AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT

New Vacuum Furnace for Michigan Heat Treater

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The new transformer
Source: Solar Atmospheres

Solar Atmospheres of Michigan took delivery of a new vacuum furnace this week, which will be used primarily for aerospace applications. The Chesterfield, MI, location is set to begin heat treating later this year.

The furnace has a working hot zone of 36” wide x 36” high x 48” deep and can handle workloads up to 5,000 lbs. To power this furnace along with nine other vacuum furnaces, a new 2600kVA transformer was installed. The new facility anticipates being fully operational by the fall of 2023 and will gather all of Solar Atmosphere's Michigan heat treating under one roof.


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FAC Awarded for Aerospace Applications Forging Line

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Jiuli has awarded the final acceptance certificate (FAC) for a hydraulic radial forging line to a metals industry technology supplier with North American locations. The plant has a press force of 18 MN for each of the four press cylinders, which will allow sophisticated materials for the aerospace industry to be forged.

"The new SMX forging line enables us to manufacture our products in a highly cost-efficient way. The high productivity and the wide range of products give us the necessary flexibility to respond quickly to changing demands," commented Luo Tongwei, project manager at Jiuli.

In addition to the SMX 900 / 18 MN as the core machine, the plant comprises two fully synchronized eight-ton forging manipulators and equipment for loading and unloading as well as for cutting, marking and cooling of forged bars. SMS group manufactured the plant to provide a forging strategy that is calculated on the basis of a comprehensive material database as well as the preset machine, material, geometry, and product-related parameters.

“SMS group has enjoyed a close working relationship with Jiuli for over ten years and has supplied them with different types of equipment during this period. We are looking forward to the further fruitful cooperation”, says Jia Hui, senior sales manager at SMS group.


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Car Bottom Heat Treat Furnace Installed in CA

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Derek Dennis
President
Solar Atmospheres California

Solar Atmospheres of California (SCA) installed a new 14 foot long car bottom air furnace. With a maximum operating temperature of 1450°F, this furnace tempers large tool steel components, age hardens 15-5 PH, 17-4 PH, 13-8PH and nickel-based alloys, and anneals titanium forgings.

SCA is typically known around the world as a “vacuum only” heat treater. However, there is a great need for heat treating non finished parts and materials in accordance with the same specifications (AMS, MIL, Boeing, and Airbus) within different atmospheres where surface oxidation is permissible. This furnace allows for a “raw material” option.

“Solar Atmospheres of California is excited to be adding this new furnace and the added capability/capacity," stated Derek Dennis, president of SCA. The furnace has a working zone that is 60" square by 168" long with a total load capacity of up to 30,000 pounds.


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2 “Heavy Duty” Furnaces Expand Tempering Capabilities for Ohio Heat Treater

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Twin convection furnace systems were recently supplied to Winston Heat Treating. The furnaces replaced two older tempering systems. The new systems are for ferrous alloys and aging PH stainless steels.

David Reger
President at Winston Heat Treating
Source: LinkedIn

The SCAHT®-HD (Heavy Duty) Series furnaces, from DELTA H®, are set up with Instrumentation Type B and have two load thermocouples. The furnaces have a certified TUS volume of 2 feet wide, 1.5 feet high and 2 feet deep with a maximum continuous operating temperature of 1,200°F.  Both are designed to receive baskets of parts from many nearby heat treating operations for secondary heat treatments. Temperature control and data acquisition are provided by Super Systems and feature the SSi 9130 controller/programmer. ATP qualified them as Class 2 (+/- 10°F) from 300°F to 1200°F.

“We were looking for a partner to replace existing tempering furnaces that had become too costly to maintain and could no longer meet required pyrometry standards. Our goal was to install reliable and modern furnaces that were specialized for our small batch/job shop work," said David Reger, president at Winston Heat Treating and a Heat Treat Today's 40 Under 40 recipient.

 

 


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Castheon Expands Hypersonic Production & Research Capabilities in California

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Castheon, Inc. an ADDMAN Group company, has expanded its operational and engineering infrastructure in southern California. Castheon specializes in materials for extreme environments like rocket propulsion and hypersonics, prints refractory alloys such as Niobium C103 and Super C103, and develops metallic alternatives for legacy composite hypersonic thermal protection systems.

