Strengthening Study on Microsphere Particle Peening for Flexspline Surface of Harmonic Reducer

Abstract The service stability of the flexspline directly affects the service life of the harmonic reducer. Its main failure modes are fatigue fracture of the flexspline, damage of the flexible bearing, tooth wear or transmission slip, the above problems are often sprouted and developed from the surface. Researches show the novel surface treatment technology-Microsphere Particle Peening can significantly enhance the surface performance of the flexspline of the harmonic reducer, and thus improve its fatigue resistance. Therefore, studying this novel shot peening technology has significant scientific significance and practical value. In this paper, Microsphere Particle Peening is adopted to strength the flexspline surface and the effects of three different Microsphere Particle Peening conditions on the surface performance of the flexspline is analyzed. The research results indicate that Microsphere Particle Peening technology can introduce larger residual compressive stress, reduce the surface roughness, increase the surface hardness, improve the microstructure morphology, and effectively control the deformation amount of the flexspline by controlling the processing parameters of Microsphere Particle Peening. Therefore, Microsphere Particle Peening technology has broad engineering application prospects in the surface strengthening of precision components.