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Electrification is afoot and is claimed to be a more sustainable heating source than natural gas. Art Moslow, electrification project manager at Kanthal Heating Systems, discusses challenges and options when switching heat treat operations from gas-fired to electric with Doug Glenn, Heat Treat Today publisher.

Below, you can watch the video, listen to the podcast by clicking on the audio play button, or read an edited transcript.

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The following transcript has been edited for your reading enjoyment.

Kanthal® and Electrification (00:00)

Doug Glenn: I’d like to introduce today, Arthur (Art) Moslow. Art is with Kanthal Heating Systems, and Art, first off, welcome to Heat Treat Radio.

Art Moslow: Thanks for having me.

Doug Glenn: Art, just to give people a sense of your background, you are currently an engineering and communications professional for Kanthal, but you’ve been with them for 20+ years. And, I think, electrification project manager for Kanthal Heating Systems is where you are.

Art Moslow: That’s correct, Doug, for a little over 22+ years with Kanthal.

Doug Glenn: Great, that’s good.

I’ve got a few questions for you. One of them is: Is Kanthal seeing a lot more inquiries now about electrification than they have had in the past?

Art Moslow: It is a significant increase. And I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to meet with you, Doug, and discuss this — what would be viewed as a very important topic.

Over the years, Kanthal has assisted many companies and industries with the exploration and implementation of gas to electric conversions.

Initially, it was a demand from “heavy industry.” That’s kind of an industrial term that means very large projects in the steel and petrol chemical industries, and they’re typically looking for megawatts of power, which is a lot of power.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen a significant increase from other industries like air pollution control, calcination, and heat treating.

Heat treating represents a great opportunity for converting from gas to electric. A lot of furnaces have indirect-fired gas burners, heating tubes that then heat the furnace — so it’s radiant heat — and it’s primarily a big form of heat transfer for electric heating.

Kanthal has formed, in the last year and a half, a new group. It’s a global group within our company of sales engineers to assist all our different sales areas with gas to electric conversions. We saw that as a significant need. Our sales area and our clients were looking for more support. That’s the group that I head at Kanthal.

Doug Glenn: I assume, if they formed this group, activity is up.

The bulk of our audience are captive heat treaters, manufacturers who do their own in-house heat treating/thermal processing of some sort. What are some of the issues that they’re facing regarding decarbonization?

Art Moslow: Well, a lot of companies have global initiatives for sustainability. It’s not just an individual location, it’s more of a corporate initiative. Every facility, every location, is looking to contribute to their corporate goals of sustainability. We see in a lot of industries that a lot of furnace production or heat processing contributes significantly to CO₂ emissions.

A lot of these companies have multiple furnaces at each location, and an ideal way to reduce their CO₂ emissions is by converting from gas to electric. It’s something they can contribute to their corporate goals and objectives.

Electric Incentivization and Utility Companies (05:05)

Doug Glenn: Would you say the bulk of the activity that you’re seeing is being driven by regulation or by efficiency improvements? What’s the motivation?

Art Moslow: I’m not really a regulations expert, but there are a lot of local regulations where companies are being incentivized a little bit. In fact, there are some government agencies in the U.S. that are incentivizing clients to switch from gas to electric.

We have worked with utility companies — this is a little bit new for us — coordinating with utility companies that are incentivizing their clients to use electricity. The utility company wants to sell more electricity — they have a sales team — and so they work with their customers to help offset some costs to modify the furnace and upgrade furnaces to electric.

Doug Glenn: It is odd about the utilities. I’ve had experience with a number of utilities that are involved with the Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA). They even have programs to help you reduce the amount of electricity that you use. Even though they are the sellers of electricity and they want you to use more, they actually are concerned with people being more efficient because they can’t take the load. The amount of electricity that’s being required these days is amazing.

Your point is good: Utilities are, in fact, providing incentives to companies to help them electrify.

Art Moslow: They provide incentives. A few of the utility companies that we have contact with have test labs where they’ll test equipment to prove out a solution to see if it’s something they can provide to multiple industries.

They might have a test unit to invite their customers to view it.

They’ll help source clean energy too. It’s always important when you’re converting from gas to electric, not just to shift the carbon footprint somewhere else by using “non-clean” energy — you’re just shifting it to another location, and you’re not really contributing.

Utility companies will help to source clean energy. So, when you’re converting from gas to electric, you’re reducing your CO₂ footprint, and the utility companies providing you with clean energy help reduce the CO₂ emissions.

Obstacles to Electrification (07:56)

Doug Glenn: For these manufacturers who have their own in-house thermal processing or heat treating, what are some of the major obstacles that they must overcome in order to get to a point where they can potentially be converting from gas to electric?

Art Moslow: A lot has to deal with challenges related to the idea of change. How can Kanthal really help and assist our clients to change?

You know, gas-fired systems work. We’re not coming in to say, “This doesn’t work, switch to electricity.” That’s not what we’re promoting. What you have does work.

