Shafts require BÖHLER steels with high fatigue strength, toughness, and wear resistance. Key quality features include ultra-clean materials, full traceability, controlled heat treatment, and rigorous testing for reliable mechanical engineering performance.
Shafts for mechanical engineering applications are essential components used in power transmission systems, rotating machinery, and drive assemblies. They are subjected to continuous torsional and bending stresses, cyclic loading, and varying temperature conditions. Material requirements are therefore highly demanding, focusing on high fatigue strength, excellent toughness, wear resistance, and dimensional stability to ensure long-term operational reliability. Resistance to crack initiation and propagation is critical, as shafts often operate under dynamic loading with strict safety requirements.
BÖHLER high-performance steels and alloys are specifically engineered to meet these challenges. Advanced quenched and tempered steels, case-hardening steels, and alloyed grades provide an optimized combination of strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance. Produced using advanced melting and refining technologies, BÖHLER materials ensure superior cleanliness, low inclusion content, and homogeneous microstructures, significantly enhancing fatigue life. Key quality features include strict control of chemical composition, certified traceability, and precisely controlled heat treatment processes to achieve defined mechanical properties. Additional surface treatments such as induction hardening or nitriding further improve wear resistance and surface durability. Comprehensive testing, including fatigue, mechanical verification, and non-destructive inspection, ensures consistent and reliable performance. BÖHLER materials enable robust, durable, and high-performance shaft solutions for demanding mechanical engineering applications.
BÖHLER N700 is a martensitic, corrosion-resistant, precipitation-hardenable chromium-nickel-copper steel with high strength and toughness. Further increases in strength can be achieved by cold forming and subsequent precipitation hardening. These products are typically used for parts that require higher corrosion resistance than the usual 13% or 17% chromium steels and high strength. Various remelting processes are used to improve steel purity and homogeneity. (ESR, PESR, VAR). Certain processing methods and operating conditions can make these products susceptible to stress corrosion cracking. For applications such as bolting where stress corrosion cracking is possible, the product should be aged for at least 4 hours at the highest temperature compatible with the strength requirements, but in no case lower than 552 °C. Typical engineering applications include surgical and dental instruments as well as aerospace components, reactor construction, highly stressed pump parts, springs and ship shafts.
Read MoreExisting customers – need quotes fast?
Check stock availability and get pricing 24/7. Ask your local voestalpine sales team about access to our digital webshop.
Please Note: select the Melbourne office for all Adelaide and South Australia enquiries.