CHTE Distinguished Service Award Goes to Cummins Inc. Employee
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FEATURED NEWS
Nucor Steel Gallatin Orders Hot Strip Galvanizing Line with “Heat-to-Coat” Technology
Nucor Steel Gallatin, based in Ghent, Kentucky, recently ordered a “heat-to-coat” pickling and galvanizing line with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons of galvanized hot strip. The “heat-to-coat” technology is characterized by the compact and operator-friendly U-shape design, the turbulence pickling system, the high-power inductive heating system, the FOEN galvanizing equipment and the Drever after pot cooling system. The system will be delivered from a single source, SMS Group; startup is anticipated for 2019.
The “heat-to-coat” process permits the production of galvanized steel strip with durable corrosion protection, as well as an increased mechanical load-capacity while still maintaining low production and investment costs. Due to the integrated inductive galvannealing furnace the line is also able to produce galvannealed strips. There is a broad area of applications for galvanized hot strip, especially in construction, transportation and automotive industry. Furthermore, it is possible to substitute galvanized cold strip with hot strip. The ‘U-shape’ design allows a quick and easy bypass of the coating section in order to use the line as a continuous pickling line and produce just pickled and oiled material. The emission-free, inductive furnace operates with electrical energy, and a special fume exhaust system will be integrated which ensures low emission rates for the whole process.
Nucor Steel Gallatin Orders Hot Strip Galvanizing Line with “Heat-to-Coat” Technology Read More »
NLMK Lipetsk Upgrades Hot-Rolling Operations
NLMK Group, an international steelmaking company with operations in Russia, the US, and the European Union, is upgrading hot-rolled steel production at the Lipetsk site in western Russia. The plan is to install a new walking-beam reheating furnace to streamline the slab heating process. The new furnace will replace the outdated pusher-type furnaces currently operational at the facility.
The new furnace (No.2) with a capacity of 320 tonnes/hour (about 2.25 million tonnes per year) will boost the productivity of Mill 2000, increase the quality of steel products due to using a more advanced technology for feeding slabs to the mill, enable a significant reduction in energy consumption and minimize environmental impact.
The Hot Rolling Shop currently operates 5 reheating furnaces in turn with a total maximum capacity of 1,500 tonnes of slabs per hour (in 2016, 6.24 million tonnes of hot-rolled steel was produced). Three of them are already equipped with walking beams; the two remaining pusher-type furnaces will be replaced by the new furnace.
“The new furnace will enable a 110 ktpa increase in hot-strip mill productivity, and an improvement in the quality of HRC by eliminating surface defects in the process of preheating slabs that can occur in pusher-type furnaces. Specific natural gas consumption will decrease by 49%. Consumption of energy required for subsequent rolling will reduce by 20%, and air emissions will be almost halved,” said Konstantin Lagutin, NLMK Group Vice President for Investment Projects.
Construction and assembly activities are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2017 with an estimated launch date late in 2019. During maintenance, slabs for the hot-strip mill will be preheated by four of the five existing reheating furnaces. The upgrade of furnace No. 2 will have no impact on the production program. Main process equipment will be supplied by Tenova (Italy), with NLMK Engineering acting as the chief designer.
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Auto Bearing Manufacturer Adds Mesh Belt Furnace System
A global automotive corporation’s American-based bearing division placed an order for a mesh belt furnace system for heat treating thrust races, retainer/cages, and washers. The new, CQI-9 compliant production line features built-in flexibility that allows for both neutral hardening and carburizing. Included with the system are an atmosphere controlled hardening furnace, salt quench, two-stage post-quench washing system, salt reclamation unit, temper furnace salt holding tank, and Level 2 SCADA system. The electrically heated system utilizes loading combinations on its belt to meet production requirements while achieving the customer’s required low residence times for the system’s hardener and quench.
Can-Eng Furnaces’ continuous mesh belt heat treatment systems are capable of treating three separate part types, multiple heat treating processes, unique temperature operating ranges, and diverse residence times for each piece of equipment
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BAE Systems Begins Production on First Royal Navy Type 26 Global Combat Ship
Production on the first of the new Type 26 Global Combat Ships for the UK Royal Navy began with the push of a button last month at the BAE Systems shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland.
BAE Systems welcomed Sir Michael Fallon MP, Secretary of State for Defense, to its Glasgow facility to signal the start of production following the UK Government’s recent award of a contract for the first three ships to be built in this series. This advances the work already underway to construct five River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels and provides a strong foundation for the next two decades of shipbuilding in Scotland. During his speech, the Defense Secretary unveiled the name of the first ship as Glasgow.
The Type 26 Global Combat Ship will be a world-class anti-submarine warfare vessel, replacing the Type 23 anti-submarine variant frigates, with the premier ship due to be delivered to the Royal Navy in the mid-2020s. Globally deployable, the flexible mission bay, aviation facilities, and combat systems ensure it will be capable of undertaking a wide range of roles from high-intensity warfare to humanitarian assistance, either operating independently or as part of a task group.
The ship benefits from the latest advances in digital technologies, including 3D and virtual reality, to ensure that the ship’s design is refined earlier in the process. This has enabled BAE Systems to work in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense and the Royal Navy to ensure every zone of the ship has the requirements of its crew at the heart of the design.
