Caterpillar Inc.

Tianjun Liu

Matthew Thomas Kiser

Marvin Grendel McKimpson

A method of heat treating a fastening member having a head portion, a shank portion, and a thread portion includes hardening the fastening member to a first hardness value. Hardening of the fastening member includes heating the fastening member at a first pre-set temperature value. The method also includes tempering the fastening member at a second pre-set temperature value to a second hardness value. The method further includes induction tempering the thread portion of the fastening member. Induction tempering of the thread portion includes heating the thread portion at a third pre-set temperature value to a third hardness value. The third hardness value of the thread portion is less than the second hardness value of the head portion and the shank portion.

Method of heat treating a fastening member

A method of producing a forged steel part is disclosed. The method includes providing a steel billet that can be selectively hardened to different hardness levels by varying the air cooling rate. The method also includes heating the steel billet to an austenization temperature of the steel billet. The method further includes hot forging the steel billet to form the steel part including a first region and a second region. The method yet further includes selectively cooling the hot forged steel part by air cooling the first region at a first cooling rate and air cooling the second region at a second cooling rate that is less than the first cooling rate.

Air-hardenable bainitic steel part

A machine component may include a body made of an iron alloy. The body may include a surface, and a coating fused to the surface. The coating may be an alloy including phosphorous, carbon, and iron. The coating may have solidus temperature of less than or equal to about 1000&#xb0; C., and a hardness greater than or equal to about 50 HRC.

Machine component with a cavitation resistant coating

A composite track link is provided that has a body and a replaceable rail brazed or soldered together to provide a metallurgical bond between the track link body and the rail such that the rail may be removed and replaced by heating the track link or the brazing or soldering filler metal when the rail becomes worn. This process enables the rail to be separated from the body of the track link so a new rail can be brazed or soldered to the body of the track link. As a result, track links or bodies of track links may outlast the rails by multiple use cycles. Further, the body and rail may be formed of different materials.

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Edwards, IL, United States of America

Tianjun Liu