only modification of idler and driven members was performed. Modifying the micro geometry of the gears is an iterative procedure using the material data, loads and misalignments with the focus on lowering transmission error and contact stresses. This is done by changing the gear design parameters in iterations, such as crowning, reliefs angular deviations etc. A duty cycle typical European consumer usage was used to evaluate gear life. Misalignment data was taken from the system analysis and has been accounted for in the micro geometry of the tooth flanks. The working behaviour of the gears in the system has been modelled for 50%, 100%, 150% and 200% load and different temperatures in order to assure the functionality under different conditions.
Downloaded from SAE International by University of Michigan, Wednesday, October 29, 2014 SETC2013 All parts are modelled using linear-elastic material properties. Material properties are based on input from Hgans AB, see Table 1.
Table 1. Material data for PM Material Elastic Modulus (GPa) Poissons Ratio Thermal Expansion (C -1 ) Fatigue limit, Surface (MPa) Fatigue limit, Root (MPa) Powder Metal 160 0.28 12.510 -6 1100 @510 7
Cycles 650 @10 7
Cycles
RESULT SUMMARY The peak to peak transmission error (TE) is a parameter that describes the quality of the mesh cycle of two flanks. Transmission error is also to some extent related to the noise of the gears and is generally kept as low as possible. When working with a material with a lower Youngs modulus compared to steel, the TE tends to increase if the geometry is copied from steel. This can be designed away to some extent and improves the working behavior of the PM design. Figure 4. shows the maximum TE for 3 different gear designs during a torque sweep. It is the first gear pair in the transmission and used for taking off from standstill
Figure 4. Transmission error for first gear in the investigated M32 transmission.
TE is quite high, but since this is the first gear, it is only used for taking off and a slightly higher TE can be allowed. More important are the curves; green curve is the PM gear with the steel flank design. The green curve is higher for all torques indicating that the TE will be higher for the copied PM gear which is undesirable. The result from design iterations in order to improve the TE for the PM gear is shown in the blue curve where TE is lower for every torque level and is likely to perform significantly better than the PM gear with the copied design (green curve).
This pattern with an underperforming copied PM gear can be seen for all gears in the transmission. It will not always be better than the steel gear, like in Figure 4, but a gear designed for PM will always be an improved design compared to a PM gear with the copied steel design.
In Table 2 the contact and bending stress is listed for 6:th gear pair in original steel and redesigned PM.
The 6:th gear is presented since the result displays a typical improvement number, -17%, in contact stress and it is a good example of a gear suitable for PM from a performance point of view. The bending stress is intentionally increased for the PM gears to be able to design a lower contact stress for the same. Gear design is an iterative tradeoff process, and for the 6:th gear pair it was judged to be more beneficial with a lower contact stress and the sacrifice was increased root stress. The root stress can be further reduced, with up to 30% for 6:th output gear, with PM, technology using the optimization procedure described later in this paper and also in [Ref 7,10].
The durability of 6:th gear pair is presented in Figure 5 below, where the duty cycle is taken into account. The red, blue and black lines are S-n curves for sintered and casehardened Astaloy85Mo PM gears with a density of 7.25g/cc and a tolerance class of ISO 7 or better. What can be read from the diagram is that the tooth root bending fatigue is within the acceptable boundaries but the contact stress is still a bit too high. So these gears would need a little higher performance to qualify. The remedy in this case could be increased density to 7.4g/cc by double pressing and double sintering or by shifting the material to a higher performing one. Shot peening to induce higher compressive stresses and/or superfinishing could be other cost efficient methods to increase the fatigue limit another 7% that is necessary to qualify. But without redesign a 25% performance increase (1200MPa to 1500MPa) would have been necessary and that would call for significantly more expensive processes jeopardizing the cost efficiency of PM.
For this particular transmission reverse, 3:rd and 4:th gear pair can be made with the shortest possible manufacturing chain that gives 7.25g/cc density. For the 5:th and the 6:th gear pair some of the earlier mentioned processes would be necessary to increase performance. First and second gear pair need densification or more radical redesign with asymmetric gear teeth or non-involute gear shape.
Figure 5. Loads on 6:th gear pair with correlating S-n curves for case hardened Astaloy85Mo PM gears with density 7.25g/cc and ISO 7 or better tolerances.
