AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT

Enhancing Energy Efficiency of Thermochemical Vacuum-Processes and Systems

BOTW-50w  Source:  Heat Processing

“The energy optimization of thermoprocessing equipment is of great ecological and economical importance. Thermoprocessing equipment consumes up to 40 % of the energy used in industrial applications in Germany. Therefore it is necessary to increase the energy efficiency of thermoprocessing equipment in order to meet the EU’s targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In order to exploit the potential for energy savings, it is essential to analyze and optimize processes and plants as well as operating methods of electrically heated vacuum plants used in large scale production. For processes, the accelerated heating of charges through convection and higher process temperatures in diffusion-controlled thermochemical processes are a possibility. Modular vacuum systems prove to be very energy-efficient because they adapt to the changing production requirements step-by-step. An optimized insulation structure considerably reduces thermal losses. Energy management systems installed in the plant-control optimally manage the energy used for start-up and shutdown of the plants while preventing energy peak loads. The use of new CFC-fixtures also contributes to reduce the energy demand.”

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Bodycote Opens New Georgia Heat Treatment Plant

Bodycote, the world’s largest thermal processing services provider, is pleased to announce that its new heat treatment plant in Covington, GA is now open.

The brand new 60,0002ft facility, established to replace the existing Conyers plant, will primarily serve automotive and general industrial customers, offering all of the processes and capabilities which had been offered at the Conyers location as well as the addition of ferritic nitrocarburizing.

At more than double the size of the plant it replaces, the new Covington facility immediately increases the capacity available to serve the Georgia and Florida marketplaces with a wide range of heat treatment processes.

This investment is part of Bodycote’s further expansion in the Southeast USA. Bodycote is committed to offering world-class heat treating services and is investing in improvements as part of an ongoing strategy to provide the best possible capabilities, mix and geographical network to better serve customers.

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Foundry Sector’s Expectations

BOTW-50w  Source:  Foundry Gate

“India is the third largest manufacturer of metal castings globally, producing approx 10 million tonnes of castings in various metals.

The Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) is the apex industry body promoting the competitiveness of India’s foundry industry. There are about 5,000 foundries in India largely in the MSME category.

The foundry or metal casting industry is a key component feeder for the various sectors such as auto, auto components, railways, agro, tractors, textile, cement making, electrical machinery, earthmoving machinery, power equipment, defence equipment, and aero and space industry its sustainable growth has become more important today than ever before given the emphasis of the government on “Make in India”.

Read More:  Foundry Sector’s Expectations

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New Steel Alloy is Both Strong and Ductile

BOTW-50w  Source:  Materials Today

“For the steel industry, there may now be a way out of a dilemma that has existed ever since people first began processing metal. In a paper in Nature, scientists at the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung in Düsseldorf, Germany, report a new type of metallic material that is both extremely strong and highly ductile. Up to now, one of these material properties could only be improved at the expense of the other, but this new advance could alter that trade-off, leading to the creation of lighter metallic components with thinner walls.”

Read More:  New Steel Alloy is Both Strong and Ductile

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Magna International Inc Ready to Manufacture Vehicles for New Entrants as Apple Rumours Swirl

BOTW-50w  Source:  Financial Post

“I think people always overestimate how quickly a new player that doesn’t make a vehicle can actually come to market with a vehicle, but I’m sure there will be some new entrants at some point in time,” he told reporters after the meeting.

“And because we have the capability of full vehicle manufacturing and engineering … if somebody new comes into the market, they would certainly be talking to us.”

Read More: Magna International Inc Says It’s Ready to Manufacture Vehicles for New Entrants as Apple Rumours Swirl by Kristine Owram

 

Magna International Inc Ready to Manufacture Vehicles for New Entrants as Apple Rumours Swirl Read More »

Reduced Heat Treatment Requirements for Components Made with Aluminum-Cerium Alloys

BOTW-50w  Source:  Engineering 360

“The key to the alloys’ high-temperature performance is a specific aluminum-cerium compound, or intermetallic, that forms inside the alloys as they are melted and cast. This intermetallic melts only at temperatures above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

That heat tolerance makes aluminum-cerium alloys very attractive for use in internal combustion engines, Rios says. Tests have shown them to be stable at 300 degrees Celsius, a temperature that would cause traditional alloys to begin disintegrating. In addition, the stability of this intermetallic sometimes eliminates the need for heat treatments typically required for aluminum alloys.

