Abstract: Disclosed are a high strength drive shaft and a process for producing the same. The high strength drive shaft comprises as a steel material, by weight, carbon: 0.48 to 0.58%, silicon: 0.01 to 0.15%, manganese: 0.35 to 0.75%, sulfur: 0.005 to 0.15%, molybdenum: 0.1 to 0.35%, boron 0.0005 to 0.005%, aluminum: 0.015 to 0.05%, and titanium: 0.02 to 0.08%, the proportion of the effective case depth of an involute serration in its end of the drive shaft being 0.3 to 0.7 in terms of the ratio of the effective case depth t to the radius r, t/r. The involute serration in its end preferably has a former austenite grain size of not less than 8 in terms of the grain size number specified in JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards). A steel comprising the above constituents and having a hardness of 85 to 95 HRB is machined and form rolled into a shaft, and the shaft is induction hardened and then tempered at 120 to 200° C. to produce the high strength drive shaft.

Abstract: The present invention provides a steel wire rod for cold forging which can be spheroidizing-annealed in an as hot-rolled state without requiring preliminary drawing and can have high ductility after the spheroidizing annealing, and a method to produce the same: and is characterized in that; the steel contains, by weight, 0.1 to 0.5% of C, 0.01 to 0.5% of Si and 0.3 to 1.5% of Mn, with the balance consisting of Fe and unavoidable impurities, and further contains hardening elements as required; and the steel has a prior austenite grain size number, defined under Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) G 0551, of 11 or higher, the amount of diffusible hydrogen in the steel measured by the programmed temperature gas chromatography being 0.2 ppm or less, and the hardness being Hv 250 to 700.

Abstract: A cold forging steel excellent in grain coarsening prevention and delayed fracture resistance and method of producing the same are provided that enable omission of a step of annealing or spheroidization annealing before cold forging and improvement of delayed fracture resistance of a high-strength component used with a heat-treated surface. The cold forging steel is a steel of a specified composition having dispersed in the matrix thereof particles of not greater than 0.2 &mgr;m diameter of one or more of TiC, Ti(CN), NbC, Nb(CN) and (Nb, Ti)(CN) in a total number of not less than 20/100 &mgr;m2. The method of producing a cold forging steel includes the steps of heating this steel to not lower than 1050° C., hot-rolling the steel into steel wire or steel bar, and slowly cooling the steel at a cooling rate of not greater than 2 C./s during cooling to a temperature not higher than 600° C. to obtain a steel having dispersed in the matrix thereof particles of not greater than 0.

Abstract: The medium carbon, microalloyed forging steel for machine structural use has a small deformation upon fracture in a hot-rolled, hot-forged, or any other hot-worked state, has an inexpensive ferrite-pearlitic microstructure and consists of C: 0.3 to 0.6 wt %, Si: 0.1 to 2.0 wt %, Mn: 0.1 wt % or more and less than 0.4 wt %, P: 0.01 to 0.1 wt %, S: 0.01 to 0.2 wt %, V: more than 0.15 wt % and up to 0.4 wt %, and the balance: Fe and unavoidable impurities, in which the unavoidable impurities include less than 0.005 wt % N. The microalloyed forging steel for machine structural use may further contain Al: 0.005 to 0.05 wt %, one or both of Ti: 0.005 to 0.05 wt % and Nb: 0.05 to 0.2 wt %, and/or one or both of Cr: 0.1 to 0.5 wt % and Mo: 0.1 to 0.5 wt %.

Abstract: A process for preparing silver halide emulsions having high sensitivity and contrast by adding water-soluble iridium compounds during precipitation or physical ripening and adding water-soluble iodide compounds and sulfer sensitizers during chemical ripening.