F1 hub coating

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marcush.
159
Joined: 09 Mar 2004, 16:55

Re: F1 hub coating

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that one was easy but I think this is what this site should be all about .Facts.
Those coatings are also used for fork tubes of high performance Bikes

thepowerofnone
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Joined: 24 Apr 2013, 17:21

Re: F1 hub coating

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Would someone mind explaining why M300 is the logical choice? I am in no way questioning it, I am just curious how everyone jumped to it, especially when you consider just how many exotic choices F1 would have access to. I have actually used very similar driveshafts to these before but never gave a huge amount of thought to the material choice as it was a standardised part - phenomenally lightweight.

Jersey Tom
166
Joined: 29 May 2006, 20:49
Location: Huntersville, NC

Re: F1 hub coating

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I'm still fairly sold on black oxide, having been down this road before... suppose it could be a number of things. I know b/o has been used for these parts before (in motorsports) and looks exactly the same - or so I'm informed.

In any event...
thepowerofnone wrote:Would someone mind explaining why M300 is the logical choice? I am in no way questioning it, I am just curious how everyone jumped to it, especially when you consider just how many exotic choices F1 would have access to. I have actually used very similar driveshafts to these before but never gave a huge amount of thought to the material choice as it was a standardised part - phenomenally lightweight.
Define "exotic." For anything that has high use threads (like a hub) or splines (like a hub or drive shaft) I think high hardness is at a premium - steel then is king. Of steels, it's not like cost is much of a factor.. and you're machining rather than welding it or anything, so go for one of the extreme high strength / fatigue alloys - like a 4340 or 300M. They tend to be popular for these kind of components, even aircraft landing gear (to my knowledge).
Grip is a four letter word. All opinions are my own and not those of current or previous employers.

Tommy Cookers
617
Joined: 17 Feb 2012, 16:55

Re: F1 hub coating

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Jersey Tom wrote:
thepowerofnone wrote:Would someone mind explaining why M300 is the logical choice? I am in no way questioning it, I am just curious how everyone jumped to it, especially when you consider just how many exotic choices F1 would have
Define "exotic." For anything that has high use threads (like a hub) or splines (like a hub or drive shaft) I think high hardness is at a premium - steel then is king. Of steels, it's not like cost is much of a factor.. and you're machining rather than welding it or anything, so go for one of the extreme high strength / fatigue alloys - like a 4340 or 300M. They tend to be popular for these kind of components, even aircraft landing gear (to my knowledge).
300M is a very high performance and very expensive 'steel', compared to anything in a road car it is 'exotic'
(except their CVT chains are Maraging steel, for acceptable compactness being heavily preloaded, to work by push&pull)

Maraging steels eg 300M have very high strength developed by a 'low temperature' heat treatment that gives no distortion
relative to these outstanding properties, 4340 steel is a lesser and economical material (a true steel)
of course many countries have equivalent indigenous specifications eg the UK equivalent is EN 24

Titanium alloys are roughly half the density and half the strength of eg 300M
so would make a bulkier driveshaft or axle, not even a lighter/lower inertia one ?
as JT says, the strength/hardness requirements of splines etc could drive this
(Ferrari used a steel trans/'box casing a few years ago in F1 to avoid bulk)

high strength grades of metal are never going to be very good for fatigue life (in design for lightness via their high strength)
because their fatigue strength is not proportionate to their ultimate strength
so all claims of fatigue qualities are relative

Maraging steels are favoured for aircraft arrester hooks (unidirectional load is useful for fatigue)
there is of course the 350M grade (famously 350000 psi UTS, but you wouldn't want it on a race car for fatigue reasons)
we can guess that the military has some 'one shot' applications for this
but (from Google) they wanted to discourage Maraging use as the (huge) cobalt content was deemed a strategic material

riff_raff
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Joined: 24 Dec 2004, 10:18

Re: F1 hub coating

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If there is a spline on the part, then titanium is usually not a good choice, even if the spline is coated with titanium nitride. Titanium tends to gall in contact with any metal surface. Even spline teeth coated with titanium nitride would experience galling. While the titanium nitride coating is extremely hard, it is also very thin.

Steel alloy spline teeth can either be through hardened or case hardened to produce a tooth flank surface having adequate hardness to provide sufficient wear life for the application. Steel alloy splined shafts are often nitrided over all surfaces, since the nitriding process produces a residual compressive stress in the shaft surface, which improves fatigue life.
"Q: How do you make a small fortune in racing?
A: Start with a large one!"

marcush.
159
Joined: 09 Mar 2004, 16:55

Re: F1 hub coating

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riff_raff wrote:If there is a spline on the part, then titanium is usually not a good choice, even if the spline is coated with titanium nitride. Titanium tends to gall in contact with any metal surface. Even spline teeth coated with titanium nitride would experience galling. While the titanium nitride coating is extremely hard, it is also very thin.

Steel alloy spline teeth can either be through hardened or case hardened to produce a tooth flank surface having adequate hardness to provide sufficient wear life for the application. Steel alloy splined shafts are often nitrided over all surfaces, since the nitriding process produces a residual compressive stress in the shaft surface, which improves fatigue life.

there is also the option of nitrocarburising as oposed to nitriding ,to enhance corrosion resistance and improving wear characteristics at selected areas.

peaty
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Joined: 20 Aug 2014, 18:56

Re: F1 hub coating

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just wondering if anyone have an update on the topic. Is it black oxide or TiALCN /or ALTICN?

Cheers

jz11
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Joined: 14 Sep 2010, 21:32

Re: F1 hub coating

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the color is awfully similar to vacuum heat treated steel parts I had received on occasion, so it might be as simple as that