Laser Heat Treatment of the Steel Bottom Rollers of Textile Machines Used for Producing Quality Yarns
S. Balasubramanian and K. Manonmani
The objective of this work was to harden the complex shaped bottom roller and to eliminate the traditional hardening methods. Introduction of the laser beam in the heat treatment process improves quality. The experimental study carried out on typical rollers with 5 kW Nd:YAG pulsed laser, computerized numerical control (CNC) machine and suitable fixtures. The results of samples on microscope shows uniform hardness, improved microstructure and less warping on all contours. The thermal analysis made to simulate the transient temperature distribution using ANSYS software. The results of software with respect to the parameters obtained from the laser experiment shows the temperature distribution and timing is directly proportional to the increase in case depth. The Nd:YAG laser treated bottom rollers subjected to the normal working conditions on a textile machine at textile mill which producing yarns found delivered better quality yarn and improved production over the existing bottom rollers.
Keywords: Nd:YAG laser, surface hardening, textile machines, bottom rollers, quality yarn, microstructure, transient temperature distribution, mathematical model, finite element analysis (FEA)