Castheon is moving into a new facility with over 40,000 square feet of production, R&D, and engineering space. The square footage makes room for additional machines (more than 10 of them) and manufacturing processes, including large format printers, heat treatments, precision machining, and inspection for aerospace & defense applications.

Dr. Yaoping Gao
Source: castheon.com

“When we 3D print the refractory alloys using our unique approach to metallurgy, we are seeing the intrinsic material properties that far exceed that of wrought equivalent," shares Dr. Youping Gao, an accomplished aerospace manufacturing veteran. "The magnitude improvement in strength, oxidation resistance, and creep resistance are all derived from the additive process’ ability in controlling the microscopic level of metallic grains”

The company is actively recruiting engineers, quality inspectors, and other functions. Interested parties are encouraged to visit the ADDMAN career board.

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Canadian Gov’t Provides $9 Million to Aerospace Manufacturer

Over $9 million FedDev Ontario investment is helping Cyclone Manufacturing Incorporated (Cyclone) to add a heat treatment oven at its Milton facility, commercialize 1,500 parts, and support 110 jobs at Milton and Mississauga locations.

This investment through the Aerospace Regional Recovery Initiative, will help Cyclone expand its facilities in all its four locations. The expansions will also include commercialization of 1,500 parts, a temperature-controlled production area at one of its Mississauga facilities, increase the company’s ability to create new and larger aircraft metal parts, and continue to perform sub-assemblies for major OEMs like Bombardier, Boeing, Airbus and Embraer.

MP Adam van Koeverden and MP Rechie Valdez visited Cyclone Manufacturing Incorporated’s (Cyclone) Milton location
Source: Cyclone Manufacturing Inc.

Adam van Koeverden, the Member of Parliament for Milton, along with Rechie Valdez, the Member of Parliament for Mississauga–Streetsville, visited Cyclone at its Milton facility.  “This project will help Cyclone expand in a green way," commented van Koeverden, "supporting 110 local jobs while contributing to the growth of the aerospace sector here in southern Ontario.” 

“Today’s investment will help the company emerge from the pandemic as a key player within the global aerospace supply chain," added Valdez.


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Vacuum Furnaces: Origin, Theory, and Parts

OC

Vacuum furnaces are widely used in the aerospace and automotive industries. These furnaces are used for multiple processes including brazing, aging, and solution heat treating for countless materials. Typically, vacuum furnaces are utilized to ensure a lack of oxidation/contamination during heat treatment. This article will talk about the origins, theory, and main parts of vacuum technology and how it is used in both aerospace and automotive industries.

This Technical Tuesday feature was written by Jason Schulze, director of technical services at Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc., and was first published in Heat Treat Today's December 2022 print edition.


A Brief History

Vacuum furnaces began to be used in the 1930s for annealing and melting titanium sponge materials. Early vacuum furnaces were hot wall vacuum furnaces, not cold wall vacuum furnaces like we use today. Additionally, most early vacuum furnaces did not utilize diffusion pumps.

Vacuum Heat Treat Theory

Jason Schulze Director of Technical Services Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.

Vacuum technology includes vacuum pumping systems which enable the vessel to be pulled down to different stages through the process. Degrees of vacuum level are expressed opposite of pressure levels: high vacuum means low pressure. In common usage, the levels shown below in Figure 1 correspond to the recommendations of the American Vacuum Society Standards Committee.

Vacuum level will modify vapor pressure in a given material. The vapor pressure of a material is that pressure exerted at a given temperature when a material is in equilibrium with its own vapor. Vapor pressure is a function of both the material and the temperature. Chromium, at 760 torr, has a vapor pressure of ~4,031°F. At 10¯5, the vapor pressure is ~2,201°F. This may cause potential process challenges when processing certain materials in the furnace. As an example, consider a 4-point temperature uniformity survey processed at 1000°F, 1500°F, 1800°F, and 2250°F. This type of TUS will typically take 6-8 hours and, as the furnace heats up through the test temperatures, vacuum readings will most likely increase to a greater vacuum level. If expendable Type K thermocouples are used, there is a fair chance that, at high readings, you may begin to have test thermocouple failure due to vapor pressure.

Figure 1. Vacuum levels corresponding to the recommendations of the American Vacuum Society Standards Committee
Source: Jason Schulze, Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.

