Increasing the wear-resistance of steel components by ball burnishing

The influence of several parameters of ball burnishing such as the diameter of the ball, feed, burnishing load and initial surface finish on the surface finish, surface hardness and wear-resistance were investigated. The experiments were conducted with a ball burnishing tool used on a lathe. The burnishing load is the major factor affecting wear-resistance of the surface layer of burnished components. There is an optimum burnishing load which gives the best results.