ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS

Heat Treater Expands To Provide Nitriding Regional Services

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FORGING, FORGING NEWS

Sudosilo S.A., a commercial heat treatment service provider in South America, is bringing premier nitriding to the Argentine industrial sector with the recent commissioning of turnkey heat treat installation. This newly operational nitriding system represents a significant milestone as the first of its kind in Argentina, offering third-party heat treatment services to the region.

Source: Nitrex

The integration of this system from NITREX — a global supplier of heat treat systems with North American locations — is set to establish a new benchmark for quality and precision in nitriding treatments. Particularly, it will help Sudosilo cater to various sectors, including aluminum injection, aluminum extrusion, forging, and oil applications.

Jerónimo Alberto Colazo
Production Manager
Sudosilo

Jerónimo Alberto Colazo, production manager at Sudosilo, highlighted, “The competitive edge of this installation lies in its meticulous control and automation capabilities, ensuring process stability and the ability to generate specialized processes and recipes tailored to unique requirements of each application. This high level of customization and precision guarantees superior quality, meeting the intricate demands of industries served by Sudosilo.”

This press release is available in its original form here.

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Car Bottom Furnace Increases Large Component Heat Treat for Solar Atmospheres

/ ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, TEMPERING, TEMPERING NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently commissioned their third car bottom air furnace. This Class 2 air furnace has a maximum operating temperature of 1350°F measures 60” wide x 38” high x 168” deep.

The newly installed equipment, manufactured by Heat Treat Equipment Inc., joins two other HTE car bottom furnaces that are 14’ long and 20’ long respectively.

“After successfully hardening in vacuum at 1850°F +/- 10°F, the fully hardened die was transferred to the air car bottom furnace for the triple temper operation of 1025°F +/- 10°F.” – Bob Hill, President, Solar Atmospheres WPA and Michigan
Source: Solar Atmospheres
Source: Solar
Robert (Bob) Hill, FASM
President
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA
Source: Solar Atmospheres

Bob Hill, president of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA and Michigan, states, “the addition of this large air tempering/aging equipment compliments our five (5) state of the art vacuum car bottom furnaces very nicely. Instead of hardening and triple tempering this 6000 pound H13 die exclusively in a vacuum environment, Solar can save our customers and our company over 100 hours of valuable and expensive vacuum processing time.”

He continues, “After successfully hardening in vacuum at 1850°F +/- 10°F, the fully hardened die was transferred to the air car bottom furnace for the triple temper operation of 1025°F +/- 10°F. These large and uniform car bottom furnaces are a win/win for both the customer and for production — not exclusively for heavy parts, but also when treating long components.”

This press release is available in its original form here.

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Aluminum Extrusion Operations Bring Nitriding In-House

/ ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT TECHNICAL CONTENT, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, NITRIDING, NITRIDING NEWS

Extral SP. Z o.o., a Polish company specializing in aluminum extrusions, has bolstered its manufacturing capabilities to better serve the construction, automobile, and machinery industries. Alongside acquiring a new aluminum extrusion press, the company ordered a nitriding system to nitride H11 and H13 extrusion dies of various sizes.

Nitriding pit furnace from Nitrex

The Nitrex turnkey nitriding system includes an NX-1015 pit-type furnace with a 2-ton (4410-lb) load capacity and NITREG® technology, offering nitriding treatments that optimize die performance and throughput while concurrently reducing tooling costs.

This investment coincides with Extral’s expansion of its operational footprint in Poland, including the construction of a new building to house the extrusion press and furnace. This expansion enables the company to diversify its range of extruded products while maintaining a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. The new nitriding installation will contribute to these objectives by providing more efficient use of process gases and electricity.

Marcin Stokłosa
Project Manager
Nitrex Poland
Source: LinkedIn.com

Previously, Extral outsourced its nitriding operations to a local heat treater, due to quality issues encountered with an underperforming in-house nitriding unit. However, this latest investment enables them to bring nitriding operations back in-house, ensuring better control over the quality and consistency of their nitrided dies while also benefiting from expedited turnaround times.

Marcin Stoklosa, project manager at Nitrex, said, “Working with Extral on this project has been a pleasure. . . . Seeing customers invest in their business and achieve their goals, especially when it aligns with our values of innovation and sustainability, is always rewarding.”

This press release is available in its original form here.

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Green Aluminum Aging Furnace for Aluminum Producer

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

ALRO, one of the largest vertically integrated aluminum producers in Europe measured by production capacity, has purchased an aluminum aging furnace with electric heating. The project objective is to increase the output of high and very high added products.

The SECO/WARWICK furnace has been designed for aging type 2xxx, 6xxx and 7xxx aluminum plates with a length of up to 13,000 mm and a width of up to 2,200 mm. They can be arranged in one or two rows. The load will be placed horizontally on loading trays with the maximum capacity of 60 tons net. The furnace will be heated electrically, which will significantly reduce CO₂ gas emissions.

