1、 Steel Ball Production Process
raw material preparation
Material: High carbon steel (such as GCr15), stainless steel, alloy steel, etc., usually supplied in the form of coils (wires) or bars.
Inspection: Ensure that the material composition and hardness meet the standards.
Cold heading/hot heading forming
Cold heading (small diameter steel ball): The wire is cut and cold extruded into a ball blank, with high efficiency and good surface quality.
Hot forging (large diameter steel ball): After heating, it is forged and formed, suitable for large-sized or special materials.
Polishing (removing the ring belt)
Remove the ring rings (burrs) at both ends of the formed steel ball to preliminarily improve the roundness of the sphere.
heat treatment
Quenching+tempering: Improve hardness (HRC 60-66) and wear resistance by controlling temperature to avoid deformation or cracking.
Hard grinding
Use a grinding wheel to grind steel balls to near the final size and improve geometric accuracy.
Precision research/polishing
Fine grinding (such as resin grinding wheel) or chemical mechanical polishing to achieve a mirror effect (Ra ≤ 0.01 μ m).
Cleaning and rust prevention
Ultrasonic cleaning removes oil stains, and the surface is coated with rust proof oil or passivated (stainless steel balls).
Quality Inspection
Dimensional accuracy: diameter tolerance (such as ± 0.001mm), roundness.
Surface quality: No cracks or scratches.
Hardness test: Rockwell hardness tester.
Fatigue testing: Sampling for life testing.
2、 Core equipment
Cold heading machine/hot forging machine: Forming ball blanks.
Lightball machine: Remove the ring belt.
Heat treatment furnaces: mesh belt furnaces, vacuum furnaces, etc.
Grinding machine: equipment for rough and fine grinding.
Grinding machine: planetary or eddy current grinding.
Cleaning and drying equipment: ultrasonic cleaning machine, drying line.
Testing instruments: optical projector, roundness meter, surface roughness meter.
3、 Production line type
Fully automated production line
Fully automated from raw materials to finished products, suitable for large-scale production (such as bearing steel balls).
Example: Cold heading of wire → Grinding → Heat treatment → Hard grinding → Precision grinding → Inspection.
steel ball hot rolling production line
Some processes require manual intervention (such as cutting and feeding), which is suitable for small and medium-sized batches or special specifications.
Customized production line
Designed for oversized (>50mm), ultra small (<1mm), or special materials such as ceramic balls.
4、 Technical points
Accuracy control: G3-G10 level (GB/T 308-2002), bearing steel balls usually require G10-G20.
Energy saving design: waste heat recovery, efficient motor to reduce energy consumption.
Environmental requirements: Treatment of grinding wastewater and waste gas (oil mist).
Our company specializes in producing steel ball production line ,Exported to domestic and international markets.
Post time: 07-02-2025