Heat treatment of stainless steels calls for striking the right balance between effective corrosion resistance and maintaining machinability and formability. An analysis of the types of stainless steels and the annealing process was recently published to examine how different alloys respond to various forms of heat treatment.
A Specialty Stainless Steel Processes (S³P) facility has opened in North Carolina to serve automotive, food processing, medical and oil and gas industries. U.K.-based Bodycote, a global provider of heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services, recently announced the grand opening of its new site for S³P processes, which increase mechanical and wear properties in stainless steel without adversely affecting corrosion resistance.
Kent Abrahamsen, Senior Vice President, Bodycote Specialty Stainless Steel Processes
Bodycote reports that demand for S³P processes featuring Kolsterising® has grown across multiple markets including automotive, food processing, medical, and oil and gas among others in the United States. The new facility will support the manufacturing supply chains in the southeast region and will be accredited for both ISO9001 and AS9100 to serve the customer base.
“We are excited to respond to our customers’ requests to expand Bodycote’s geographic footprint and increase capacity to serve their growing demands,” stated Kent Abrahamsen, senior vice president, Bodycote Specialty Stainless Steel Processes. “Our new, larger facility in Mooresville supports the increasing demands for Specialty Stainless Steel Processes (S³P).”
Certain stainless steel applications present unique technical challenges to metallurgists and engineers. Bodycote’s S³P technologies treat stainless steel, nickel-based, and cobalt chromium alloys (including martensitic and precipitation hardened stainless steel materials) to improve resistance against surface wear such as galling, cavitation erosion and abrasive wear.
A major Quebec steel producer recently announced that investments of nearly CAD$70 million (US$54.2 million) will include replacing heat treatment equipment at two locations.
François Perras, chief executive officer, ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada
ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada will replace two reheating furnaces at its Contrecoeur-East wire rod mill and its Contrecoeur-West bar mill. These new furnaces, which aim to increase the company’s rolling capacity by 100,000 tons, will enable greater productivity, optimal energy use, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The work should extend until the first half of 2020.
“We are renewing ArcelorMittal’s commitment to Quebec,” said François Perras, chief executive officer, ArcelorMittal Long Products Canada. “Our choice to invest in the acquisition of high-performance equipment will help us accelerate our move towards high-value-added steel production, particularly for the automotive and construction industries.”
An agreement to bring high-performance differentials and differential technologies from the premium market to the general market of passenger cars, light trucks, crossovers, SUVs was recently finalized between an American driveline and powertrain technologies engineering and manufacturing firm and a German supplier to premium European-based automakers.
Alberto Satine, President AAM Driveline
The expanded relationship between American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM), which serves automotive, commercial, and industrial markets, and Drexler Automotive GmbH, which manufactures high-performance limited slip differentials, racing transmissions, drive shafts, and wheel hub systems, immediately integrates electro-mechanical limited slip differentials (eLSDs) into the AAM TracRite family of differential products. These systems greatly improve vehicle handling and traction for all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive vehicles. The system, used extensively in high-performance vehicles from premium OEMs, provides active torque control of the wheels by translating vehicle torque requests into accurate axle torque response.
“AAM and Drexler are partnering to offer the market mature differential technology that will allow the general driver new levels of excitement by taking handling and traction to new levels of performance,” said Alberto Satine, President AAM Driveline. “Combining AAM and Drexler’s design, engineering and manufacturing expertise will provide our customers with the highest-quality, most-advanced driveline systems.”
The system’s power-dense, four-pinion differential design supports axle modularity with open and eLSD differentials in the smallest packaging space. Additionally, the scalable clutch, actuation, and differential design of the technology drives a wide range of applications and vehicle segments.
Herbert Drexler, Drexler Automotive Founder
“AAM’s global scale and high-volume manufacturing capability make the company the perfect partner for Drexler,” said Herbert Drexler, Drexler Automotive Founder. “We look forward to engineering and developing differentials that meet the needs of our global OEM customers.”
TracRite Electro-Mechanical eLSD will go into production later this year.
A Michigan-based auto lightweighting supplier with in-house heat treating capabilities expects the company’s acquisition of an aluminum extruder, located in Trenton, Ohio, to be completed during the first week of March after all transaction terms are complete.