This electric furnace will replace three furnaces powered by natural gas with the aim of streamlining the heat treatment operations within the ALRO Processed Aluminum Division. The furnace represents an important step towards achieving the company's goal of becoming a greener producer.

Piotr Skarbiński, Vice President of the Aluminum Process and CAB Business Segments, SECO/WARWICK

Piotr Skarbiński, vice president of the Aluminum Process and CAB Business Segments at SECO/WARWICK, explains, “The challenge of reducing emissions is becoming an increasingly important purchasing impulse for customers. This applies in particular to European producers, because in this region of the world ecological regulations are currently the most restrictive. The aluminum aging furnace, powered by electric heaters, eliminates the emissions problem, hence the growing interest of aluminum producers in such solutions.”

 

Gheorghe Dobra, CEO, ALRO
(Source: Alro.ro)

Gheorghe Dobra, CEO at ALRO, commented, “The new equipment, provided by SECO/WARWICK, will support our program to maximize the value of the products we are manufacturing and will allow us to better serve our customer’s requirements. At the same time, the new technology will support our commitment to reduce our environmental footprint.”

 

"We have already completed several orders for new equipment for this customer," said Tomasz Kaczmarczyk, sales manager of the Aluminum Process and CAB Furnaces Teams at SECO/WARWICK, "including a gas aging furnace and ingot preheating furnace. We have also modernized furnaces for annealing aluminum sheet coils."

Tomasz Kaczmarczyk, Sales Manager of the Aluminum Process and CAB Furnaces Teams, SECO/WARWICK
(Source: SECOWARWICK.com)

Aging furnaces are designed to operate in the temperature range from 176ºF to 482ºF in accordance with the AMS2750G standard. The temperature uniformity guarantee throughout the entire load at the level of +/- 3ºC was achieved with the use of optimal heat flow inside the furnace using high-performance atmosphere mixers and a system of guides directing the air stream.

This press release is available in its original form here.

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2 VPA Furnaces Elevate Jet Manufacturer’s Heat Treat

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS

In a move aimed at elevating its manufacturing capabilities, a leading jet engine manufacturer is gearing up to integrate two vapor phase aluminizing (VPA) coating furnaces during the first half of 2024.

These high-capacity, low-maintenance automated retort VPA furnaces from G-M Enterprises, a Nitrex company, are purposefully engineered with moving bases and a fixed heat chamber, enhancing operational efficiency. Each retort is sealed to the moving bases, allowing for concurrent handling of two loads, each containing three coating cans. The result is a streamlined process that runs two cycles back-to-back, completing the treatment in just over 24 hours. The automated furnace supports unattended start-ups, empowering operators to focus on preparing loads for the second system which facilitates concurrent operations for heightened productivity.

VPA furnace from G-M Enterprises, a Nitrex company
Source: Nitrex

Robert Huckins, national sales manager at G-M Enterprises, emphasized that the "VPA furnaces ensure seamless operations, providing our customer with a competitive edge in production capacity. This is crucial in meeting escalating demand while delivering high-performance and longer-lasting blades and vanes vital for high-temperature fired engines.”

A feature of the VPA design is the raised fixed heat chamber, effectively shielding operators and the furnace room against potential heat exposure. This innovation eliminates the need for cumbersome protective heat suits. The hot retort remains securely housed within the insulated furnace, prioritizing operator well-being. Furthermore, this safety measure confines the load base and retort/coating load within the SAR/VPA furnace housing until the retort temperature drops below 150°C (300°F).

This strategic investment not only underscores the manufacturer’s commitment to staying at the forefront of technological advancements but also solidifies a lasting partnership.

This press release is available in its original form here.

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İnsu Teknik Transforms Gas Spring Production

/ ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT NEWS, NITRIDING NEWS, NITROCARBURIZING NEWS

İnsu Teknik, a leader in the gas springs sector of the automotive industry, continues to pioneer innovation as a key supplier for after-market and OEMs, both in Turkey and internationally, having recently implemented a pit furnace with advanced technologies at its in-house heat treat facility in Bursa, Turkey.

İnsu Teknik and Nitrex team members with pit furnace installation
Source: Nitrex

As a first-time partner with Nitrex, İnsu Teknik has strategically invested in advanced heat treat technology, focusing on continuous improvement to enhance the quality of gas springs, operational efficiency, and environmental sustainability. Central to their decision was İnsu Teknik’s commitment to environmentally responsible manufacturing practices, which led them to seek a greener solution.

Commissioned in the last quarter of 2023, the system — featuring a large-capacity pit furnace — combines three key process technologies: Nitreg® controlled nitriding, Nitreg®-C controlled nitrocarburizing, and ONC® in-process post-oxidation. These technologies enhance the surface properties of gas spring rods, notably improving wear and corrosion resistance, and offering considerable operational advantages.

