SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS Archives

2 Heat Treat Furnaces To Assist CMC Industry

Two atmosphere controlled retort box furnaces will be used for de-bindering ceramic matrix composite parts (CMC) as well as powder metals processing (PM) and hot isostatic pressing (HIP).

The main function of this L&L Special Furnace Co., Inc. furnace is to remove all organics and other materials used in the product prior to placing in a high fire vacuum chamber in a process called de-bindering: Parts are heated to 1220°F in a retort chamber that is pressurized with nitrogen. The by-products of the outgassing part are directed by pressure and flow out the rear of the furnace. The parts are then heated in a vacuum furnace to temperatures in excess of 2300°F. The result is a component that is stronger and lighter than titanium.

Aerospace and military have always been the key areas that CMC and additive technologies are applied. The CMC development is a key part of the subsonic ordnance project along with multitudes of other military applications. This technology allows for lighter and more durable aircraft, munitions, and body armor versus using some alloy and ceramic substitutes. Automotive has also always had a strong presence in the additive manufacturing industry as well.

It is new application areas were CMC technology is starting to shine. CMC technology is beginning to establish a presence in agricultural applications such as water desalinization, power and battery technology in providing lighter fuel cells. This technology will be applied to battery operated transportation vehicles, not only improving transportation capabilities but also lowering greenhouse emissions.

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Watch for 3 Heat Treat Events This Summer

May 18, 2022 / FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS

Are you ready for summer? Heat Treat Today’s Industry Calendar features the key events of the season to make sure you do not miss an important meeting or tradeshow. Check out three June 2022 events in today’s original content piece below!

If you have an event to add — or want to give us a heads up on an event that you and others are going to attend — feel free to reach out to the editors at editor@heattreattoday.com.

Heat Treat Today’s Industry Calendar is located under “Resources” on www.heattreattoday.com, and if you want to find out how to navigate this feature yourself, check out this article here!

Production Brazing Seminar

June 7 - June 9

"This program, which runs from 8AM to 5PM each day for three days (Tues-Thurs) at The Simsbury Inn (Simsbury, CT) provides detailed information about all aspects of brazing of a wide range of metals and joining of ceramics. All brazing processes and filler metals are covered in this program. This course, taught by Dan Kay, who has over 50-years of hands-on brazing experience in operating and[. . .]"

Additive Manufacturing with Powder Metallurgy (AMPM) 2022

June 12 - June 15

"Focusing on metal additive manufacturing, AMPM2022 will feature worldwide industry experts presenting the latest technology developments in this fast-growing field."

ceramitec 2022

June 21 - June 24

"ceramitec is the meeting point for the international ceramics industry: Every branch, every market leader, every decision-maker, and the entire value chain is represented here. And it is this that makes ceramitec the leading international trade fair within the industry."

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Watch for 3 Heat Treat Events This Summer Read More »

Aerospace Industry Chooses Vacuum Heat Treat Solution

March 21, 2022 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, BRAZING NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, HARDENING NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

A Chinese company has ordered a horizontal vacuum furnace which will help in producing highly specialized cast parts used in the aerospace industry. Delivery of the furnace is scheduled for June 2022.

The Vector® horizontal vacuum furnace with a graphite chamber and a gas quenching system comes from SECO/WARWICK. This type of furnace from the international manufacturer comes with a graphite hot zone and can be used for most standard hardening, tempering, annealing, solution heat treating, brazing, and sintering.

The furnace will be installed in a facility that specializes in the production of high-temperature alloys used in the aviation, shipbuilding, and power industries, offering a wide range of products, including but not limited to, bars, wires, bands, pipes, and specialized castings.

Find vacuum furnaces for brazing when you search the Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com

Aerospace Industry Chooses Vacuum Heat Treat Solution Read More »

MIM and AM Client Pleased with Retrofit Sintering Vacuum Furnace

January 5, 2022 / FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

A retrofitted vacuum furnace will now produce more metal injected molded (MIM) components with considerably less downtime.

In 2021, a North American heat treater, Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, retrofitted a vacuum furnace for use in a new metal injection molding (MIM) and additive manufacturing (AM) binder removal technology application. The goal was to build a vacuum sintering furnace with a new innovative hot zone and pumping technology that would minimize and target the deposit of detrimental binders evaporating out of MIM and AM parts.