It’s thinking of how we can improve the idea of sustainability and reduce CO₂ emissions. We can help you do that, and it’s up to Kanthal to explain that and overcome those kinds of challenges. We prove to a client that this technology does work, and it doesn’t impact your furnace process. Switching from gas to electric does not mean now you have to make all these modifications to your furnace and your whole production process to achieve the same product yield or outcome of the production process. You don’t have to do that.

Doug Glenn: Does Kanthal help companies do an assessment of the cost-benefit analysis?

Art Moslow: Yes, we do. A lot of times, there are a lot of steps involved to convert from gas to electric. Even to present a client with an electric solution, we have to do a lot of background work like that to analyze their furnace process, to calculate the amount of power, in terms of kilowatts or watts, that is needed to energize their furnace and achieve their desired outcomes.

It’s not a simple action of plugging into an equation, hit an equal sign, and all of a sudden you have a number; there’s a lot that has to be done. And that’s what Kanthal does.

We run a lot of calculations, and then present that information to the client. That’s part of it: we want to show the return on your investment.

False Assumptions about Electrification (10:41)

Doug Glenn: Art, are there any fallacies or false assumptions that you guys tend to find you run into regularly that need to be addressed? If so, what are they and what do you say to them?

Art Moslow: Again, it’s going back to the challenge to change. The main challenge to overcome is proving how an electric heating system can achieve the same outcome as a gas-fired system, no matter what type of form of heat transfer. This includes radiant-type heating or even simulating a direct-fired burner. With the latter, you have all the convection, so it’s just the flame with the heat being transferred via air circulation; so, you can do the same process with electric heating.

Doug Glenn: I’ve heard some people have been concerned about the temperature range of electric versus gas-fired or the atmosphere in which the process is taking place and the sensitivity of electric elements versus gas-fired, and things of that sort. Can you address that?

Art Moslow: I would say temperature and atmosphere and heat-up rates — a lot of that contributes to the demands of the heating system.

For electric heating, you have very low temperature — a couple hundred degrees Fahrenheit up to probably a little over 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You can cover that entire temperature range with electric heating, whether it’s a metallic alloy that goes up to a certain temperature range, and then we have ceramic-type heaters like silicone carbide glow bars, molybdenum disilicide  Kanthal Super. You cover the entire temperature range with electric heating. Then, you can use those materials in different modes of heat transfer.

You have different modes of heat transfer for gas; you can do the same thing for electricity when it comes to radiant-type heating (convective or conduction). A lot of times, it’s a combination of more than one of those types.

It’s up to Kanthal to assist the client and help them select the right alloy or the right material. Some materials are better suited than others in different atmospheres.

Art Moslow, Kanthal

When it comes to atmospheres, there are a lot of different atmospheres other than just air. There’s nitrogen, hydrogen, there’s carburizing furnaces. There are all different types of atmospheres that need to be controlled within a furnace. Electric heating elements can operate under all of those conditions.

It’s up to Kanthal to assist the client and help them select the right alloy or the right material. Some materials are better suited than others in different atmospheres. It’s just ensuring that you’re using the best fit for that atmosphere.

Doug Glenn: I assume that Kanthal’s elements can also go inside of tubes, if they need a protective tube of some sort.

Art Moslow: Oh, yes. In a lot of heat treat furnaces (if it’s a gas-fired system), the gas burner is firing into a tube and the tube is radiating into the chamber, and that’s what’s generating the heat.

We have a few different types of heating elements that you can use when replacing the burner with an electric heating element right inside the tube. It’s the same mode of heat transfer and provides a high-power output.

You’re not really modifying the furnace that much in terms of its process and its temperature profile. You’re just replacing the heat source with an electric heat source.

Doug Glenn: Right, a burner with a heating element.

Preparing to Electrify (16:28)

Tell me, Art, what question does a manufacturer, who currently has a gas-fired furnace, need to ask to start preparing if they want to electrify?

Art Moslow: Typically, when we’re working with a client or manufacturer and helping them on this journey (converting from gas to electric), we put the process into four really basic steps.

The first two are, kind of, the most important to prove a system solution. It involves calculating the power required, converting the BTUs to kilowatts.

As I said earlier, we’ll collaborate with our clients to do that, and it’s much more than just “crunching the numbers.” You really want to analyze the furnace process. You’re getting a full view of the “as is” state. What are they currently doing? What are they processing? What temperatures are they going to?

Perhaps we even do some analysis of the furnace. For example, you’re taking the temperature of the casing. Does the client want to make any process improvements? Is it time to replace some of the insulation? Can we make some recommendations to improve the efficiency of the furnace? We’ll also do a lot of thermal dynamic calculations and then provide that information to the client. This is, kind of, the expectation to achieve your throughput in the furnace or the specific heat-up. Whether it’s a batch furnace where you’re loading a product, heating it up, cooling it down, and then pulling it out, or if it’s continuous.

