08/11/2014 ibg NDT Systems Automatic Verification of Induction Hardening Using Eddy Current Crack Detection Hardness Testers,

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Automatic Verification of Induction Hardening

Using Eddy Current and Preventive
Multi-Frequency Testing

Overview Application

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248-478-9490

Increasing quality demands, new product liability regulations, as well as international market
networks force manufacturers to take special measures encompassing the field of material
testing. Nowadays, specified tolerances are extremely small. Therefore processes have to include
the conducting of100% material, structure and hardening tests on a fast, reliable and simple
basis. The technology applied must be the latest state of art, it must comply with maximum
safety requirements and be very economical.
Eddy current testing, especially
Preventive Multi-Frequency
Testing (PMFT) is applicable for
a large range of uses. It has
been successfully introduced
worldwide to test all kinds of
material, including the
determining of microstructure
and hardening characteristics.
There are numerous applications
for such a system.

Steering Racks, Gears,

Output Shafts
Transmission Shafts,
Pinion Pins, CV Joint
System
Cluster Gears, Hubs,
Axle Shafts
Crack Detection and Flaw
Testing Instruments
Eddy Current Testers
NEW - Grinder Burn
Detection

Today, every company carries

out spot checks during
manufacturing, in order to
guarantee the quality of
products. Within the
framework of control one
of the most important
problems is to ensure
repeatability of quality.
Quality control faces
major problems within
this area; these might
start with supply of the
material or products.

Artificial Defects Grinder Burn Manufacture &

Characterization
Applications - Races &
Rollers
eddyvisor C
eddyliner C
eddyscan H
eddyscan F
eddyscan C
eddyguard C
Crack Testing Systems
Ball Studs, Needles,
Cylinder Liners

Parts properties; that is

structure, hardness or
case depth, which are
determined by the
induction hardening
process, are subject to
variation. To determine
correct heat treatment,
the test method must be
non-destructive; thus,
eddy current testing is
applicable.

Spindles, Piston Rods,

Bearing Rings
NDT Newsletter Archives
ibg NDT Eddy Current
Technical Articles

Computer-based multifrequency eddy current

test stations with 8 to 32
testing frequencies and
up to 16 test positions
has greatly increased the
efficiency of this testing
method. Its field of
application ranges from structure, hardening and case depth inspection to material mix
inspection. One of the most outstanding advantages of modern eddy current test systems using
PMFT is their capability to detect unexpected defects.

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Table I gives a few application examples of nondestructive material testing for verification of
induction hardening by means of eddy current multi-frequency technology.
WHY 100% TESTING?
Variation in product usually is in accord with statistical analysis and can be predicted or
estimated. For this reason it is sufficient to make a certain number of spot checks in order to
conclude the general nature of the quality from the test data.
Problems develop if during manufacturing some occurrences arise which are not subject to
standard statistical distribution. First, one needs to know what may happen unexpectedly. Table
II lists possible hardening errors.
Modern process monitoring systems, which should be available for all new machinery, allow
detection of some of these errors while they develop. These errors may occur as isolated or in
combination with others. If several minor deviations accumulate, the process monitoring system
does not immediately respond, while defective parts are being produced. Simple methods like
hardness inspection cannot be used for reliable determination of the error. Spot checks will fail if
the error occurs for a short time between two spot checks.
Generally, spot checks are only capable of detecting slow
changes in the process. Unpredictable errors occurring for a
short time are unlikely to be detected by spot checks. Thus,
inspection using eddy current test method must be used if
100% of all defective parts are to be found.
How DOES EDDY CURRENT TESTING WORK?
Basically, the test installation consists of a coil with a sending
and a receiving winding. The two windings are only loosely
coupled. In the empty coil, a low voltage is induced in the
receiving winding by the magnetic field of the sending
winding.
If a test part approaches the coil system, the coupling factor
between the sending and the receiving winding changes (see
Fig. 1). This change is mainly determined by electrical and
magnetic conductivity (permeability) of the test part. These
two electromagnetic properties are strongly influenced by the
microstructure of the test part. If the part is too hard,
permeability is different than for an annealed part.
What Is Permeability?
The variable of ferromagnetic materials decisive for eddy current testing is permeability.
Permeability actually means relative permeability, a number without any dimension, which
indicates how much better a certain material can conduct electric flux lines in comparison to air.
Air has the value of 1. A steel which can be magnetized has a value between 10 to a few 1,000.
The correlation between permeability and field strength is not at all linear. In case of a very small
field strength, permeability is low (starting permeability). With an increasing field strength
permeability increases to a maximum value, whereupon it decreases subsequently to a smaller
value. The reason can be seen in the dislocation of the Bloch wall as well as in the direction of the
"Magnetic Weiss's Domain." Every structure and every material has a characteristic permeability.
This means that parts with different heat treatments and different microstructures exhibit
different permeability. Fig. 2 shows the different permeability curves for different materials4. If
testing is done at frequencies where eg. C45 and 100 Cr6 have the same permeability, the two
materials cannot be separated or distinguished. This may happen if material mix between 100
Cr6 and St70 is expected and the eddy current instrument is optimally set to cause this result.