Source: Solar — Robert (Bob) Hill, FASM
President
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA

The hot zone, after a month of repeated 2400°F sintering cycles, remains clean. The problematic binders coalesced at the targeted area within a separate heated pumping port while keeping the primary pump and booster uncontaminated. Most importantly, the client reported that their sintered parts processed in this new furnace never looked better. The MIM parts were extremely bright and met their critical density and dimensional requirements.

The heat treater anticipates considerable maintenance savings on this dedicated furnace versus processing sintering and AM work with binders in a traditional vacuum furnace. Working in a traditional furnace meant added labor and material costs coupled with the lost production time and degradation on the life of the hot zone, which cost the company more than $180,000 per year. The projected maintenance costs on this newly designed sintering furnace will be $10,000 per year.

"Knowing the effects," reported Bob Hill, president of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, "of what MIM and certain AM processing had done to our equipment in the past, Bill Jones and the engineers at Solar Manufacturing developed an innovative solution for us. Having this newly designed vacuum furnace will be an asset for our future in MIM and AM processing."

MIM and AM Client Pleased with Retrofit Sintering Vacuum Furnace Read More »

Vacuum Furnace Retrofit with New Binder Consolidation Technology

September 24, 2021 / FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

William (Bill) Jones
Owner and CEO
Solar Manufacturing

Recently, a North American heat treater acquired a used VFS HL50 external quench vacuum furnace at an auction in the Philadelphia area. The main objective of this purchase was to retrofit this older furnace with a newer hot zone and pumping technology that will help minimize and target the condensation of detrimental binders evaporating out of MIM injection molded parts.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA's maintenance team was responsible for refurbishing the furnace to its current standard. Solar Manufacturing, led by owner and CEO William Jones, designed the technology and the apparatus needed to consolidate the binders into one central location, thus minimizing the cleaning downtime the staff was experiencing. This includes a completely new hot zone, a binder pumping port, and a second vacuum pump. The collaborative effort ensured both projects came together seamlessly.

By mid-October, the high production MIM sinter job will be fully transferred from current Solar vacuum furnaces to this dedicated and refurbished vacuum furnace. After multiple sintering runs, the company will then have the data to compare the downtime of a traditional vacuum furnace versus the newly designed debind/sinter furnace. Solar looks forward to providing the MIM world with this new, critical processing information.

Vacuum Furnace Retrofit with New Binder Consolidation Technology Read More »

Desktop Metal Makes $575 Million Acquisition of ExOne

August 13, 2021 / FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS

Massachusetts manufacturer Desktop Metal, Inc., is acquiring The ExOne Company, a North Huntingdon, Pa. company that specializes in 3D printing technology, in a deal valued at $575 million.

"We are thrilled to bring ExOne into the DM family to create the leading additive manufacturing portfolio for mass production," said Ric Fulop, founder and CEO of Desktop Metal, in a statement. "This transaction is a big step in delivering on our vision of accelerating the adoption of additive manufacturing 2.0.

"We believe our complementary platforms will better serve customers, accelerate adoption of green technologies, and drive increased shareholder value," said John Hartner, CEO of ExOne, in a statement.

Ric Fulop (bottom left), Co-Founder and CEO with the 2015 core leadership team at Desktop Metal, Inc.

The deal, which has been unanimously approved by the ExOne’s board of directors, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to the approval of ExOne shareholders and satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Vacuum Heat Treat Supplier Partners with Neota to Advance MIM Technology

June 2, 2021 / FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

Neota Product Solutions, a custom metal injection molding (MIM) manufacturer located in Loveland, Colorado, has recently partnered with a North American heat treat supplier to develop an exclusive sintering partnership.

Source: LInkedIn — Jason Osborne
President
Neota Product Solutions
Source: LinkedIn

Neota provides comprehensive MIM solutions from early-stage prototyping to full scale manufacturing. The manufacturer and Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA) developed a sintering thermal profile that densifies complex geometric shapes and also controls shrinkage. This results in a solid and strong metallic part, with near 100% density, while maintaining the tight tolerances that are required in their precision components.

