M. S. Chatterjee, B. Marshall, J. Cook, Inductoheat, Madison Hts., MI

Summary: This process will outline a diagnostic tool for developing a profile pattern for a gear or a gear-like object. It can also be used for process setup and a monitoring device. The tool used for this process is a high speed infrared camera with software to calibrate, freeze and record temperatures at the end of preheat, end of soak and at the end of final heat cycles. Temperatures of the critical areas of the part are recorded against an established temperature range to produce a profile pattern. The camera is synchronized to match the rotation of the gear. Advantage of this process is to eliminate costly and most often destructive quality checks.