WEIGHT AND INERTIA REDUCTION The redesign does not only take micro geometry into account but also macro geometry in order to reduce weight Downloaded from SAE International by University of Michigan, Wednesday, October 29, 2014 SETC2013 and inertia. Weight and inertia reductions are very important since that reduces material cost and it lowers the weight of the transmission. Inertia reduction is also of great importance since that reduces the losses from accelerating the gear mass every time the RPM is shifted. A reduced inertia also decreases the amount of heat that has to be dissipated in the synchronization of the gears. Less heat build-up will give a more robust synchronization system and longer service life. The reduced energy that has to be turned into friction may also be used to design a simpler and smaller synchronization package. Table 3 below summarizes the weight and inertia reduction for the driven gears.
Table 3. Weight and inertia reduction for the redesigned transmission.
The redesign will in total for this particular transmission remove 1.1 kg of mass.
LOAD ON INDIVIDUAL GEARS AND REQUIRED MATERIALS- AND PROCESSES
The load for all the gears in the M32 transmission was calculated for maximum torque condition. In the case of steel gears, materials and design representative for M32s original gears were used while for PM gears, materials data for PM was used together with a modified gear design that reduces the contact stress (on the expense of the bending stress).
Figure 6. Bending Stress for Driving and Driven Gear 1-6 + R at Maximum Torque
Figure 7. Contact Stress for Gear Pair 1-6 + R at Maximum Torque
Figure 6. and 7 show that the stress for gears 1-6 is significantly different. By using a PM friendly gear design it is possible to reduce the contact stress to levels that better match the performance of the most cost efficient PM materials and processes. Gear 1,2 and R are on the input shaft, their contact stresses are high and the stress distribution bad (non-uniform). It was not possible to optimize those for PM at this stage. Gear 1,2 and 6 Driven, need strength enhancement in order to survive the bending load. Examples of ways to enhance the bending strength are to select a stronger alloy or using high density processing. Also shot peening can be used to increase the gear root strength. It is possible to convert the least stressed gears by using conventional PM technology in combination with optimized gear design.
Most of the gears in the M32 gear box can be converted to PM if more advanced materials and manufacturing processes are used. However, there is also a potential bending stress reduction achievable by further optimization of the gear design.
DESIGN OF GEARS Powder metal gear manufacturing allows for a root design that may be optimized with respect to stress. Conventional gear cutting using a hob is a balance between tool wear, kinematics, hob tip geometry and achieved tooth root radius. With PM manufacturing technology a root design that reduces stresses from bending, compared to a machined root design, can be built into the compaction tool. (Ref 7)
TRADITIONAL GEAR HOBBING AND ITS LIMITATIONS TO ROOT GEOMETRY The root of the gear, when hobbed, is often not specified in the gear drawing. It is indirectly given in the tool drawing and data. The root is a function of the trochoid movements of the hob flutes, gear rotation and the geometry of the tip of the hob. There are also limitations to what hob radius that is possible to use (Ref 7)
Downloaded from SAE International by University of Michigan, Wednesday, October 29, 2014 SETC2013
Figure 8. Example of stress levels for root geometries obtained with hobbs designed for different pressure angles. (Image courtesy of Dontyne Systems) PM gear technology does not suffer from these limitations in root shape and the root can be actively designed together with the tool manufacturer in order to achieve what is most important. ROOT GEOMETRY OF POWDER METAL GEARS Since no hobbing action is required when making powder metal gears, some of the limitations and also ISO recommendations regarding root shape can be neglected and a more active design philosophy can be adopted. In Figure 9. there are different roots depicted, all based on the so called FZG gear geometry that is used for various gear performance tests (Ref 7 / FZG) . Original 1.99mm (given by hob tip radius a0=0.8 mm) Modified - Full radius (13% reduction) Optimized - Curve shape (18% reduction) Asymmetric gear tooth (19% reduction)
Figure 9. Gear Root Geometries The Optimized Curve shape and similar favorable designs have been investigated by others (Ref 8, 9) but since the geometry calculated has been impossible to hob in mass production; it has not gained widespread use. PM is, however, well suited for efficient mass production of gears with an optimized root. The influences of the modifications calculated by FEA (Calculix) and the results from this work demonstrate that an optimized root can reduce even the most optimized machined root with another 5%. Also other root geometries have been investigated and the improvement was a 5-30% root stress reduction.
The work showed that it is possible to significantly reduce root stress in a gear tooth by replacing the cut trochoid root shape with a curve shape defined by a spline that is designed, iteratively, to reduce root stress. It is also possible to manufacture a gear wheel with this root shape in mass production using PM manufacturing technology. It may not be possible to manufacture this root shape using conventional cutting technology at the same speed as is possible with PM technology. Asymmetric gear teeth designed for reduced contact pressure, may be designed in such a way that their root stress is reduced to levels where they can operate at similar stress levels as cut gear gears operate. Their increased stiffness will improve their dynamic properties.