Shape president Mark White
Shape Corp. announced in January a purchase agreement had been accepted by Magnode, which will transfer ownership after 70 years of operation under four generations of management. The deal comes after a successful business relationship between the two companies that included collaboration on engineering projects, as well as shared research and development around lightweighting best practices. Going forward Magnode will operate as a division of Shape. The purchase expands Shape’s lightweight product and process portfolio beyond ultra-high strength steel roll forming, thermoplastic injection molding, and composite pultrusion.
“Magnode is the perfect addition to Shape,” said Shape president Mark White. “Our company cultures align extremely well, we both have a passion for innovation, engineering and customer service. Coupling Magnode’s decades of experience in the aluminum extrusion business with Shape’s global footprint and engineering know-how in impact energy management and body structures will mean that Shape is now a fully integrated, one-stop shop for customers seeking aluminum solutions. We can support customers with engineering, development, and manufacturing in both 6000 or 7000 series aluminum applications and our value stream is optimized to provide the most competitive solutions possible.”
Martin Bidwell, Magnode president
A joint integration team, compromised of members from both companies, has been formed and will be managing the transition over the coming year. Magnode’s Trenton, Ohio, facility will continue normal operations under current leadership.
“This acquisition allows Magnode to dream freely again, while imagining what we can become as we integrate into a larger world model,” said Martin Bidwell, Magnode president and chief executive officer. “I am very excited that the Magnode brand will continue for many years after I am gone. This magnificent company will forge on, breaking the boundaries that we personally could only dream about.”
A manufacturer of advanced semi-trucks recently announced the company has selected Buckeye, Arizona, for its hydrogen-electric semi-truck manufacturing headquarters facility.
Trevor Milton, CEO and founder of Nikola Motor Company
Trevor Milton, CEO and founder of Nikola Motor Company, was joined by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and other state and company officials to reveal the plans for a new 500-acre, one million square foot facility that will house R&D support for the manufacture of hydrogen-electric vehicles, electric vehicle drivetrains, vehicle components, energy storage systems, and hydrogen stations. Development is projected to begin by the end of 2019.
“We will begin transferring our R&D and headquarters to Arizona immediately and hope to have the transition completed by October 2018. We have already begun planning the construction for our new zero-emission manufacturing facility in Buckeye, which we expect to have underway by the end of 2019,” said Milton.
“Nikola Motor Company’s selection of Arizona demonstrates that we are leading the charge when it comes to attracting innovative, industry-disrupting companies,” said Governor Ducey. “This incredible new technology will revolutionize transportation, and we’re very proud it will be engineered right here in Arizona. I thank Nikola’s CEO Trevor Milton and his entire team for this significant investment in our state.”
Pictured: From left are De Thompson V, president and CEO of Thompson Machinery; Jeff Earle; Trevor Milton, CEO of Nikola Motor Co.; Allan Wainscott; Steve Lainhart, vice president of Energy and Transportation at Thompson Machinery; Frank Young; Mike Thrower.
Milton Sergio Fernandes de Lima, a researcher at the Brazilian Air Force Command’s Institute for Advanced Studies (IEAv)
Borrowing a process used by the aerospace industry – the heat treatment of sheets of advanced high-strength (AHS) steels, the automotive industry is discovering a way to satisfy the recent, growing demand for high-performance alloys while overcoming their tendency to turn brittle and break during the hot stamping and forming process.
High-strength steels are preferred by automakers and parts suppliers as well as those in the aerospace industry because of their enhanced formability and collision resilience compared to conventional steel grades, and metallurgists have been scrambling to develop techniques that will produce tough and reliable components, display high values for yield and tensile strengths, and meet increasingly tough passenger safety, vehicle performance and fuel economy requirements.
Read Kagan Pittman’s article from Engineering.com linked below to learn more about a process developed by Milton Sergio Fernandes de Lima, a researcher at the Brazilian Air Force Command’s Institute for Advanced Studies (IEAv), that consists of heating sheets of 22MnB5steel prior to and after laser welding to achieve bainitic microstructure, an innovative method of high-temperature laser welding for AHS steel appropriate for automotive and aerospace applications.