So, there are a lot of questions that we ask and a lot of analysis that we do. Then, we communicate that back to the client. It’s all presented to them — this is what we would propose.

After that, the next step is designing the heating system. I mentioned earlier that Kanthal has a very wide range, when it comes to temperatures and materials. There are times when an overlap of multiple solutions might work in a furnace, and it’s up to Kanthal to recommend solutions for clients. We’ll lay out: this is the ideal solution, this is why, and this is the payback.

We offer (that is, some clients ask for) CFD modeling (computational fluid dynamics). So, you’re mapping out the solution using a computer. It helps to reinforce the solution to lay it out for a client so they can see it before any kind of decision is made. They might have some feedback as to — oh, we see that this is possible; is there anything more we can do in the furnace?

A lot of times we see that a furnace is originally built for a certain process and a certain temperature, and, over the years, it changes. You want to get more and more use out of your furnace, so maybe you’re pushing the temperature higher than it was designed to, or you’re trying to increase your throughput. You’re putting more product through and pulling more out. So, maybe there’s a chance to do that even more, when converting to electric.

Instead of buying new furnaces or more furnaces, maybe you can get more out of your existing equipment. That’s where CFD modeling helps, as well. It helps us to really present everything to the client.

The last two steps are really specific to a furnace. It’s about removing the existing gas system, removing the gas train, which can improve the safety of the facility.

Typically, gas burners are very loud. We’ve had clients comment, “We don’t even notice that the furnace is on, if we don’t look at the temperature controller,” because there is no more noise when you’re running electricity.

All of that is specific to a client’s furnace.

The last step is installing the electric heating system.

Timeframe for Electrification (21:19)

Doug Glenn: This is a loaded question, and I’m sure it varies widely, but can you give an example of the timeframe that it would take to convert any type of furnace? Maybe one Kanthal have done in the past? There are a lot of batch furnaces that our listeners would use; there’s also a lot of continuous. And, of course, the size of each of those is going to make a huge difference.

Can you give the listeners a sense of how long it is going to take for this process to convert?

Art Moslow: Typically, the first couple steps take a couple of weeks. There is a lot of communication back and forth between the client and Kanthal. We’re gathering information, so we might have to visit a couple of times, and also coordinate with their utility’s supplier. Does the facility have the electric power available? How can they source it to get it to the facility?

Then, there are other components that are needed to electrify a furnace, like the electrical control system.

We have partners (other suppliers) that we know and work with who are very familiar with supplying controls to the appropriate type of heating system.

Different alloys and different materials behave differently when it comes to electric heating. Some controls require current-limit settings, some transformers, some don’t, so there are suppliers out there that are familiar with the requirements.

Different alloys and different materials behave differently when it comes to electric heating. Some controls require current-limit settings, some transformers, some don’t, so there are suppliers out there that are familiar with the requirements.

Art Moslow, Kanthal

Doug Glenn: And you work with them.

Art Moslow: We do. Typically, we work with them, we provide the client with recommendations, saying, “This is what you need.”

Kanthal doesn’t supply control systems. We do, for a couple of our products, because they’re unique, but we tend to work with other partners to do that.

The entire process could take a couple of months. Procuring and manufacturing all of the components is the longest part of the process.

Doug Glenn: As I said, it’s a loaded question because I’m quite sure it’s very dependent upon the process that the client is running, how long it’s going to take to validate the conversion, and whether or not your CFD modeling and things of that sort to really convince people that this does work.

Art Moslow: What is the size of the equipment, too? It’s not just the furnace.

And we want to fit it into the client’s timeline. When is their shutdown? To do a conversion, you can’t just do that overnight. The furnace must be shut down for a given amount of time to do a conversion.

When Not to Electrify (24:26)

Doug Glenn: This is a question where you have to be really honest: Are there times when people should not electrify? Are there instances out there where it just doesn’t make sense?

Art Moslow: There are times where a client might have a furnace that’s quite old, and the cost to convert doesn’t make sense. They really need to rebuild the entire furnace because the insulation is old and losing its integrity, and there’s too much heat loss from that. And the size of the system to try and fit an electric system into a given space just might not work.

We haven’t really seen the process like that other than when the client has a used furnace that they’ve been running. It doesn’t quite match the process they’re trying to run, but it’s a furnace that they had, so they just keep running it. It just makes sense and is more cost effective to replace the furnace with an electric furnace.

Doug Glenn: Are you finding that there are certain U.S. geographies where it’s much harder to get people to convert to electric simply because of the disparity between gas prices and electric prices, or does it almost always make sense to at least investigate it pretty much everywhere?

Art Moslow: You know, Doug, if you asked me that 5–10 years ago, I would’ve said yes, without hesitating. But I would not say the majority of our clients are in “this” geography or in “that” region of the U.S. It’s beyond the point of just looking at the cost of gas and electricity — it’s well beyond that now.

There are a lot of strong arguments about the CO₂ emissions reduction, safety, and environmental aspects and benefits when it comes to sustainability that are really being driven at a corporate level now, especially in the U.S., which is a newer trend.