Read More:  Aluminum-Cerium Alloys Could Boost Engine Efficiency and Rare Earth Production

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Flex-N-Gate to Build $95M Plant in Detroit to Supply Ford

BOTW-50w  Source:  Today’s Motor Vehicles

Flex-N-Gate owner Shahid Khan says his company will invest $95 million in construction and capital costs for a Detroit-area facility that will supply parts to Ford Motor Co. Potential additional investment in the project could push the project to at least $100 million. Khan says the project will create at least 400 and up to 650 new jobs in Detroit over the next three years; at full capacity, up to 750 total jobs could be added.”

Read More:  Flex-N-Gate to Build $95M Plant in Detroit to Supply Ford

Flex-N-Gate to Build $95M Plant in Detroit to Supply Ford Read More »

Automotive Supplier in Alabama Purchases Heat Treatment System from Can -Eng Furnaces

CAN-ENG Furnaces International Limited has been contracted by a large Canadian-based Tier 1 Automotive Supplier located in Alabama to design, manufacture and commission an automated T-7 Heat Treatment System for the processing of high integrity aluminum automotive structural castings. CAN-ENG is a global expert in the design of thermal processing solutions for high pressure die castings (HPDC) and aluminum automotive structural components.  CAN-ENG’s technology was chosen for this new light-weighting project because it offers inherent part handling features that reduce floor space requirements and energy consumption. The technology also provides predictable mechanical properties and maintains the dimensional stability of the casting.

The T-7 cell includes Robotic Handling, a Solution and Age Furnace with CAN-ENG’s Precision Air Quench (PAQ ™) technology, and controls integrated into a Level II SCADA system.  CAN-ENG’s PAQ™ system offers a unique combination of recirculating air chambers, distribution nozzles, dampers and directional ductwork.  Analysis of CFD modelling by CAN-ENG’s R and D Center ensures that the Precision Air Quench System (PAQ™) delivers controlled quench media to the casting, leading to repeatable and uniform mechanical properties and accurate dimensional results.  CAN-ENG’s T-7 heat treatment system is integrated with up and down stream processing operations, reducing W.I.P inventories.  It is scheduled to be commissioned in the summer of 2016 with a second phase to follow in 2017.

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Automotive Engineers Look at Honing after Heat Treating

BOTW-50w Source:  Manufacturing Engineering

“Another dramatic change in the process itself is the move away from first hobbing a gear, then shaving it and then heat treating it. Hobbing is a multipoint cutting process that rotates both tool and workpiece in precise relations to each other. It is used to rough cut multiple gear teeth at once. “Today, automakers are hobbing gears, heat treating them and then grinding them post-heat treat. This provides a harder, more robust gear. Post-heat treat finishing of these gears eliminates distortion or changes of geometry in that gear set. The tolerance requirement after grinding is pretty critical,” he said.”

Read More:  Automotive Gears and their Opportunities and Challenges

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Magna Announces New Aluminum Casting Facility in the UK

Magna International Inc. today announced it will build a new world-class aluminum casting facility in Telford, United Kingdom, to support Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s leading vehicle manufacturer.

The new facility is expected to be approximately 225,000 square feet and will create up to 295 jobs at full capacity. Working with the UK Trade & Investment and the Automotive Investment Organization, along with financial support from the UK Government’s Regional Growth Fund, helped to secure this project. Construction is expected to start in the autumn of 2016.

Once production begins in 2018, the facility will use Magna’s innovative high-pressure vacuum die casting process to produce a number of advanced lightweight aluminum castings– a key building block in the next generation all-aluminum and multi-material vehicle architectures.  By using these types of castings, Magna helps automakers deliver maximum strength and stiffness and minimum weight, ultimately achieving better fuel economy, safety and handling.

“We are excited to work closely with Jaguar Land Rover in the development of this project which will bring the most advanced structural casting technologies to the UK,” said John Farrell, President of Cosma International, an operating unit of Magna International.   “As lightweighting continues to be a key technology driver, we are uniquely positioned to help automakers achieve optimal weight savings throughout the vehicle architecture.”

Magna, through its Cosma International operating unit, is one of the world’s premier suppliers providing a comprehensive range of body, chassis and engineering solutions to automakers around the world.

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