VDI Conference "Shafts and shaft-hub connections" - Efficient shafts and shaft-hub connections through strength-enhancing deep rolling

How should shafts and shaft-hub connections be designed and what are the latest scientific trends and findings? This was the topic of the VDI conference "Shafts and Shaft-Hub Connections" on 6 and 7 November 2024 in Munich/Garching. Over the course of two days, around 65 participants intensively explored many different facets of this topic.

The specialist presentations included the joining of sheet metal packages on shafts for electric motor production, the design of torsionally loaded shafts made of fibre composite materials and the evaluation of surface characteristics in quality assurance during production. In other words, a colourful mix across the world of shafts and shaft-hub connections.

As a glance at the lecture programme shows, the deep rolling of shafts was an important topic. Two presentations were dedicated to this process in the topic area "Surface treatment processes".

Stefanie Günther from the Technical University of Dresden presented the results of the FVA project 840-II of the Research Association for Drive Technology (FVA) on behalf of a larger group of researchers, which focussed on the evaluation of hard-rolled notched shafts in the structural design. Within the project, a large number of strength tests were carried out on shafts made of different materials, notch geometries and diameters. In addition, the loads tensile-compression, torsion and bending circulation were tested, thus creating a very large database overall.

In her presentation, she first introduced deep rolling as a process, in this case machining with a single-roller, mechanical deep rolling tool EG5 with a 40M roller. The strength-enhancing effect was then impressively demonstrated. In one case, an outstanding result of +93% was even demonstrated.

In the following lecture, Dr Oliver Maiß, Head of Research and Development at ECOROLL, presented the possibilities of how the introduction of residual compressive stresses can be designed in a process-safe manner and what potential is offered by the previously demonstrated increase in strength in lightweight construction and how this can reduce the_{CO2 footprint} of a component.

Inspired by these two presentations, there were many interesting discussions at the ECOROLL stand at the accompanying trade exhibition, which Dr Maiß and our sales representative for Bavaria, Peter Schmidt, were then able to hold during the coffee breaks.