Doug Glenn: Yes, it is. As everybody knows, we tend to lag behind Europe in these things. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but that is the case.

Maintenance of Electrical Equipment (27:19)

I want to back up a little bit on the equipment and ask you a question about maintenance. Because one of the advantages, I have heard, is that there is potentially a significant advantage with maintenance and upkeep of electrical equipment versus combustion equipment.

As you mentioned, combustion tends to be pretty loud; that’s because you’ve got blowers spinning at who knows how many RPMs. You’ve got air piping, you’ve got gas piping, you’ve got mixtures, and all that stuff.

Can you address any major maintenance issues with electrical systems?

Art Moslow: There are a lot of systems — like the example you brought up earlier, where you asked the question of if it is possible to put a heating element inside of a tube. For that type of solution, we have a proprietary alloy tube that Kanthal manufactures that goes to very high temperatures. We also sell an applicable heating element made out of the same material that’s designed for use inside the tube.

Typically, when you put in tubes, you’re isolating the atmosphere inside the furnace, and you put a heating element inside the tube. Inside the tube, it’s just air, so it’s very easy to replace the heating element when an issue like that comes up.

You do your safety “tag out/lock out” procedures; you secure power to the elements, and you disconnect them; you can pull them out, you can handle them when they’re hot, provided you’re following proper safety procedures; most, if not all, electric heating elements can be installed while the furnace is still hot; you don’t have to worry about thermal shock or overheating them; and they can be connected and run right away.

Most elements, too, you can mix old and new elements without an issue; there is no performance degradation with the older elements or the new element.

Doug Glenn: So, maintenance, generally speaking, seems to be a bit easier with electric.

Art Moslow: Yes. It’s easy to store a spare element; it’s easy to replace one. And, typically, we’re shooting for life that’s measured in years when it comes to electric heating systems. That’s our objective when designing a solution.

Sustainable Technologies (29:57)

Doug Glenn: Alright, coming down the homestretch here. There have been a lot of improvements in technologies over the last several decades to help with sustainability and things of that sort. Are there any newer technologies, materials, processes that you would like to mention that might be of interest to our in-house heat treat or thermal process people, when it comes to sustainability?

Art Moslow: When it comes to sustainability and ensuring that we’re meeting the demands of industry, in the advertisement, you had indicated that at Kanthal we do spend a lot of resources on R&D to continuously improve our materials to come up with new materials within a product — a grade perhaps, like new grades of moly disillicide Kanthal Super materials that meet the demands of the industry.

We’ve seen an increase in demand for hydrogen atmosphere furnaces and nitrogen. So, we’re constantly developing new materials to meet the demands of industry.

A newer product that we have, too, we call a Kanthal airflow heater. It’s a very high temperature air heater that’s on the market now that can be used in a lot of different industries.

There are a lot of newer applications that we’re looking into. We’ve seen clients wanting to duplicate or mimic the performance of a direct-fired gas burner. It’s just a flame-firing heat — it’s all convective heat — into a combustion chamber. We’ve had some applications for clients wanting to duplicate that using electric heating.

Doug Glenn: Do you know the temperature range on that?

Art Moslow: I can list it in degrees Centigrade: it goes up to about 1100/1200°C.

Doug Glenn: Any other new technologies or processes?

Art Moslow: No, that’s it. There are a lot of newer materials. It’s always really pushing the materials that we have on the market — so looking for higher temperatures, higher power outlets.

Final Thoughts on Electrification (32:49)

Doug Glenn: Last thing: Is there anything else for manufacturers who have their own in-house thermal processing or heat treating? Any other encouragements or thoughts you’d like to share with them, when it comes to sustainability in the conversion from gas to electric?

Art Moslow: Keep in mind that you can convert from gas to electric. And Kanthal can help you do that. We can assist you and collaborate with you to analyze your process and come up with recommendations.

Doug Glenn: This is a “tack on” question, here at the end: Is Kanthal involved, in any way, with reliability of the power grid? Are they doing anything to help? It’s outside the scope of Kanthal — I realize you are manufacturers — but the reliability of electricity is a critical thing for people to convert, and I’m just wondering if Kanthal is doing anything to help utilities make that supply of electricity more reliable.

Art Moslow: Kanthal is involved with providing heating systems to various industries that are making clean energy, like the solar industry and wind turbines.

There are companies looking at energy storage. In the past, that was really more of a theoretical-type idea as to how to come up with an ideal energy storage-type application, but there are increasingly more companies looking at, exploring, developing, and improving technologies that work.

Doug Glenn: Art, thank you very much, I appreciate it and appreciate your time.

Art Moslow: Thank you for having me, Doug.

About the Expert

Arthur (Art) Moslow is an engineering and communications professional, working as the electrification project manager at Kanthal Heating Systems for the past year. He has been with Kanthal for over 20 years serving in various sales and product engineering roles.  He received his Bachelor of Engineering in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from State University of New York Maritime College. 

