ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS

Aluminum Rolling Company Expands Operations with Heat Treat Software

/ ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

The aluminum rolling division of ElvalHalcor S.A., Elval, has placed an order for a sustainability suite with a heat treat supplier with North American locations. This technology will be used for Elval’s flat-rolled aluminum manufacturing plant based in Oinofyta, Greece.

Drakotos Athanasios
Electrical & Electronic Maintenance Deputy Director
Elval
Source: LinkedIn

The Viridis Energy & Sustainability Suite from SMS group will contribute to Elval’s goal to reduce carbon emissions and optimize overall production processes. With the installation of two modules of the Suite, Viridis Performance and Viridis Grids, Elval will be equipped to meet the ever-increasing demands for responsible and energy-efficient management in the aluminum industry.

The automated machine learning (Auto ML) resources of Viridis Performance calculate targets automatically, maintaining relevance in changing production conditions. It will comprise over 70 equipment assets, such as melting furnaces, preheating furnaces, hot and cold rolling mills, among others. Viridis Grids will support Elval to precisely and autonomously calculate energy consumption forecast based on the production plan via automated machine learning resources.

Stated Drakotos Athanasios, the electrical & electronic maintenance deputy director at Elval, “Our partnership with SMS group represents a significant step in our sustainability journey. The Viridis Energy & Sustainability Suite aligns perfectly with our commitment to sustainable aluminum production and reducing our energy and environmental footprint. We are confident that this investment will have a positive impact on our operations and support our carbon footprint reduction pathway”.

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Exothermic Atmosphere Generator Supplied to Skana Aluminum

/ ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, ANNEALING NEWS, ATMOSPHERE GENERATORS NEWS, BRAZING NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, TEMPERING NEWS

Skana Aluminum Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, has recently been supplied with an Exogas™ exothermic atmosphere generator.

The atmosphere generator from SECO/WARWICK USA, an American SECO/WARWICK Group subsidiary, provides an indirect-chilled exothermic atmosphere for annealing, brazing, normalizing, drawing, and tempering.

Says Marcus Lord, managing director of SECO/WARWICK USA, “At 30,000 CFH, it is one of the largest atmosphere generator units we’ve made to date. It should be plenty large enough to meet the exothermic atmosphere needs of the multiple processes within the Skana plant.”

Skana has also placed an order with the furnace supplier for a smaller atmospheric gas drier for use elsewhere in the plant.

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Fringe Friday: Airbus Expands Capabilities with AM and 3D Printing

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS

Sometimes our editors find items that are not exactly “heat treat” but do deal with interesting developments in one of our key markets: aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, or general manufacturing.

To celebrate getting to the “fringe” of the weekend, Heat Treat Today presents today’s Heat Treat Fringe Friday: an exciting development in Additive Manufacturing with Airbus Helicopters using 3D printing.

Helmut Fárber
Site Manager
Airbus Helicopters in Donauwöth

Airbus Helicopters is to use 3D printing technology to produce components for its helicopter vehicles and the aircraft of parent company Airbus.

Airbus Helicopters will use TRUMPF‘s 3D printing technology to produce components for its electric-powered City Airbus experimental high-speed Racer helicopter, as well as the Airbus A350 and A320 passenger aircraft, with structural components made of titanium and high-strength aluminum believed to be the focus. The company is investing heavily in additive manufacturing technology because of its ability to reduce weight and, in turn, bring down fuel consumption and costs. It is said to be exploring the part consolidation of some systems, again to save weight, and values the capacity to reuse powder.

“With innovative manufacturing processes, we are working on the helicopters of the future in Donauwörth,” commented Helmut Fárber, site manager at Airbus Helicopters in Donauwöth. “Among other things, 3D printing helps reduce the weight of components.”

Said Richard Bannmueller, CEO of TRUMPF Laser and System Technology, “Additive manufacturing saves expensive raw material and can lower production costs in the aviation industry. 3D printers only use the material that designers actually need for their components and that ends up taking off in the aircraft.”

Airbus, like many other aerospace manufacturers, has had a keen interest in additive manufacturing technology for several years, with the company recently signing a 3.8 million EUR contract with Oerlikon for the additive manufacture of satellite antenna clusters.

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C/A Design Adds Horizontal Spray Quench Furnace

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, QUENCHING NEWS / Leave a Comment

A horizontal spray quench furnace has been completed for C/A Design’s heat treat facility in Exeter, NH. The system will help treat components for the aerospace and defense industry.

The furnace, from Wisconsin Oven, will be used for the solution treatment of aluminum. The system is designed to soak the product load at temperature in the furnace and then a pusher mechanism rapidly moves the load into the spray quench. The spray quench offers reduced distortion in comparison to submersion quenching.

The maximum temperature for this system is 1150°F and it has the capacity to heat a 200 pound aluminum load plus the work grid and product fixture. C/A Design’s new furnace has the capability to meet AMS 2750G, Class 2 furnace and Instrumentation Type D requirements.

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Aluminum Industry Sees Expansion in Canada

/ ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT / Leave a Comment

Aluminerie Alouette, based in Sept-Îles, Quebec, Canada, announced several investments in its aluminum smelting operations. These include upgrades to anode baking furnaces as well as a planned installation of new potline technologies that will address waste streams at the site. The Canadian aluminum producer’s new technologies will increase operations and address environmental issues.

Alouette restarted the first firing ramps of its No. 1 (ABF-1) anode baking furnace after a refractory relining project, which was completed with EPCM support from Hatch. With furnace No. 1 restarted, the companies are now beginning work on the restart of a second furnace reline (ABF-2), which is expected to be completed in 2024.