The system ensures uniform case depth and precisely managed nitride/nitrocarburizing layer formation, optimizing the mechanical properties of the gas spring rods. It minimizes part distortion — an advantage of operating at lower temperatures compared to salt bath nitrocarburizing — and eliminates the need for post-finishing operations due to the cleaner surface achieved through gas nitrocarburizing, thereby streamlining the manufacturing process.

A Tuff Sport brand gas spring by Insu Teknik. The rods undergo nitriding to enhance hardness and corrosion resistance, ultimately extending the lifecycle of the gas spring.
Source: Nitrex

Marcin Stoklosa, manager of Technical Sales — EMEA region at Nitrex, shared these insights, “The commissioning process was executed seamlessly, marking İnsu Teknik’s strategic shift towards greater control over their production processes. What sets this system apart is its versatility in meeting the specific requirements of various gas spring applications across various industries, including automotive, agriculture, machinery, marine, furniture, medical equipment, and more.”

The original press release from Nitrex is available here.

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Box Furnace Increases Tempering Capabilities for Castings Company

/ ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, FOUNDRY CASTING NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, TEMPERING NEWS
Tom Schulz Sales Manager L&L Special Furnace Source: L&L
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An investment castings manufacturer's heat treat department received a large floor-standing box furnace from a North American specialty furnace company. The furnace will be used as support in the client's tool and die production along with tempering of finished castings.

The L&L model XLE3436 box furnace from L&L Special Furnace has an effective work zone of 34” wide by 22” high by 32” deep. It is equipped with a direct-lift vertical door with a floor switch to activate. The cantilevered vertical door eliminates the need for the upright structure to reduce the overall height of the equipment.

Tom Schulz, sales manager at L&L, highlights the key role this will play for the heat treat department, saying that this type of furnace is the company's “workhorse when it comes to thermal processing.”

The inert blanketing gas enables the part to be heat-treated with minimal surface de-carb. A stack light indicates the furnace status via an audible and visual indicator light mounted on top of the control.

Additionally, the furnace is equipped with a pyrometry package that has reference control thermocouple ports along with corner locations to record the high and low points within the unit as indicated by the latest temperature uniformity survey.

The original press release from L&L Special Furnace is available upon request.

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Skuld Expanding by Opening New Foundry & Manufacturing Facility

/ ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, FIXTURE REACKING SYSTEMS NEWS, FOUNDRY CASTING NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS
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Skuld LLC announced that they had purchased the site belonging to the former Champion Foundry in Piqua, Ohio, a gray and iron foundry that had closed in March 2017. The company will continue to be focused on innovation in the metals industry, serving their clients through a number of innovations related to novel materials and manufacturing technologies.

The four buildings with nearly 32,000 square feet of space are being refurbished to be capable of casting a wide range of ferrous metals (gray, ductile iron, steels) and nonferrous metals (aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, nickel alloys). The plant will initially have 3,000 tons of capacity but plans are in place to expand to ten times that capacity in the next few years.

Skuld will be installing machining, foam blowing, a printer farm, and heat treating, adding to their current 5 small heat treat furnaces and adding to their operations, which primarily consist of lost foam casting. The new installations will aid the company as they serve the defense, tooling, and heavy equipment industries. They are also beginning to target production of heat treat fixtures and baskets.

Sarah Jordan, CEO, Skuld LLC

Production at the new site is scheduled to begin in April 2024. Sarah Jordan, CEO of Skuld LLC, commented, "Skuld is looking forward to getting our induction melting furnaces installed so that we can produce higher temperature iron, steel, and nickel alloy castings." She continued, "many [heat treaters] have custom furnace components and fixtures that require high temperature metals. These parts can have extremely long lead times, sometimes over a year, which is a problem if they are stocked out." By using their new tooling free processes, Jordan says that they can help clients drive lead times down to less than a month, if not a day for emergency spares.

Skuld is a company founded by two metallurgical engineers, Mark DeBruin and Sarah Jordan, with ties to the heat treat industry. DeBruin is the former CTO of Thermal Process Holdings. Jordan formerly worked in heat treating at Timken and Commercial Metals and was a staff engineer for Nadcap heat treat.

The full press release from Skuld LLC is available upon request.

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ECOACERO Expands Rebar Potential with New Mill

/ ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, ATMOSPHERE/AIR FURNACES 2, FEATURED NEWS, FOUNDRY CASTING NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS
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ECOACERO, an ESTRELLA Group company, has placed an order for a new rebar mill with a heat treater with North American locations. It will be located nearby Santo Domingo, in Dominican Republic, for serving the growing local and regional construction industry.

The upcoming ECOACERO facility with a rebar mill from SMS group will introduce a versatile range of rebar to the market, tailored to meet the demands of different construction industry segments, manufactured with state-of-the-art technology from SMS, and adhering to rigorous international quality standards.