Contact Art at arthur.moslow@kanthal.com or go to www.kanthal.com.

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Happy Memorial Day from Heat Treat Today. Join us as we reflect in thankfulness on those who have sacrificed all for our country. Thank you to all who currently serve to protect the land of the free. God bless America.

Heat Treat Today’s offices will be closed for the long weekend, and there will be no e-newsletter Monday, May 17. See you on Tuesday!

As part of their strategic efforts to enhance forging capabilities, Topçesan recently invested in a compact batch-type furnace with a 1,200 kg capacity, designed for nitriding and nitrocarburizing forging dies. These dies are utilized in the production of engine parts, transmission components, and chassis parts for vehicle manufacturing, catering to automotive clients like BMW, Tofaş, Fiat, and ZF Group across Europe and Türkiye.

By integrating nitriding and nitrocarburizing processes into their operations, Topçesan aims to prolong the lifespan of their forging dies, increasing component production while reducing tooling costs. The NXK-812 compact batch-type furnace from Nitrex, a heat treat equipment supplier based in Canada, includes an ammonia dissociator; this will be essential for precision controlling nitriding potential, particularly when treating specific alloys that must align with AMS 2759/10 and AMS 2759/12 specifications.

Utku Inan, the Nitrex sales representative in Türkiye, commented, “This marks the first collaboration between Topçesan and Nitrex, and we’re truly excited to embark on this journey together. Our shared goal is to pursue operational excellence and maximize product potential within the forging and automotive supply chain industries.”

Topçesan is making a strategic investment that will not only enhance its in-house capabilities and cost efficiency but also contribute to a more efficient and sustainable future. According to Marcin Stoklosa, technical sales manager at Nitrex, “The operating software of the Nitrex system ensures optimal production media and utility consumption throughout the process, providing the customer with detailed analysis after each operation. This technological advancement underscores our commitment to customer satisfaction and operational efficiency, ensuring superior performance.”

The original press release can be accessed here.

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Today’s News from Abroad installment brings us news of casting equipment supplied in China, heat treat supplier joint venture forged in Austria, and big standardization plans in Germany — where doing LESS is more.

Heat Treat Today partners with two international publications to deliver the latest news, tech tips, and cutting-edge articles that will serve our audience — manufacturers with in-house heat treat. heat processing, a Vulkan-Verlag GmbH publication, serves mostly the European and Asian heat treat markets, and Furnaces International, a Quartz Business Media publication, primarily serves the English-speaking globe. 

High-Performance Continuous Caster on Order 

“Wuyang Iron and Steel has awarded Primetals Technologies an order for a 1-strand continuous caster with several record-breaking features. The continuous casting plant will be put into operation at the Wuyang plant in Wugang, Henan Province, and is expected to be the most powerful of its kind in the world. It will also produce the thickest slabs in the world, up to 460 millimeters thick. Thanks to the new facilities, Wuyang will be able to produce sheet metal for heavy-duty applications such as shipbuilding and the wind power sector. The annual capacity will be one million tonnes of high-quality slabs.”

READ MORE: “Primetals Technologies: Chinese steel producer orders high-performance continuous caster” at heat-processing.com

Aichelin in Austria

“The Aichelin Group and Sistem Teknik have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture in Austria. This joint venture will produce and distribute industrial vacuum heat treatment technologies and services in Europe. The Aichelin Group is thus adding a promising segment to its existing product portfolio.”

READ MORE: “Aichelin expands portfolio” at heat-processing.com

Germany Decides To Do LESS

Dec“Two steelmaker groups, GMH (Georgsmarienhütte) Gruppe and Swiss Steel, have issued notes of approval for the proposal from German steel federation for a standard for low-emission steel (LESS). Both mills happen to be makers of special bar qualities, and the word of Swiss Steel may have some international weight, given it has melt shops in Germany, Switzerland and France. WV Stahl announced on Monday that it has set a cornerstone for prime markets for climate-friendly streel with a standard its members developed together with the German economy and climate protection ministry. The Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS), as it is called, is the first standard that makes the main customary production routes, blast furnace and EAF, comparable in terms of their efforts to decarbonise. Its centrepiece is a labelling system for the classification of low-CO₂ steels.”

READ MORE: “Mills Welcome German Federation’s Low-Emission Standard LESS” at heat-processing.com

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We’re celebrating getting to the “fringe” of the weekend with a Heat Treat Fringe Friday a press release detailing how additive manufacturing continues to move into the metals manufacturing industry.

While not exactly heat treat, “Fringe Friday” deals with interesting developments in one of our key markets: aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, or general manufacturing.