The study by M.S. F. Lima, D. Gonzáles and S. Liu, “Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of Induction Assisted Laser Welded AHS Steels”, published by Welding Journal, can be downloaded from s3.amazonaws.com/WJ-www.aws.org/supplement/WJ_2017_10_s376.pdf.
Image: Heat treatment of advanced high-strength steel provides auto and aerospace industry technique for laser welding at high temperatures (image:Welding Journal)
FCA US recently announced that the new 2018 Jeep® Wrangler will be manufactured with lightweight, high-strength aluminum for closures, which includes parts of the doors, fenders, swing gate, and windshield surround, boosting fuel economy with a 200 pounds lighter structure than the previous steel version and an improvement of three miles per gallon in gas mileage. Jeep enthusiasts will also find it easier to remove the doors, which will be 14 pounds lighter compared to previous models.
Global aluminum rolled products manufacturer Novelis will supply the aluminum for the next generation Wrangler from its facilities in Oswego, New York, and Kingston, Ontario.
By incorporating aluminum into this design, FCA US joins a number of automakers that are turning to aluminum for the benefits they see in vehicle performance, agility and safety.
A German steelmaker recently ordered a five-strand billet caster for their steelplant in Völklingen, designed for an annual capacity of 850,000 tons of billets.
The new casting machine to be installed by SMS Group for Saarstahl AG, a leading manufacturer of high-quality steel grades, will produce 7 x 7 foot (180 x 180 millimeter) square billets in a wide range of steel grades, including bearing steels, spring steels, cold heading wire rod and free-cutting steels. Products made of these steel grades are used in the automotive industry and in mechanical engineering applications.
A French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles has developed the largest titanium functional component produced by additive manufacturing in a 45-hour process that includes heat treating to achieve minimum weight with maximum stiffness.
The development department of Bugatti Automobiles, S.A.S., which established itself as a pioneer for new technical developments and innovations in the extreme performance sector of the auto industry with the Veyron and Chiron super sports car models, recently announced the successful design of an eight-piston monobloc brake caliper that can be produced by 3-D printing. Bugatti, in cooperation with Laser Zentrum Nord of Hamburg, bypassed aluminum and turned to aerospace-grade titanium alloy, with the scientific designation of Ti6AI4V, for a tensile strength of 1,250 N/mm2. This means that a force of slightly more than 125 kg (276 lbs.) be applied to a square millimeter of this titanium alloy without the material rupturing.
The development time for the 3-D-printed titanium brake caliper was about three months. The basic concept, the strength and stiffness simulations and calculations and the design drawings were sent to Laser Zentrum Nord by Bugatti. The institute then carried out process simulation, the design of the supporting structures, actual printing and the treatment of the component. Bugatti was responsible for finishing.
The printing process results in a brake caliper complete with supporting structure which maintains its shape until it has received stabilizing heat treatment and reached its final strength. Heat treatment is carried out in a furnace where the brake caliper is exposed to an initial temperature of 1,292°F (700°C), falling to 212°F (100°C) in the course of the process to eliminate residual stress and to ensure dimensional stability.
The new titanium brake caliper, which is 16.2 in. long (41 cm), 8.2 in. wide (21 cm) and 5.4 in. high (13.6 cm), weighs only 6.4 lbs. (2.9 kg). In comparison with the aluminum component currently used, which weighs 10.8 lbs. (4.9 kg), Bugatti could, therefore, reduce the weight of the brake caliper by about 40% at the same time as ensuring even higher strength by using the new part. The result is a delicately shaped component with wall thicknesses between a minimum of only one millimeter (.039 in.) and a maximum of four millimeters (.157 in.).
“It was a very moving moment for the team when we held our first titanium brake caliper from the 3-D printer in our hands,” said Frank Götzke, head of New Technologies in the Technical Development Department of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S, which is a brand of Volkswagen AG. “In terms of volume, this is the largest functional component produced from titanium by additive manufacturing methods. Everyone who looks at the part is surprised at how light it is – despite its large size. Technically, this is an extremely impressive brake caliper, and it also looks great.”
The first trials for use in production vehicles are due to be held in the first half of the year.
