1.0503 | C45 Surface hardened

The inductive-hardened tooth flank still has remnants of a ferrite network. The energy input was too low. Very hard and very soft microstructural constituents are present next to each other on the functional surfaces. This can lead to premature failure. The matrix consists of pearlite with grain boundary ferrite.

The lack of a 50/50 volume ratio of both phases suggests a “rapid air cooling” after normalizing.