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Desktop Metal, a global company at the forefront of additive manufacturing 2.0 technologies for mass production, announced that it has installed four Figur G15 Pro systems featuring digital sheet forming (DSF) technology to three manufacturers, including Evology Manufacturing in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

With 30+ years as a contract manufacturer, Evology has a full suite of both traditional and additive technologies to service companies in a wide range of industries, including aerospace, defense, automotive, agricultural, marine, mining, medical, electronics, and consumer goods. Evology serves companies ranging from small startups to Fortune 50 companies with prototyping and low-volume production, typically under 10,000 pieces.

Evology is now offering digital sheet form parts off its Figur G15 for cold rolled steel up to 2 mm thick and 6061 aluminum up to 3.175 mm thick, with more materials in development.

“We are delighted to offer our customers this cutting-edge rapid sheet metal forming technology from Desktop Metal,” said Sean Momsen, VP of Business Development and Marketing at Evology. “In addition to our ability to fabricate sheet metal parts rapidly, we also have a full suite of traditional finishing equipment to deliver finished final products to customers.”

Justin Nardone, CEO of Figur, a Desktop Metal brand, said, “We are encouraged by the continued demand we see for our rapid sheet metal forming technology, which truly saves manufacturers time and money when it comes to sheet metal production. The G15 eliminates a lot of the work required when forming metal, such as the design and manufacturing of tools and dies. Our system produces designs quickly, accurately, and repeatedly, so manufacturers are able to focus on the craftsmanship of design while getting their products to market faster and more efficiently.”

Introduced in 2022, the Figur G15 is the first commercial platform of its kind to shape sheet metal on demand directly from a digital file. A software-driven proprietary tooling system on an XY gantry forms the sheet with up to 2,000 lbs of force in a highly engineered and proprietary build zone.

With a maximum sheet size of 1,600 x 1,200 mm (63.0 x 47.2 in), the Figur G15 delivers parts with a draw depth up to 400 mm (16 in) in Z without custom forming tools, molds, dies, or presses. The G15 supports forming a range of metals and sheet thicknesses – including steel up to 2.0 mm and aluminum up to 2.5 mm – and delivers a high quality surface finish

Pro configurations of the Figur G15 include an automatic tool changer and measurement, through tool part lubrication, and automated work holding capabilities.

This press release is available in its original form here.

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Given changing ecological and economic conditions, carbon neutrality is becoming more important, and the heat treatment shop is no exception. In the context of this article, the focus will be on how manufacturers — especially those with in-house heat treat — can save energy by evaluating heating systems, waste heat recovery, and the process gas aspects of the technology.

This article, written by Dr. Klaus Buchner, head of Research and Development at AICHELIN HOLDING GmbH, was released in Heat Treat Today April/May 2024 Sustainable Heat Treat Technologies print edition.

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Introduction

Uncertainties in energy supply and rising energy costs remind us of our dependence on fossil fuels. This underlines the need for a sustainable energy and climate policy, which is the central challenge of our time.

European policymakers have already taken the first steps towards a green energy revolution, and the heat treatment industry must also take responsibility. Many complementary measures, however, are needed that can be applied to new and existing thermal and thermochemical heat treatment lines.

Heat Treatment Processes and Plant Concepts

The heat treatment process itself is based on the requirements of the component parts, and especially on the steel grade used. If different concepts are technically comparable, it is primarily the economic aspect that is decisive, and not the carbon footprint — at least until now. Advances in materials technology and rising energy costs are calling for production processes to be modified.

An example is the quenching and tempering of automotive forgings directly from the forging temperature without reheating, which has shown significant potential for energy and CO₂ savings. Although the reduced toughness or measured impact energy of quenching and tempering from the forging temperature may be a drawback due to the coarser austenite grain size, this can be partially improved by Nb micro-alloyed steels and higher molybdenum (Mo) contents for more temper-resistant steels; it may also be necessary to use steels with modified alloying concepts when changing the process.^{1, 2} AFP steels (precipitation-hardening ferritic pearlitic steels) and bainitic air-hardening steels can also be interesting alternatives, since reheating (an energy-intensive intermediate step) is no longer necessary.

Similar considerations apply to direct hardening instead of single hardening in combination with carburizing processes because of the elimination of re-austenitizing. Distortion-sensitive parts often need to be quenched in fixtures due to the dimensional and shape changes caused by heat treatment. Heat treated parts are often carburized in multipurpose chamber furnaces or small continuous furnaces, cooled under inert gas, reheated in a rotary-hearth furnace, and quenched in a hardening press. In contrast, ring-shaped (aka donut-shaped) rotary-hearth furnaces allow carburizing and subsequent direct quenching in the quench press in a single treatment step. Figure 1 shows a typical ring-shaped rotary-hearth furnace concept for heat treating 500,000 gears per year/core hardness depth (CHD) group 1 mm.

This ring-shaped rotary-hearth concept can save up to 25% of CO₂ emissions, compared to an integral quench furnace line (consisting of four single-chamber furnaces, one rotary hearth furnace with quench press and two tempering furnaces as well as two Endothermic gas generators). Due to the reduced total process time (without reheating) and the optimized manpower, the total heat treatment costs can be reduced by 20–25%.