FUTURE The first and second gear pair are exposed to the highest load and a next step is redesign using more advanced design such as non-involute gearing and asymmetric gear teeth to be able to prototype the gear box without using any performance enhancing high density technologies. A few transmissions will be built utilizing optimized design but with different PM technologies built in and then put into a car for everyday driving as a proof of concept. The transmissions will also be put in test rigs to test durability, noise and efficiency according to specified drive cycles to more scientifically prove the possibilities with PM in automotive transmissions.
SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS Technology for Powder Metal Transmission Gears is developing rapidly. Gears are better designed for PM already from the beginning rather than being straight conversions from machined wrought steel gears. There is a wide range of materials and processes that are suitable and ready for industrial mass production of PM gears. The understanding of transmission load conditions and the use of more aggressive design strategy for PM gears facilitate the making of well-engineered cost competitive transmissions for passenger cars and motorcycles. REFERENCES 1. Forging and Hot Pressing, ASM Handbook Volume 7, Powder Metal Technologies and Applications (ASM International) 1990 pp 632-637 2. Gutowski, E, Alvier AG PM-Technology, Switzerland, Compaction of Helical Gears PMAI2013 Plenary session 5, February 8 2013, Pune, India 3. Engstrm U., Opportunities for High Performance PM Gears in Automotive Applications, Presented at PM Asia2007 Shanghai, China, on April 4, 2007 4. Takemasu, T. Analysis and Durability Test of Surface Rolled 1P1S 1.5Cr-0.2Mo Very High Density Gear, Presented at World PM2010 in Florence, Italy on October 13, 2010 Downloaded from SAE International by University of Michigan, Wednesday, October 29, 2014 SETC2013 5. Dennis Beauchesne, D., Goldsteinas A.,Vacuum Furnace Technology in Gear Heat Treatment's Future, Industrial Heating March 4, 2005 6. Flodin, A., Karlsson, P. Automotive transmission design using full potential of powder metal World PM 2012 Yokohama, Japan 7. Flodin, A., Andersson, M. Tooth Root Optimization Of Powder Metal Gears Reducing Stress From Bending And Transient Loads World PM 2012 Yokohama, Japan 8. Kapelevich, A., Shekhtman, Y., Tooth Fillet Profile Optimization for Gears with Symmetric and Asymmetric Teeth. (2009) Gear Technology September/October, pp. 73-79. 9. Sanders, A. An experimental investigation of the influence of elliptical root shapes and asymmetric teeth on root stresses and bending fatigue. (2010) Master of Science Thesis, Ohio State University. 10. Andersson, M. Flodin, A. Optimizing the tooth root strength of sintered gears for a manual automotive transmission. (Sept. 2013) Proceedings from EuroPM 2013.
CONTACT INFORMATION Mr. Paul Skoglund, Hgans China Ltd, Shanghai, PRC MSc. Mechanical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden 1980. R&D experience includes product-, process- and application development in the field of Powder Metallurgy, resulting in new products, processes and several patents. paul.skoglund@hoganas.com
Mr. Ola Litstrm, Hgans China Ltd, Shanghai, PRC MSc. Physical Metallurgy, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden 1994. R&D activities include product and process development in the field of Powder Metallurgy, resulting in new products and several patents. ola.litstrom@hoganas.com
Dr. Anders Flodin, Hgans AB, Hgans, Sweden PhD. Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. PhD on gear wear and failure modelling - continues to work in powder metal gear technology at Hgans AB. anders.flodin@hoganas.com DEFINITIONS/ABBREVIATIONS MPIF: Metal Powder Metallurgy Association EPMA: European Powder Metallurgy Association JPMA: Japan Powder Metallurgy Association
FZG: Forschungsstelle fr Zahnrder und Getriebebau, (German: Research Centre for Gears and Gear; University of Munich; Munich, Germany)
Downloaded from SAE International by University of Michigan, Wednesday, October 29, 2014 The Engineering Meetings Board has approved this paper for publication. It has successfully completed SAE's peer review process under the supervision of the session organizer. This process requires a minimum of three (3) reviews by industry experts. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of SAE. ISSN 0148-7191 Positions and opinions advanced in this paper are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of SAE. The author is solely responsible for the content of the paper. SAE Customer Service: Tel: 877-606-7323 (inside USA and Canada) Tel: 724-776-4970 (outside USA) Fax: 724-776-0790 Email: CustomerService@sae.org SAE Web Address: http://www.sae.org Printed in USA Downloaded from SAE International by University of Michigan, Wednesday, October 29, 2014