WHY PREVENTIVE MULTI-FREQUENCY TESTING (PMFT)?

Eddy current testing is the most economical and most reliable method for 100% inspection. The
method is not new, but there is still some discomfort with it due to bad experience with old
monofrequency systems which were used in the past. Test results obtained from these
monofrequency systems can be used with restrictions only.
Monofrequency Test

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Monofrequency systems commonly use a group of OK parts and a group of NOT GOOD parts, eg.
improper case depth, to set the instrument for the test task. With this situation many influencing
factors are not considered. Considering all errors listed in Table II, it becomes clear that one
cannot have master parts with all possible defects to set the instrument. There is not a complete
set of defective parts covering all defects possible for every part; furthermore, artificial defects
are never as effective as real defect, and it is very difficult to simulate improper heat treatment to
create such defects.
Monofrequency test instruments are usually not very
new and use 50Hz for excitation of eddy currents (see
Fig. 3). With some of them, one can switch from one
frequency to another, but in all cases, only one single
frequency is used for testing. Evaluation of test results
is done in different ways, but usually it is only
unidimensional. Some test instruments provide
multidimensional evaluation of test results. Test speed for the monofrequency method is usually
not very high because electronics used for evaluation are rather slow.
Preventive Multi-Frequency Testing
Modern eddy current test instruments based on the
Preventive Multi-Frequency Test Method, Fig. 4,
operate in a completely different manner. Based on
the experience that different defects cause different
signals in eddy current test instruments, a large
number of test frequencies is used now. Only OK parts
are used to set the test instrument.
Apart from the large number of frequencies, it is important
that a broad frequency range is covered, ie. the ratio between
the lowest and the highest test frequency should be 1:1000
or higher to guarantee reliable testing. Due to use of new
electronic components it was possible to educe test time
considerably. From a time point of view, it does not matter
whether two or eight frequencies are used for testing
(because testing is done faster), and it is now possible to
really test preventively. This means that all information
contained in a material can be 'read.'
Another advantage is the multidimensional evaluation of
modern test systems. A separate tolerance field is generated
for every test frequency (see figure 5). Only when all
tolerance fields are satisfied can one assume that the part is OK. If a part is not OK in only one
tolerance field, the part is classified NOT GOOD. Any change in the low, middle upper frequency
range displayed clearly.
ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE
Apart from the aforementioned criteria for test reliability,
cost for a test system influences the decision of which
method will be used. Considered are these factors:
expenditure for test station, test instrument, auxiliaries,
etc.; expenditure for staff necessary for testing and
evaluation; expenditure for various nonproductive times, eg.
interruption of manufacturing for verification; scrap due to
delayed adjustments in the manufacturing process and
customer complaint. Cost for equipment and staff can easily
be estimated. Cost for organization and scrap are very
difficult to calculate. The eddy current test instrument
(eddylinerP) and preventive multi-frequency testing, make
it possible to lower the costs of serial tests significantly.
Destructive tests are essentially reduced to machine
readjustments, destructive inspections and testing NOT
GOOD parts. With respect to series testing, reduction of test
scrap and time saving are dramatic (see Fig. 7).
APPLICATION EXAMPLES
Two standard examples illustrate the potential provided by
eddy current testing by Preventive Multifrequency testing
(PMFT) with an eddy current test instrument (eddylinerP).
Induction-Hardened Water Pump Shafts
Water pump shafts are induction-hardened by a coil in a
continuous process. The shafts are pushed through the
inductor by means of a driving wheel. This process is very
reliable. Nevertheless, there had been complaints from time
to time because some shafts were not properly hardened in
the running surface (see Fig. 8). Furthermore, some shafts
had soft spots of approx. 1/2 inch in diameter. When the
process was analyzed, it turned out that these parts were
not properly hardened because of dimensional tolerances at
certain positions as well as malpositioning which could not
be specified. These soft spots were detected only after 100%
inspection had been introduced.