The high-temperature carburizing aspect should also be mentioned, although the term “high-temperature carburizing” is not fully accepted nor defined by international standards. As the temperature increases, the diffusion rate increases and the process time decreases. As shown in Table 1, the additional energy consumption is less than the increase in throughput that can be achieved. Therefore, the relative energy consumption per kg of material to be heat treated decreases as the process temperature increases.

There are three key issues to consider when running a high-temperature carburizing process:

• Steel grade: Fine-grain stabilized steels are required for direct hardening at temperatures of 1832°F (1000°C). Microalloying of Nb, Ti, and N as well as a favorable microstructure of the steels reduce the growth of austenite grains and allow carburizing temperatures up to 1922°F (1050°C) for several hours.
• Furnace design: In addition to the general aspects of the optimized furnace technology (e.g. heating capacity, insulation materials, and feedthroughs), failure-critical components must be considered separately in terms of wear and tear, whereby condition monitoring tools can support maintenance in this area.
• Distortion: This is always a concern, especially in the case of upright loading of thin-walled gear sections. As such, numerical simulations and/or experimental testing should be performed at the beginning to estimate possible changes in distortion and to take measures if necessary.

Heating System

Based on an energy balance that considers total energy losses, and preferably also temperature levels, it can be seen that the heating system plays a significant role. In addition to the obvious flue gas loss in the case of a gas-fired thermal processing furnace, the actual carbon footprint must be critically examined.

In the case of natural gas, the upstream process chain is often neglected in terms of CO₂ emissions, but the differences in gas processing (which are directly linked to the reservoirs) and in gas transportation can be a significant factor.³ However, the analysis of energy resources in the case of electric heating systems is much more important. This results in specific CO₂ emissions between 30–60 gCO₂/kWh (renewable-based electricity mix) and 500–700 gCO₂/kWh (coal-based electricity mix). Therefore, a general comparison between natural gas heating and electric heating systems in terms of carbon footprint is often misleading.

Nevertheless, in the case of gas heating, the aspect of combustion air preheating should be emphasized, as it has a significant influence on combustion efficiency. The technical possibilities in this area are well known and include both systems with central air preheating and decentralized concepts, where the individual burner and the heat exchanger form a single unit. Recuperator burners are often used in combination with radiant heating tubes (indirect heating) in the field of thermochemical heat treatment. With respect to oxy-fuel burners, it should also be noted that the formation of thermal NOx increases with increasing combustion temperature and temperature peaks. To avoid exceeding NOx emissions, staged combustion and so-called “flameless combustion” — characterized by special internal recirculation — and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) can be used. The latter secondary measure, together with selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR), has been state-of-the-art in power plant design for decades and has become widely known because of its use in the automotive sector. This system can also be adapted to single burners (Figure 2). In this way, NOx emissions can be reduced to 30 mg/Nm3 (5% reference oxygen), depending on the injection of aqueous urea solution, as long as the exhaust gas temperature is in the range of 392/482°F (200/250°C) to 752/842°F (400/450°C).⁴

Whether electric heating is a viable alternative depends on both the local electricity mix and the design of the heat treatment plant, which may limit the space available for the required heating capacity. In addition to these technical aspects, the security of supply and the energy cost trends must also be considered. Both of these factors are significantly influenced by the political environment. Figure 3 shows an example of the specific carbon footprint per kg of heat treated material with the significant losses based on the example of an integral quench furnace concept in the double-chamber and single-chamber variants electrically heated (E) and gas heated (G). The electric heating is based on a fossil fuel mix of 485 gCO₂/kWh. Once again, it is clear that a general statement regarding CO₂ emissions is not possible; rather, the boundary conditions must be critically examined.

Waste Heat Recovery — Strengths and Weaknesses of the System

Although improvements in the energy efficiency of heat treatment processes, equipment designs, and components are the basis for rational energy use, from an environmental perspective it is important to consider the total carbon footprint. An energy flow analysis of the heat treatment plant, including all auxiliary equipment, shows the total energy consumption and thus the potential savings. Quite often the temperature levels and time dependencies involved preclude direct heat recovery within the furnace system at an economically justifiable investment cost. In this case, cross-plant solutions should be sought, which require interdepartmental action but offer bigger potential.

In addition to the classic methods of direct waste heat utilization using heat exchangers, also in combination with heat accumulators, indirect heat utilization can lower or raise the temperature level of the waste heat by using additional energy (chiller or heat pump) or convert the waste heat into electricity. The overview in Table 2 provides reference values in terms of performance class and temperature level for the alternative technologies listed.

Process Gas for Case Hardening

Case hardening — a thermochemical process consisting of carburizing and subsequent hardening — gives workpieces different microstructures across the cross-section, the key factor being high hardness/strength in the edge region. A distinction can be made between low pressure carburizing in vacuum systems and atmospheric carburizing at normal pressure. Both processes have different advantages and disadvantages, with atmospheric heat treatment being the dominant process.

