GKN Driveline has committed to a five-year, $179-million capital-investment program at five manufacturing operations in North Carolina, taking advantage of several state and local subsidies in four counties. The manufacturer indicates the investments will add 302 new positions to its payroll in the state, where it already employs an estimated 2,700 workers.
GKN Driveline designs and manufactures a variety of automotive driveline components and systems, including constant-velocity joint (CVJ) systems, all-wheel drive systems, trans-axle systems, and eDrive systems. It is one of four business units of the British engineering group GKN plc.
Directors of Bharat Forge Ltd., in Pune, India, approved the company’s acquisition of 100% of the shares of Walker Forge Tennessee LLC (WFT), in Surgoinsville, TN, making it a subsidiary of its Bharat Forge America holding.
Jorgensen Forge, a Tukwila, WA, open-die forger and ring-rolling operation, has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as one of three companies now owned by CE Star Holdings LLC, a company formed to buy the assets from Constellation Enterprises, which filed for creditor protection in May.
The Seattle-area plant forges low alloy and stainless grades of steel, aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, and nickel-based alloys. Production equipment includes four open-die presses and two ring-rolling mills. It also offers heat-treating and machining, and it has special capabilities for “marine shafting” as well as full testing and inspection services. Its customers are manufacturers supplying aerospace, energy, defense, and general industrial markets.
In the latest slew of announcements from the company, Vestas says it has received four new turbine orders totaling 320 MW in North and South America from clients including Avangrid Renewables and EDF EN do Brasil.
Long-time heat treating expert, Peter Huskek of Phoenix Heat Treating, a fourth generation commercial heat treating institution, is branching out into the computer simulation arena with a very impressive, 3D temperature uniformity survey (TUS) reporting tool called Virtual Visual Surveys (www.virtualvisualsurveys.com). What Mr. Hushek and his team, including key developer Jeff Murch, have developed under the company name of Thermal Innovation Technologies, Inc., is a 3D visualization tool capable of showing furnace operators what their furnace uniformity looks like. This 3D visualization software helps quality personnel know if a furnace will pass a TUS, and if not why. It also allows maintenance personnel the opportunity to isolate and diagnose problem areas within the work area of the furnace. The 3D visualization package is offered as a service. For more information, visit www.virtualvisualsurveys.com.
Effective furnace scheduling requires the inclusion of several key elements.
“Customer” Demands: Manufacturers with in-house heat treat departments have internal customers who, like customers the world over have one thing in common, they want to provide parts to you tomorrow and have them processed and ready yesterday. These internal customers cause frustration and angst but their work is what pays the bills.
Product & Process Variables: There are numerous product and furnace process variables all of which must be considered when scheduling. Common variables include:
Material grade and chemistry
Atmosphere carbon potential
Hardening and tempering furnace temperatures
Ammonia addition for carbonitriding and the purge time required when finished
Belt speeds
Cycle times
Variable quench programs
Process changes are necessary but minimizing the degree of variation between consecutive product runs is the goal. The more significant the change, the longer the gap time required to allow the furnace to stabilize with the new furnace parameters. Gap time is an unrecoverable cost – wasted time and money.
Sample Furnace Scheduling Sheet
Sample Furnace Scheduling Sheet
Quality issues can also be caused by not allowing sufficient time between significant process parameter changes. If the proper gap time is not provided, the end of one lot or the beginning of the next may experience quality issues.
Each heat treat department must determine the balance of efficiency and customer service that works best for their operation.
Developing a close working partnership with your internal customers is beneficial for both parties. Heat treating is typically at or near the end of the manufacturing cycle and all the lead time has been utilized by the previous steps. Teach them the basics of your operation and explain the ways they can help you provide better service and delivery. By providing as much information as possible about their delivery requirements, you can schedule to meet their demands.
Rush jobs are the nature of the business and will always be with us. They are inevitable but they can be reduced. I know of one customer who provided parts at 3:00 PM and asked for impossible results for the next morning. After numerous conversations with the heat treat department, the part supplier finally understood the heat treat process and now allows one, two, or even 3 days for results. Encourage part suppliers to give you next week’s Hot List at the end of the current week.
Heat treat scheduling is never easy but it can be improved to help your operation.
About Young Metallurgical Consulting
Young Metallurgical Consulting works with in-house heat treat departments to teach the day-to-day processes necessary to manage and improve their area of operation. In-house heat treaters will learn the aspects of heat treating that are not taught in a classroom and can only be gained through direct, hands-on experience. Contact John Young at john@youngmetallurgicalconsulting.com.
Already extensively used in aerospace, semiaustenitic stainless steel 17-7 PH is finding new applications in the medical industry. The material is most often used in sheet and strip form, with springs, clips, and bellows being widely produced. The high alloy content of 17-7 provides excellent corrosion resistance, an attractive attribute to the medical industry.
Read more to find out how this material behaves after annealing at 1,950°F…….
Dr. Arvind Thekdi, an Energy Expert for the U.S. Department of Energy, routinely conducts energy assessments to improve energy efficiency of process heating systems at industrial plants. During the assessments, he often encounters questions that indicate confusion about how process heating systems operate. In this article, Dr. Thekdi provides some basic information about process heating systems, and offers solutions for reducing heat losses to increase efficiency.
Source: Forge
“Customer” Demands: Manufacturers with in-house heat treat departments have internal customers who, like customers the world over have one thing in common, they want to provide parts to you tomorrow and have them processed and ready yesterday. These internal customers cause frustration and angst but their work is what pays the bills.