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Latest ArcelorMittal Expansion Includes $27 Million Finishing Line at Longueuil, Québec
ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada, a part of ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading integrated steel and mining company, recently completed an 18-month long installation of a new finishing line at its bar mill in Longueuil, Québec. The $27 million (CAD) project is forecast to boost the facility’s annual rolling capacity from 400,000 to 500,000 metric tonnes per year; in addition, it will be able to make new value-added steel products available to local and international markets.
“Our new finishing line has been built to better respond to the needs of our clients and support the company’s development over the next few years. The project is part of our growth strategy to maximize the profitability of our steel,” said Sujit Sanyal, President and CEO, ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada. “We are reaffirming our leadership in the steel and mining industry in North America as an integrated company: from mining to steel to customers.”
The Longueuil bar mill converts steel billets cast from recycled scrap iron and iron ore extracted on Québec’s North Shore into special grade and merchant bars, reinforcing steel (rebar), and other semi-finished products for customers in North America and Mexico. The bar mill is the world’s largest supplier of steel used by the world’s automotive manufacturers in leaf springs for light and heavy trucks. The new finishing line will secure additional outlets for billets from the two ArcelorMittal Montreal steelworks in Contrecoeur and will increase the bar mill’s capacity by 100,000 tonnes per year.
Since 2008, ArcelorMittal Montreal has undergone several upgrades and expansions in an effort to improve the mill’s performance and reduce energy consumption and greenhouse emissions, including the installation of a new reheat furnace in 2013. In operation since 1974, the Longueuil plant is one of the cornerstones of the company’s rolling capacity expansion plan to be executed between now and 2020.
Source: ArcelorMittal
Latest ArcelorMittal Expansion Includes $27 Million Finishing Line at Longueuil, Québec Read More »
Dana to Supply Driveshaft Assemblies, Motion Systems for New York Wheel
Dana Incorporated, based in Maumee, Ohio, recently announced that it is providing driveshaft assemblies and gearboxes for the New York Wheel–which will be the world’s tallest observation wheel. This attraction is currently under construction on the north shore of Staten Island in New York City and will stand 630 feet (192 meters) high when completed in early 2018.
The New York Wheel features 36 pods that will each hold 40 people, taking visitors on a leisurely ride with a view of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline. Production automation company VDL Steelweld is manufacturing these capsules, and Dana is supplying driveshafts to support a leveling system that allows each pod to stay balanced as the wheel rotates. Dana is also supplying custom-made adapters to convert the end of the shaft to fit the drive.
In addition, Dana is supplying its motion system products to engineering company Starneth for the New York Wheel project. Thirty-two planetary gearboxes will be used to rotate the wheel. These gearboxes are typically designed to move continuous chain-tread vehicles or other heavy machinery and feature a custom cylindrical input shaft to fit the needs of this specific application.
Dana gearboxes were also supplied for the 550-foot tall High Roller observation wheel in Las Vegas, which opened in 2014.
“When Dana was approached about the New York Wheel, we knew there would be very specific requirements for this distinctive project,” said Aziz Aghili, president of Dana Off-Highway Drive and Motion Technologies. “Dana offers a competitive advantage with a truly global footprint that supplies specialized driveshaft solutions, power-transmission products, and support all over the world.”
The New York Wheel is expected to draw more than 3.5 million visitors annually and will be visible from the New York Harbor.
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Austal Delivers Aluminum EPF Catamaran to U.S. Navy
Source: Light Metal Age
Austal USA recently delivered the USNS Yuma, the eighth Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessel, an aluminum catamaran, to the U.S. Navy. The 338-foot long Yuma is capable of transporting 600 tons 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots and is designed to operate in austere ports and waterways, providing added flexibility to U.S. warfighters worldwide.
Around 700 tonnes of aluminum in the form of plate, extrusions, and forgings is used in the construction of the Yuma. Custom panels created by friction stir welding are joined with custom extrusions using a combination of TIG and gas metal arc welding. Although no surface treatment is used above the waterline, the hull is painted below the waterline. Aluminum provides a strong weight ratio and enables Austal to produce a ship that can efficiently achieve high speeds with a shallow draft. The structure weight of an aluminum ship is approximately half that of a steel ship and is comparable to fiberglass. Other benefits of using aluminum in marine applications are that it is also easy to form, resistant to corrosion, doesn’t require paint to protect the surface, can be welded with well-established commercial processes, and is easy to repair.
Read more: Austal Delivers Aluminum EPF Catamaran to U.S. Navy
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EVRAZ North America Building New Heat Treat Facility in Alberta
EVRAZ North America, a leading producer of engineered steel products for rail, energy and industrial end markets, recently approved engineering design work and ordering of long-lead time equipment to install a new heat treatment line at its Red Deer, Alberta, Oil Country Tubular Goods facility.
“This project will allow us to better meet the growing need for premium OCTG products by approximately doubling the installed OCTG heat treat capacity in this region” said Conrad Winkler, President and CEO of EVRAZ North America.
The manufacturer has six production sites located in the USA (Portland, Oregon; Pueblo, Colorado) and Canada (Regina, Saskatchewan; Calgary, Camrose and Red Deer, Alberta).
EVRAZ North America Building New Heat Treat Facility in Alberta Read More »
Vehicle Industry Benefits From Process Range
Source: Engineering News
Since it obtained its license from heat treating and manufacturing services company Nitrex, in Canada, heat treatment specialist P.H. Heat Treatment [of Germiston, South Africa] provides the automotive industry with controlled nitriding and ferritic nitrocarburizing processes for automotive components, which form part of the Nitreg® range.
Read more: Vehicle Industry Benefits From Process Range
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