Marcin Stokłosa Project Manager Nitrex Poland LinkedIn.com
Qatar Aluminium Extrusion Co. (Qalex) recently received a nitriding system. The aluminum profiles manufacturer wanted to equip a second extrusion plant with an independent nitriding furnace to save on handling, processing time, and costs associated with having to transport extrusion dies back and forth from its first factory for nitriding work.
The client chose a compact system from Nitrex, an international provider in surface treatment with North American locations. The model NXK-1015 furnace is equipped with process technology designed for nitriding extrusion dies.
Marcin Stokłosa, project manager at Nitrex Poland, said, "Qalex was . . . very pleased with our technical support and spare parts accessibility. What they ordered is an exact copy of the first Nitrex installation – an identical configuration with the same furnace model, size and process technology."
Installation and startup were completed in January 2022.
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In order to meet increasing market demand, a global auto manufacturer is including the installation of a second automated nitriding cell to help expand production capacity of automotive parts. The capital equipment will allow the client to bring the production process in-house for greater control, flexibility, and enhanced effectiveness.
This is the client's third order from Nitrex and second nitriding cell installation in this phase. Nitrex will undertake almost all aspects of the cell for 24/7 lights-out manufacturing: furnaces, charge cars, loading/unloading and magazine tables, and auxiliary equipment (e.g., atmosphere neutralizer, water cooling stations, charge cooling station, etc.). All equipment will be connected to the Protherm 9800 automation platform for automatic handling and processing, which improves workflow efficiency, process reliability, furnace utilization, work order tracking, and real-time performance metrics.For this latest order, six continuous flow-through nitriding systems, furnace model NXHL-910512, were ordered to create the fully automated cell, which is responsible for automatic loading/unloading, processing, and transport. Delivery is planned for August 2022, and the cell should start operating in autumn.
"This chain of events helps increase the plant’s efficiency and productivity: the cell selects the furnaces in which it is possible to place consecutive batches or delivers the batches to several furnaces to process. Since charges are transferred to a cooling station outside the furnace, the furnace can continuously process batches without affecting the workflow and productivity," adds Nikola Dzepina, the executive of International Accounts. "This is a huge process simplification for the furnace operator and enables an automatic and autonomous operation of the area of the plant that controls surface treatment, allowing to increase productivity but also to maintain the repeatability of results."
VIVA ALUMINIUM SYSTEMS – a Vias Group member – has recently acquired a turnkey system for nitriding extrusion dies after experiencing heightened demands for its extrusion profiles.
Marcin Stokłosa Project Manager Nitrex Poland Photo Credit: LinkedIn.com
With these demands from the industrial and construction markets, VIVA decided to expand its manufacturing capacity, installing an additional extrusion press and nitriding equipment. The new pit furnace has an effective work zone of 39" diameter by 59" high (1000 x 1500 mm) with the capacity to nitride a 4400 lbs. (2000 kg) load. The Nitreg® process technology adapts to the application requirements, achieving a high throughput per extrusion run and scoring a high number of runs per treated die, which in turn optimizes tool life and lowers tooling cost for a faster return on investment.
"We are delighted to do business with VIVA again," states Marcin Stoklosa, product manager at Nitrex. "Fostering customer loyalty is a top priority at Nitrex and key to building an ongoing partnership for future growth."
Watervliet Arsenal will receive a new ion nitriding thermal processing furnace system with full controls. It will be fully installed and commissioned in a horizontal configuration.
Ben Bernard Vice President of Marketing Surface Combustion
This is the second ion nitriding furnace supplied from Surface® Combustion, to Watervliet Arsenal; the first was originally over 40 years ago. They awarded a contract to Surface so they could again bring their processing capability in-house. Adding control to the supply chain for product was one of the many reasons they acquired an ion nitriding thermal processing furnace system for their plant. This configuration best suits the facility and Watervliet Arsenal's processing needs, and will also include process development.
Surface has always placed a high value on customer relationships and believes that an equipment purchase is the beginning of something much more than a finite transaction. In fact, they have been working with the Watervliet Arsenal location for over 40 years.
"It is always great to see customers coming back to Surface," said Ben Bernard, vice president of Marketing at Surface, "because they appreciate our incredible product lines as well as our engineering capabilities and long standing relationships."
Ohio-based aluminum extrusion die manufacturer Youngstown Tool & Die (YTD) continues with their expansion strategy, scaling up value-added nitriding services. The installation of the new nitriding system makes it possible for YTD clients to obtain greater performance results from treated dies.
In the last quarter of 2020, Youngstown Tool & Die expanded withNITREX Canada to incorporate Nitreg® controlled nitriding with the installation of a Nitrex turnkey gas nitriding system, complementing their range of heat-treating services.
Roll-out of the expansion started last summer when YTD relocated to a larger manufacturing facility and made investments in new production and finishing equipment to increase its manufacturing capabilities and meet the growing demand in the USA. As part of the new production, YTD installed a Nitrex pit-type NX-1015 nitriding system that boasts a 4,400 lbs. (2,000 kg) capacity for treating aluminum extrusion dies.
"This is the company’s first purchase of a Nitrex nitriding system and we are glad to be part of their growth strategy," said Jack Kalucki, account executive at Nitrex.
Gasbarre Furnace to Thermal Vacuum Services, Inc. Gasbarre
Thermal-Vac Technology will expand their capabilities with a precision nitriding and ferritic nitrocarburizing furnace at their facility in Orange, California. The furnace is capable of processing workloads that are 48” wide by 72” long by 40” high and weigh up to 7,000 pounds.
Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems‘ electrically heated furnace utilizes Super Systems, Inc. controls for automatic KN and KC control to AMS 2759/10 & 2759/12 specifications. The furnace is designed to meet AMS 2750F as a Class 2 furnace, which allows it to be used to perform nitrogen tempering and stress relieving processes. For cycle time improvements and consistent process control, the furnace is equipped with a vacuum pump for purging processes, pre- and post-oxidation capabilities, and accelerated air and atmosphere cooling systems. The furnace also comes with an ammonia dissociator to achieve zero white layer processes.
Gasbarre engineered, manufactured, and serviced this system out of their United States locations. Thermal-Vac is set to receive the equipment in March of 2021.
Peters’ Heat Treating, Inc., a 40-year-old heat treating company that specializes in a variety of high tech heat treating processes, moved its headquarters into a newly expanded Meadville, Pennsylvania facility located in the western part of the state.
Ribbon Cutting with the Owners: Doug and Jackie Peters (founders), Diana Wilkosz (VP), and Andy Wilkosz (President) (photo source: Peters' Heat Treating, Inc.)
Additionally, Peters' Heat Treating also announced two new lines of business: aluminum alloy processing and stainless steel black oxide.Vice President Diana Wilkosz shared in a recent interview, "We added these two new lines because of the growing demands from the automotive, aerospace, energy, and defense industries. We are also working on Nadcap certifications."
The company specializes in vacuum processing, atmosphere heat treating/integral batch quench processing, laser heat treating, aluminum alloy processing, carburizing, scale free aging/stress relieving, cryogenics, black oxide coating, induction processing, nitriding/FNC and the proprietary Nitreg nitriding processes.
After being in their original facility for 40 years, this expansion, that covers 32,000 square foot of manufacturing space, has provided them the opportunity to expand and update their vacuum line, provide room to add new vacuum furnaces, as well as increase their product offerings and continue to grow the now 60-employee business.
“We are excited to consolidate our services and knowledge in a way that maintains our history and dedication to the local community and industry while providing us the runway for a successful future,” said Andy Wilkosz, newly named president in 2019 and son-in-law of founders Doug and Jackie Peters. “These current times are challenging, but we know our business and the country will persevere.”
In addition to Peters' Heat Treating, the family also co-ownsLaser Hard, a robotic laser heat treating company.
“It’s been a pleasure to be a part of the local community and to help companies grow,” Doug Peters said. “Probably the thing I’m most proud of is the great people I’ve had the opportunity to work with. I’ve watched them buy houses and have children, and now their kids are having children.”
Solar Atmospheres of Souderton, PA, has received a new, state-of-the-art vacuum gas nitriding furnace to support an increasing demand for high-value gas nitriding. The furnace was built by sister company, Solar Manufacturing.
The front-loading furnace incorporates the latest nitriding and recipe system from Solar Manufacturing. The automated control system is useful for single stage as well as two-stage (Floe) processing. All hot zone components are made completely of graphitic materials inert to the anhydrous ammonia used during the nitriding process.
A Polish leader in automobile parts manufacturing recently completed the installation of a nitriding system at the manufacturing facility in its namesake city in southeastern Poland. FA Krosno is one of the largest players in the European gas springs market, supplying manufacturers of commercial vehicles and agricultural equipment such as Fiat SpA, Scania AB, MAN SE, and AGCO.
FA Krosno’s new Nitrex nitriding system
Nitrex Metal completed the installation of the nitriding system. Marcin Stoklosa, Special Projects Manager of Nitrex Metal, stated “Where collaborating suppliers are concerned, FA Krosno places strict technical, quality, process, and environmental demands on suppliers. We are extremely proud to count ourselves among the company’s preferred suppliers. Nitrex nitriding technologies were recognized as the best performing and best suited to the application’s requirements. Results from various metallurgical and mechanical tests conducted on the nitrided piston rods confirmed that the desired thickness of the white layer, the oxide thickness of the white layer, corrosion resistance, as well as the appropriate roughness were consistently obtained after Nitreg® nitriding and was maintained even after subsequent finishing operations.”
Over the last several years, FA Krosno and Nitrex have collaborated in an attempt to improve the durability of piston rods in gas spring assemblies of passenger vehicles. Production with the new system started in December 2019.
Photo Credits: Nitrex
This photo of a large size gas nitriding/nitrocarburizing furnace from Nitrex was not included in the original realease of this purchase by by FA Krosno.
An automotive partner based in the Czech Republic has entered an agreement with a nitriding company based in Montreal, Canada, for a new nitriding system to enhance the durability of stainless steel.
The high performance metals division of Voestalpine AG has entered an agreement with Nitrex Metal, a company that focuses on nitriding/nitrocarburizing technologies, to bring new innovations in stainless steel hardening technologies to the Czech Republic.
“The agreement builds on a strong partnership and confirms the market potential of hardening technologies for stainless steels,” said Marcin Stoklosa, special projects manager of Nitrex Metal.
“We are excited about bringing these innovative heat-treat processes to the Czech Republic market. . . . Nitrex’s proven technologies offer numerous benefits to our industrial customers looking to maximize the life span and quality of their engineered parts and components,” said Zbyněk Drda, Voestalpine Heat Treatment Manager.
Capable of treating 304, 316 and 412 grade stainless steels, the new system with integral process technologies Nitreg®-S and Nano-S™ optimizes the mechanical performance and economic return by making these steels extremely wear and corrosion resistant and capable of achieving a longer useful life. Post cleaning of treated parts and added production steps such as machining are eliminated.
Qatar Aluminium Extrusion Co. (Qalex) recently received a nitriding system. The aluminum profiles manufacturer wanted to equip a second extrusion plant with an independent nitriding furnace to save on handling, processing time, and costs associated with having to transport extrusion dies back and forth from its first factory for nitriding work.
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