Vacuum Furnace Pumping System

Vacuum heat treating is designed to eliminate contact between the product being heat treated and oxidizing elements. This is achieved through the elimination of an atmosphere as the vacuum pumps engage and pulls a vacuum on the vessel. Vacuum furnaces have several stages to the pumping system that must work in sequence to achieve the desired vacuum level. In this section we will examine those states as well as potential troubleshooting methods to identify when one or more of those stages contributes to failure in the system.

Vacuum furnaces have several stages to the pumping system that must work in sequence to achieve the desired vacuum level. Each pump within the system has the capability to pull different vacuum levels. These pumps work in conjunction with each other (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Vacuum pumps work in conjunction with one another
Source: Jason Schulze, Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.

The mechanical pump is the initial stage of vacuum. This pump may pull from 105 to 10. At pressures below 20 torr the efficiency of a mechanical pump begins to decline. This is when the booster pump is initiated.

The booster pump has two double-lobe impellers mounted on parallel shafts which rotate in opposite directions (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Booster pump positions
Source: Jason Schulze, Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.

The diffusion pump (Figure 4) is activated into the pumping system between 10 and 1 microns. The diffusion pump allows the system to pump down to high vacuum and lower. The diffusion pump has no moving parts.

Figure 4. Diffusion Pump
Source: Jason Schulze, Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.

The pump works based on the vaporization of the oil, condensation as it falls, and the trapping and extraction of gas molecules through the pumping system.

Image 1. Holding Pump
Source: Jason Schulze, Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.

The holding pump (Image 1) creates greater pressure within the fore-line to ensure that, when the crossover valve between the mechanical and diffusion pump is activated, the oil within the diffusion pump will not escape into the vessel.

Vacuum Furnace Hot Zone Design

The hot zone within a vacuum furnace is where the heating takes place. The hot zone is simply an insulated chamber that is suspended away from the inner cold wall. Vacuum itself is a good insulator so the space between the cold wall and hot zone ensures the flow of heat from the inside to the outside of the furnace can be reduced. There are two types of vacuum furnace hot zones used: insulated (Image 2) and radiation style (Image 3).

The two most common heat shielding materials are molybdenum and graphite. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Below is a comparison (Tables 1 and 2).

Table 1
Source: Jason Schulze, Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.
Table 2
Source: Jason Schulze, Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.

Vacuum Furnace Quenching System

Quenching is defined as the rapid cooling of a metal to obtain desired properties. Different alloys may require different quenching rates to achieve the properties required. Vacuum furnaces use inert gas to quench when quenching is required. As the gas passes over the load, it absorbs the heat which then exits the chamber and travels through quenching piping which cools the gas. The cooled gas is then drawn back into the chamber to repeat the process (see Figure 5).

Figure 5.Diagram of gas quenching
Source: Jason Schulze, Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.

Vacuum Furnace Trouble Shooting

In Table 3 are some helpful suggestions with regard to problems processors may have.

Table 3
Source: Jason Schulze, Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc.

Summary

Vacuum furnaces are an essential piece of equipment when materials need to be kept free of contamination. However, there are times when this equipment may not be necessary, and is therefore considered cost prohibitive, although this is something each processor must research. This article is meant to merely touch on vacuum technology and its uses. For additional and more in-depth information regarding vacuum furnaces, I recommend a technical book called Steel Heat Treatment, edited by George E. Totten.

About the Author: Jason Schulze is the director of technical services at Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, Inc. As a metallurgical engineer with over 20 years in aerospace, he assists potential and existing Nadcap suppliers in conformance as well as metallurgical consulting. He is contracted by eQuaLearn to teach multiple PRI courses, including pyrometry, RCCA, and Checklists Review for heat treat.

Contact Jason at jschulze@kacsik.com
website: www.kacsik.com


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Canadian Government To Secure 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Aircrafts

The Government of Canada announced it is to receive Lockheed Martin’s 5th Generation F-35 Lightning II aircrafts as a result of the Future Fighter Capability Project competition.

The Royal Canadian Air Force will add 88 of the F-35A multirole stealth fighters. The aerospace and defense industries will benefit with high value jobs in the production of these aircraft.