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To remedy these problems would have been possible by
extensive and cost-intensive changes in the process. Since
this did not promise 100% success, 100% eddy current
testing was the ideal solution. After one year of operation, it
showed that the error rate was less than 0.1%. Complaints
sue to improper hardening are no longer an issue. Due to
the eddy current test system, only one test station is
needed for several induction hardeners. The multiposition
test instrument (eddylinerP3) was used (see Fig. 9). Total
test time for all 3 relevant test positions is less than one
second. Cycle rate of the system is more than 3 parts/sec.

Automatic Verification of Induction Hardening on Steering Racks

The eddy current test system for control in induction
hardening of areas of power steering racks is integrated in a
two-lane machine (HWG Inductoheat, Fig. 10). In an
interlinked manufacturing process, parts have to be tested
automatically for correct hardness and hardening depth in the
tooth and the shaft area after induction hardening and
annealing. Two test parts are tested separately at two
positions each, one in the shaft and one in the tooth area for
hardening pattern, hardening depth, hardness and material
mix (see Figs. 11 and 12). At every test position, testing is
done with eight test frequencies ranging from 25Hz to 25kHz.
If, for example, on lane 1 a defect occurs, this part is sorted
out. The eddy current test instrument is interlinked with the system control. This allows stopping
of the system if several NOT GOOD parts are sorted out in a certain period of time so that scrap is
reduced to a minimum. Cycle time of the test instrument is much less than cycle time of the
hardening machine. The concept of integration of this entire system for this application is an
optimum, economical solution.

Summary
Especially when considering product liability, every industrial company has to meet the demand
of testing all hardened components by means of a reliable, fast and inexpensive 100% test.
Preventive Multi-Frequency Testing (PMFT) especially with modern test systems (eddyliner P)
integrated with induction hardening, is a real alternative to destructive systems. It is possible to
operate these systems as inline testing machines or as automatic monitoring systems with
100% reliability and without any problems. A single-frequency test must be considered as being
unreliable. Only a multi-frequency test, which adheres to the described marginal conditions,
resembles a reliable method within the field of eddy current testing.

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Overview Application

Eddy Current Testing Reference

Eddy Current Testers
eddyvisor S
eddyliner S
eddyguard S
Encircling Coils, Eddy Current Probes, Flat Coils
Universal Automatic Sorting Devices
Steering Racks, Gears, Output Shafts
Transmission Shafts, Pinion Pins, CV Joint System
Cluster Gears, Hubs, Axle Shafts
Eddy Current Testers
Grinder Burn Detection
eddyvisor C
eddyliner C
eddyscan H
eddyscan F
eddyscan C
eddyguard C
Ball Studs, Needles, Cylinder Liners
Spindles, Piston Rods, Bearing Rings
ibg NDT Eddy Current Technical Articles

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Phone: 248.478.9490, Fax: 248.478.9491
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