In terms of carbon footprint, atmospheric heat treatment has a weakness due to process gas consumption. To counteract this, the following aspects have to be considered: thermal utilization of the process gas — indirectly by means of heat exchangers or directly by lean gas combustion (downcycling); reprocessing of the process gas (recycling); reduction of the process gas consumption by optimized process control; and use of CO₂-neutral media (avoidance). This article focuses on avoidance by optimizing process gas consumption and using of CO₂-neutral media.

Typically, heat treatment operations are still run with constant process gas quantities based on the most unfavorable conditions. Based on the studies of Wyss, however, process control systems offer the possibility to adapt the actual process gas savings to the actual demand.⁷ In a study of an industrial chamber furnace, a 40% process gas savings was demonstrated for a selected carburizing process. In this heat treatment process with a case hardness depth of 2 mm, the previously used constant gas flow rate of 18 m3/h was reduced to 16 m3/h for the first process phase and further reduced to 8 m3/h after 3 hours. Figure 4 shows the analysis of the gas atmosphere, where an increase in the H₂ concentration could be detected due to the reduction of the gas quantities. With respect to the heat treatment result, no significant difference in the carburizing result was observed despite this significant reduction in process gas volume (and the associated reduction in CO₂ emissions). The differences in the carbon profiles are within the expected measurement uncertainty.

The carbon footprint of the process gas, however, must be fundamentally questioned. In the field of atmospheric gas carburizing, process gases based on Endothermic gas (which is produced by the catalytic reaction of natural gas or propane with air at 1832–1922°F/1000–1050°C) and nitrogen/methanol and methanol only systems have established themselves on a large scale. Methanol production is still mostly based on fossil fuels (natural gas or coal), the latter being used mainly in China. Although alternative CO₂-neutral processes for partial substitution of natural gas — keywords being “power to gas” (P2G) or “synthetic natural gas” (SNG) — have already been successfully demonstrated in pilot plants, there are no signs of industrial penetration. Nevertheless, there is a definite industrial scale in the area of bio-methanol synthesis, though so far, purely economic considerations speak against it, as CO₂ emissions are still not taken into account.

The question of the use of bio-methanol in atmospheric gas carburizing has been investigated in tests on an integral quench furnace system. A standard load of component parts with a CHD of 0.4 mm was used as a reference. Subsequently, the heat treatment process was repeated with identical process parameters using bio-methanol instead of the usual methanol based on fossil fuels. Both the laboratory analyses of the methanol samples and the measurements of the process gas atmosphere during the heat treatment process, as well as the evaluation of the sample parts with regard to the carbon profile during the carburizing process, showed no significant difference between the different types of methanol. Although this does not represent long-term experience, these results underscore the fundamental possibility of media substitution and the use of CO₂-neutral methanol.

Conclusion

Facing the challenges of global warming — intensified by the economic pressure of rising energy costs — this article demonstrates the energy-saving potential in the field of heat treatment. In addition to already established solutions, the possibilities of the smart factory concept must also be integrated in this industrial sector. Thus, heat treatment comes a significant step closer to the goal of a CO₂-neutral process in terms of Scopes 1, 2, and 3 regarding emissions under the given boundary conditions.

References

[1] Karl-Wilhelm Wegner, “Werkstoffentwicklung für Schmiedeteile im Automobilbau,” ATZ Automobiltechnische Zeitschrift 100, (1998): 918–927, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03223434.
[2] Wolfgang Bleck and Elvira Moeller, Steel Handbook (Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 2018).
[3] Wolfgang Köppel, Charlotte Degünther, and Jakob Wachsmuth, “Assessment of upstream emissions from natural gas production in Germany,” Federal Environment Agency (January 2018): https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/bewertung-der-vorkettenemissionen-beider.
[4] Klaus Buchner and Johanes Uhlig, “Discussion on Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Technology of Heat Treatment Equipment,” Berg Huettenmaenn Monatsh 168 (2021): 109–113, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00501-023-01328-5.
[5] Technologie der Abwärmenutzung. Sächsische Energieagentur – SAENA GmbH, 2. Auflage, 2016.
[6] Brandstätter, R.: Industrielle Abwärmenutzung. Amt der OÖ Landesregierung, 1. Auflage, 109–113, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00501 02301328-5.
[7] U. Wyss, “Verbrauch an Trägergas bei der Gasaufkohlung,” HTM Journal of Heat Treatment Materials 38, no. 1 (1983): 4-9, https://doi.org/10.1515/htm-1983-380102.

About the Author

Klaus Buchner holds a doctorate and is the head of research and development at AICHELIN HOLDING GmbH. This article is based on Klaus Buchner’s article, “Reduktion des CO2-Fußabdrucks in der Wärmebehandlung” in Prozesswärme 01-2023 (pp. 42-45).

For more information: Klaus at klaus.buchner@aichelin.com.

This article content is used with the permission of heat processing, which published this article in 2023.

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