The complete project, conceptualized with a sustainability philosophy, consists of two phases, with the forthcoming integration of a steel production, involving a melt shop with a continuous casting machine, from the scrap processing.

The scope of delivery of the SMS includes a reheating furnace for billets, feeding a continuous single-strand rolling mill. Products are finished on a MEERdrive® finishing block, a machine that reduces CO₂ emissions and boots plant efficiency. Water boxes in the production process enable steel with improved mechanical properties through quenching and self-tempering of the bars, minimizing the use of expensive alloying elements in the melt shop.

From left to right: Pedro Estrella, Director of ECOACERO; Giuseppe Maniscalco, CEO of industrial division Grupo Estrella; Filippo Verlezza, SMS group and Nicola Redolfi, SMS group (Source: SMS group)

The second phase involves a modern electric arc furnace (EAF), high electrical efficient and designed with burner and oxygen injector technology to reduce CO₂ emissions and operating costs.

The scrap charging-based electric arc furnace will be equipped with the latest SMS technologies for safe and automatic operation aimed at reducing the carbon footprint. The entire melting-refining-casting process line is monitored by X-Pact® Level 2 system.

The plant commissioning is scheduled for the beginning of 2025, pointing to ECOACERO as the one of the largest and modern steel companies in the Caribbean and Central America.

This SMS group press release can be found in its original form here.

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News From Abroad: A Glimpse Into the International Market

/ ALUMINUM PROCESSING NEWS, ANNEALING NEWS, ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS
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Heat Treat Today is partnering with two international publications: heat processing, a Vulkan-Verlag GmbH publication that serves mostly the European and Asian heat treat markets, and Furnaces International, a Quartz Business Media publication that primarily serves the English-speaking globe. Through these partnerships, we are sharing the latest news, tech tips, and cutting-edge articles that will serve our audience — manufacturers with in-house heat treat.

In this installment, explore important company partnerships with wide-spread industry effects as well as innovative new technologies from abroad.

TECHMO CAR Welcomes Anthony Tropeano as New Senior Advisor

Founded in 1961, TECHMO CAR drives innovation in the engineering and manufacturing of mobile and stationary equipment for the aluminum and metal production sector. (Source: Furnaces International)

"Anthony Tropeano of TT CONSULTING INC. has joined TECHMO CAR as a Senior Advisor for the US and Mexico market. Mr. Tropeano has spent over 40 years in the primary, secondary and downstream aluminum and metals worldwide market.”

Read more: “Anthony Tropeano has joined TECHMO CAR” at Furnaces International

New Tin Plate Complex from Partnership Between Danieli and Habaş Group

Caption: Situated in Aliağa near Izmir, the new facility will serve the needs of the packaging industry and the increasing need for cold-rolled and annealed thin sheets. (Source: heat processing)

"The facility, with a capacity of 900,000 tons per year, will produce a diverse range of steel grades, including T1 to T4 and DR7 to DR10. Among its offerings are 250,000 tons of tinplate, 150,000 tons of thin, continuous annealed cold-rolled coil, and 500,000 tons of semi-finished products. The complex comprises four crucial process areas: electrolytic cleaning, cold rolling and tempering, electrolytic tinning, and continuous annealing.”

Read more: “Danieli and Habaş Group Forge Future with New Tin-Plate Complex” at heat processing.com

SMS Group Partners with Turkish Plant Operator Kardemir to Digitize Blast Furnace 5

Using BFXpert solution from Paul Wurth, SMS Group has digitized a blast furnace belonging to Kardemir, Türkiye’s oldest blast furnace operator. (Source: Furnaces International)

"The Paul Wurth BFXpert system is a comprehensive package of systems for the chemical and thermal control of blast furnaces. It is an integrated level-2 process control and operator guidance system for superior blast furnace operation, utilizing the benefits of artificial intelligence to take process optimization to the next level and towards a fully autonomous blast furnace."

Read more: "SMS group successfully digitalizes Kardemir’s blast furnace 5 with BFXpert solution from Paul Wurth” at Furnaces International

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Develops New Process for Sustainable Pig Iron Production

“By integrating the blast furnace and coking plant as well as the consistent recycling of process gases and heat, CO₂ emissions in steel production can be reduced.” (Source: heat processing.com)

"Around eight percent of global CO₂ emissions are caused by the steel industry. Professor Olaf Deutschmann from the Institute for Technical Chemistry and Polymer Chemistry (ITCP) at KIT is of the opinion that this must change quickly. In the long term, thanks to new hydrogen technologies, there is a climate-neutral perspective, but it will still be a few years before sufficient green hydrogen is available worldwide and newly built plants go into operation.”

Read more: “KIT: New process for sustainable pig iron production” at heat processing.com

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