“Canada is our friend and a close ally. Their decision to procure almost 90 jets underscores the value of the incredible F-35 Lightning II,” said Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt, program executive officer at F-35 Joint Program Office United States Air Force. The F-35 strengthens Canada’s operational capability with its allies as a cornerstone for interoperability with NORAD and NATO.

“Together with our Canadian industry partners, we are honored by this selection and the sustainment of critical jobs that will continue to equip Canadian workforces with advanced skills,” said Lorraine Ben, chief executive at Lockheed Martin Canada. “The F-35 program yields tremendous economic benefits for Canada’s aerospace and defense industry."


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Boeing Receives Record Order for 787 Dreamliners


Boeing landed an order for 100 787 Dreamliners from United Airlines. Plans are in place to purchase 100 737 MAX jets, too. Both the 787 and 737 are known to have at least 20% better fuel efficiency than the aircrafts they are to replace.

The deal is the largest 787 order in Boeing's history. The 787 is listed from $248 to $338 million, but it's normal for airlines to negotiate significant discounts. With this acquisition, United Airlines hopes to expand with more international flights.

Boeing will begin deliveries of the Dreamliners in 2024.

Read more and watch a video about the new orders here.


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With New Heat Treatment, 3D-printed Metals Can Withstand Extreme Conditions

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Sometimes our editors find items that are not exactly "heat treat" but do deal with interesting developments in one of our key markets: aerospace, automotive, medical, energy, or general manufacturing. To celebrate getting to the “fringe” of the weekend, Heat Treat Today presents today’s Heat Treat Fringe Friday press release: a look at the future of heat treating and 3D printing in aerospace engines and energy turbines.

Find out more about the possibilities of bringing additive manufacturing and heat treating turbine and engine components; and read on to see what's happening at MIT.


A new MIT-developed heat treatment transforms the microscopic structure of 3D-printed metals, making the materials stronger and more resilient in extreme thermal environments. The technique could make it possible to 3D print high-performance blades and vanes for power-generating gas turbines and jet engines, which would enable new designs with improved fuel consumption and energy efficiency.

There is growing interest in manufacturing turbine blades through 3D-printing, but efforts to 3D-print turbine blades have yet to clear a big hurdle: creep. While researchers have explored printing turbine blades, they have found that the printing process produces fine grains on the order of tens to hundreds of microns in size — a microstructure that is especially vulnerable to creep.

Zachary Cordero
Boeing Career Development Professor in Aeronautics and Astronautics
MIT

Zachary Cordero and his colleagues found a way to improve the structure of 3D-printed alloys by adding an additional heat-treating step, which transforms the as-printed material’s fine grains into much larger “columnar” grains. The team’s new method is a form of directional recrystallization — a heat treatment that passes a material through a hot zone at a precisely controlled speed to meld a material’s many microscopic grains into larger, sturdier, and more uniform crystals.

“In the near future, we envision gas turbine manufacturers will print their blades and vanes at large-scale additive manufacturing plants, then post-process them using our heat treatment,” Cordero says. “3D-printing will enable new cooling architectures that can improve the thermal efficiency of a turbine, so that it produces the same amount of power while burning less fuel and ultimately emits less carbon dioxide.”

Materials Science student
Oxford University
MIT

“We’ve completely transformed the structure,” says lead author Dominic Peachey. “We show we can increase the grain size by orders of magnitude, to massive columnar grains, which theoretically should lead to dramatic improvements in creep properties.”

Cordero plans to test the heat treatment on 3D-printed geometries that more closely resemble turbine blades. The team is also exploring ways to speed up the draw rate, as well as test a heat-treated structure’s resistance to creep. Then, they envision that the heat treatment could enable the practical application of 3D-printing to produce industrial-grade turbine blades, with more complex shapes and patterns.

“New blade and vane geometries will enable more energy-efficient land-based gas turbines, as well as, eventually, aeroengines,” Cordero notes. “This could from a baseline perspective lead to lower carbon dioxide emissions, just through improved efficiency of these devices.”

Cordero’s co-authors on the study are lead author Dominic Peachey, Christopher Carter, and Andres Garcia-Jimenez at MIT, Anugrahaprada Mukundan and Marie-Agathe Charpagne of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Donovan Leonard of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

This research was supported, in part, by the U.S. Office of Naval Research.

Watch this video from Thomas to see a visual of some of the heat treating advances.


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