QUENCHING NEWS

SMS Supplies Heat Treatment Line to Axis Pipe and Tube

/ FEATURED NEWS, HARDENING, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES, QUENCHING NEWS, TEMPERING NEWS

SMS group has supplied and successfully commissioned a heat treatment facility and pipe threading line, which includes two 4-axis CNC threading machines, at Axis Pipe and Tube, based in Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

The two new plants for the Bryan, TX, works enable the company to produce OCTG tubes (Oil Country Tubular Goods) used in natural gas and crude oil production. With the new state-of-the-art equipment, Axis Pipe and Tube will extend its product range opening up new customer segments.

SMS group supplied a heat treatment line, including a natural gas-fired walking-beam hardening and tempering furnace, a water quenching unit and a 10-roll hot straightener, to produce tube grades of up to HCP110. The supplied pipe threading line features two 4-axis CNC threading machines, which operate on the principle of stationary tool and rotating tube. A hydrostatic pipe tester with a maximum test pressure of 15,000 psi, a finishing section and all pipe handling equipment for the threading line were also part of SMS group’s scope of supply. The pipe handling equipment is designed to prevent pipe-to-pipe contact after threading. The tubes and pipes processed on the threading machines will conform to manufacturing standards as per API 5CT.

Thanks to this project, Axis Pipe and Tube is now even better prepared to fulfill the ever more exacting quality and productivity demands of the market at present and in the future.

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Coupling CFD and Oil Quench Hardening Analysis of a Gear Component

/ FEATURED NEWS, HARDENING TECHNICAL CONTENT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, QUENCHING NEWS

BOTW-50w  Source:  Thermal Processing for Gear Solutions

“The coupling of CFD and heat treatment analyses provides a more robust application of computer modeling to predict the latent heat release, distortion, and residual stresses during the quench hardening process.”

Read More:  Coupling CFD and Oil Quench Hardening Analysis of a Gear Component by B. Lynn Ferguson, Zhichao (Charlie) Li, David Greif, Zlatko Kovacic, Simon Urbas, Rok Kopun

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Record Gas Quenching Speeds Achieved in Ipsen’s ARGOS Heat Treating System

/ CARBURIZING, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, QUENCHING NEWS

KLEVE, GERMANY – Ipsen’s Global Development Team recently celebrated the first build and testing of the ARGOS heat-treating system. The ARGOS uses low-pressure carburizing (AvaC®) in combination with 20-bar nitrogen quenching to provide metallurgical properties never before seen in gas quenching systems – even those utilizing 20-bar helium quenching. One industry visitor who witnessed the test run commented, “The ARGOS is likely the fastest inert gas quench furnace in the world.”

This initial test was performed on one of the most difficult to quench vacuum carburized components: layshafts for large gears. Until now, helium gas, which is both expensive and declining in availability, was required to fully transform parts with very high cross-sectional thicknesses.

Test outcomes showed that the shafts processed in the ARGOS system with 20-bar nitrogen quenching achieved higher surface hardness and core hardness values than shafts processed in the existing vacuum heat-treating furnaces that use 20-bar helium quenching. The ARGOS heat-treating system also offers several benefits, including:

  • Flexible installation with a selectable number of carburizing, nitriding, subzero and high vacuum process chambers with a nitrogen gas and/or oil quench module
  • Excellent temperature uniformity during heating and cooling
  • Minimal and controllable distortion due to temperature homogeneity throughout the entire load and the reversible gas flow during cooling
  • Extremely high gas velocity and volume due to Ipsen’s unique cooling system design

Overall, the ARGOS furnace line represents a significant milestone in the growing trend to operate low-pressure carburizing (LPC) lines in combination with inert gas quenching.

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Universal High Pressure Quench Delivers Wide Range of Process Capabilities to Slovenia Commercial Heat Treater, MIHEU

/ HEAT TREAT NEWS, HEAT TREATING EQUIPMENT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, QUENCHING NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

Slovenia commercial heat treater, MIHEU, is expanding their production capacity with the addition of a new Vector™ High Pressure Gas Quench vacuum furnace. Delivered in February 2016, the new installation will enable MIHEU to increase production capacity and expand their markets by offering a wide variety of processes with the installation of a single system.

According to Aleš Prikeržnik, Managing Director, „ We wanted to partner with a company with expertise in both emerging technologies as well as reliable standard solutions to expand our market base and continue to deliver a high quality product to our customers into the future. The SECO/WARWICK team provides more than good equipment, they have the technical and service support that we demand to keep our operation running smoothly.” Family owned for three generations, learn more about MIHEU at www.miheu.si/en/abous-us.html

Maciej Korecki, SECO/WARWICK Vacuum VP commented, „The VECTOR Universal High Pressure Quench is our signature technology in use by commercial heat treaters worldwide for over 20 years. We are pleased to work with MIHEU as a supplier-partner to provide them with the world’s best technology and technical services. ”

VECTOR™ Universal High Pressure Quench Vacuum Furnaces

The standard Universal VECTOR vacuum furnace is used for wide range of industrial heat treatment applications including gas quench hardening & tempering, degassing, annealing, solution heat treatment and brazing. Equipped with Data Portal™, the control system can connect to a configurable website that gives the user access to archive data using a web browser. This application can use an internal data recorder or it can work with other software. Recorded data is displayed in the form of web pages. Access, depending on the customer’s choice, can be through a local area network or via the Internet from anywhere.

The MIHEU Furnace main parameters include:

Useful dimensions: 600 x 600 x 900 mm (24” X 24” X 36”)

Maximum load gross weight: 600kgs (1,300 lbs.)

temperature: 1300°C (2400°F)

Quenching pressure: up to 10,0 bar abs.

The system was delivered complete with a water cooling system, load fixture, DataPortal™ software package, installation, start up and training.

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