Additionally, Alouette signed two contracts totaling $2.7 million with PyroGenesis Canada Inc. The first contract will address the treatment of spent pot lining (SPL) waste. The technology proposed will use plasma arc thermal treatment to transform the carbonaceous and refractory materials contained in SPL into synthesis gas and aluminum fluoride. The objective of the second contract is to process excess electrolytic bath in a plasma arc thermal treatment plant with the goal of producing aluminum fluoride.

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Al Reverb Furnace Fabrication Begins at Al Extrusion Plant

/ ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, FOUNDRY CASTING NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT / Leave a Comment

A multinational aluminum producer ordered a new 100,000 lb. capacity tilt melting aluminum furnace for one of their regional aluminum extrusion plants. Fabricated in PA, the furnace will incorporate several features to meet the manufacturer’s efficiency, production, and capacity requirements, as well as options to accelerate melting and transfer flow.

SECO/WARWICK USA will fabricate this aluminum reverb furnace. “Most of the damage to a furnace like this is from loading it with a forklift,” comments Marcus Lord, managing director at SECO/WARWICK USA. “Either bumping into the refractory around the door or being a bit clumsy with large awkward chunks of aluminum. It means the door is open a lot, and when it is closed, it might not have the best seal because the sills, jams and lentils are all beaten up. This furnace has a separate loading mechanism, so the door doesn’t need to open nearly as often. It really extends the life of the refractory, but it’s a huge efficiency boost too.”

This furnace will be fabricated with additional features, including capabilities to allow for a magnetic stirrer (supplied by the client) to be mounted under the furnace, saving more energy by increasing the melt rate by up to 10%. It will be capable of completely one full batch cycle in under 6 hours, for four batches a day, yielding a total of 340,000 to 400,000 lbs. per day. These combined factors will result in a fuel economy when the burners are firing in the regenerative mode of less than 1200 BTU per pound during the melt cycle.

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Metal Profiles Manufacturer Increases Nitriding Heat Treat

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT, ENERGY HEAT TREAT, FEATURED NEWS, NITRIDING NEWS

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PMS Alüminyum, an aluminum extrusion company, has added a nitriding system from a North American based company that also has international locations to enhance its production capabilities and meet the increasing demand for high-quality, metal profiles across industries including automotive, construction, solar energy, defense, aerospace, and rail.

Previously outsourcing this process, PMS Alüminyum made the decision to bring nitriding operations in-house for streamlined logistics coordination, long-term cost savings, improved availability of ready-to-use dies, and faster turnaround times. Moreover, the growing number of dies to be treated made in-house processing a more viable and cost-effective solution.

The Nitrex pit-type furnace, model NX-1020, with Nitreg® controlled nitriding and Nitreg®-C controlled nitrocarburizing technologies, provides capabilities for processing H11 and H13 dies.

The system was installed in the extrusion company's new facility in November 2022 that also houses an extrusion press and powder coating lines.

 

 

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Heat Treatment Lines for Automotive and Aerospace Industries

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT, FEATURED NEWS

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A producer of aluminum and aluminum alloy sheets for the automotive and aerospace industries has ordered two continuous heat treatment lines (No. 3 and No. 4) and one continuous process treatment line (No. 4) from a manufacturer with North American locations.

The Andritz Group will supply Shandong Nanshan Aluminum Col, Ltd, China with the engineering, equipment supply, supervision of erection, and commissioning of the complete lines, including the electrical and automation equipment. Start-up will take place in 2025. Shandong Nanshan Aluminum Co., Ltd has built the complete aluminum processing industrial chain in its region.

Wang Tao, director of the Nanshan production plant, commented, "technology, focusing on excellent aluminum process lines, and the extensive local network of experts and service specialists" were factors in the decision.

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Firearms Manufacturer To Receive Furnace To Heat Treat Aluminum

/ ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT

HTD Size-PR LogoA leading firearms manufacturer ordered a continuous conveyor furnace from a Wisconsin furnace supplier. The oven will be used for heat treating aluminum parts prior to quenching.

Industrial Conveyor Furnace
Source: Wisconsin Oven Corp.

Mike Grande
Vice President of Sales
Wisconsin Oven

This industrial conveyor furnace has a maximum temperature rating of 1,110°F and interior chamber dimensions of 4’2” W x 30’ L x 1’ H. The parts are manually loaded onto the flat wire belt conveyor and transported through both zones of the oven. The recirculation system utilizes two 56,000 CFM blowers, and the furnace is equipped with a performance monitoring system that collects information from predictive maintenance sensors.

“[W]e provide custom design solutions to meet each of our customer’s unique requirements," commented Mike Grande, vice president of sales at Wisconsin Oven Corporation. "This conveyor furnace was designed to sit at an incline which allows for the quench tank to fit under the conveyor discharge end.”

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Nitriding System To Bring Heat Treat In-House

/ ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, NITRIDING NEWS

HTD Size-PR LogoThe Lenox Group, an aluminum extrusion profiles company, decided to add a turnkey nitriding system from a supplier with North American locations. The new heat treat furnace will further aid in production of products like windows, doors, solar panels, lighting systems, etc.

Marcin Stokłosa
Project Manager
Nitrex Poland
LinkedIn.com

Lenox has opted to bring operations in-house (in Bulgaria) to improve die reliability through more stringent quality control. “Previously, the company sent extrusion dies for salt bath nitriding and gas nitriding," explains Marcin Stokłosa, project manager at Nitrex. "Lenox Group experimented with various case hardening technologies in search of the best one, the results of which would be repeatable and consistent with their expectations."

The N-EXT 412 is a compact-size Nitrex gas nitriding furnace for low volume quantities. This turnkey nitriding system is built on a self-contained platform that includes the furnace, control system with Nitreg® technology, and an exhaust neutralizer for clean and green processing. With a temperature distribution of +/-5°C, it is suitable for nitriding H11 and H13 extrusion dies.

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