Corrosion resistant steel for rolling bearings increases machine availability

The Schaeffler Group has launched a high performance stainless steel for rolling bearings that helps companies achieve these goals. Cronitect® provides maximum corrosion resistance under extreme operating conditions, including dry running applications or when bearings come into contact with aggressive media such as water, salt spray, acids and cleaning chemicals.

Cronitect® steel is a high-grade martensitic hardening steel that is based on the consistent refinement of high-grade NIROSteels. Through its unique composition and new thermo-chemical surface layer treatment process, Cronitect® achieves an extremely high hardness. Even after 600 hours of salt spray testing in accordance with DIN 50021 SS, the material shows no signs of corrosion.

The name Cronitect® is derived from the chemical composition of the material (chromium and nitrogen alloying elements) and from its special heat treatment process. The ‘tect’ suffix is found in other Schaeffler coating products and refers to the material’s excellent corrosion protection. Cronitect’s resistance to corrosion is many times better than that of conventional NIROSteels.