The Effect of Ball Burnishing on Tribological Performance of 42CrMo4 Steel under Dry Sliding Conditions

Ball burnishing appears to be a very promising approach for reducing surface height, generating compressive residual stresses and increasing hardness. Ball burnishing treatment was carried out using a Haas CNC Vertical Mill Center VF-1 equipped with the Ecoroll burnishing system. After burnishing, surface topographies of machined samples and hardness were measured. Wear tests were conducted using a ball-on-disc tribotester in dry sliding conditions. During tests, the friction force was monitored as a function of time. After tests, wear volumes were determined on the basis of surface texture measurements. Tests revealed that ball burnishing in most cases resulted in minimizing friction and wear of contacting elements.