Collaborating with Solar Manufacturing, the vacuum furnace production arm of the Solar family, SAWPA recently acquired a vacuum furnace which is engineered to handle MIM processing. The furnace has a work zone of 36” x 36” x 48” and a load capacity of 3,000 pounds.

"Solar has been a class-act organization and has been instrumental in the aggressive growth of our company," stated Jason Osborne, president of Neota.

"We have sincerely enjoyed our relationship with the Neota team," added Bob Hill, president of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA stated. "As MIM industry experts, they know what they ultimately want in a finished part. As vacuum thermal processing specialists, we know how to achieve their high temperature processing parameters while not damaging our state-of-the-art vacuum equipment. Investing in our customer’s needs, ultimately results in lasting mutual relationships which become a successful endeavor for both parties."

Vacuum Heat Treat Supplier Partners with Neota to Advance MIM Technology Read More »

U.S. Defense Contractor Expands Heat Treat Capabilities

February 26, 2021 / FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

Vacuum Sintering Furnace from Signature Vacuum Systems, Inc.
Source: Signature Vacuum Systems, Inc.

A United States defense contractor will expand their heat treat capabilities with a custom ceramic sintering vacuum furnace. The furnace will be provided with a 36” diameter x 48” high work zone in a graphite hot zone rated for 3362°F (1850°C).

The Model VBS-12 ordered, will increase production capacity and is the fifth furnace from the supplier, Signature Vacuum Systems, Inc., to be manufactured and installed in this contractor’s facility.

“Our strength[…] is solving problems and delivering solutions,” said Greg Kimble, president of Signature Vacuum Systems, Inc. “We have enjoyed the progression of this relationship over the years and we are committed to providing quality products and dependable services.”

(photo source: Defence-Imagery at Pixabay.com)

Unless identified otherwise, all other images from unsplash.com.

U.S. Defense Contractor Expands Heat Treat Capabilities Read More »

Heat Treat with New Techniques: Using Micro-Ingots in Steel Production

October 26, 2020 / FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS

Source: Powder Metallurgy Review

Many of you are likely to have heard Harb Nayar, president of TAT Technologies, LLC, expert in all things sintering, explain innovative ways to produce heat treated products. But perhaps you are wondering, how would “atomised prealloyed steel particles,” that is micro-ingots, work within the realm of heat treat?

This Heat Treat Today Best of the Web feature is pulled from a powder metallurgy (PM) whitepaper in which Harb Nayar describes the PM background, processes, and application in more detail. Read his detailed whitepaper, “The micro-ingot route: A variant of the PM process that could offer new opportunities for the PM industry,” on the web, or download the free PDF.

An excerpt: “This micro-ingot approach, when combined with newer heat treatment technologies, can lead to a redesign of the current macro-ingot products that can potentially help to reduce the weight of the finished product resulting in a longer product life span.”

Heat Treat with New Techniques: Using Micro-Ingots in Steel Production Read More »

Global MIM Manufacturer Purchases 2 Vacuum Furnaces

October 7, 2020 / FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

A leading, global manufacturer of metal injection molding (MIM) products is bolstering its manufacturing capacity with the addition of two large-size horizontal vacuum furnaces for sintering and debinding MIM products and components. The first of the two furnaces will be delivered this year and the second is scheduled for commissioning in March 2021.

The multimillion-dollar order from the global manufacturer was awarded to G-M Enterprises, a Nitrex company. The 2-Bar vacuum sintering furnaces will feature a work area of 36” wide x 30” high x 84” long (900 x 762 x 2100 mm), 4400 lb. weight capacity, a maximum operating temperature of 2600°F (1430°C), and uniformity of +/-10°F (+/-5.5°C).

Michel Frison, VP Global Sales, Nitrex and G-M Enterprises (Source: Nitrex.com)

Integral to the vacuum system configuration is a multistage debinder trap system designed to thermally extract binder from the parts. Sintering and debinding occur in a single cycle using a robust and unique system design that is optimized to handle the maximum load capacity the furnace is designed for. Consequently, there is never a need to operate below the rated load capacity to achieve the required part quality. The high-temperature sintering process also ensures a high-quality finished part surface in terms of density, porosity, mechanical resistance, and aesthetics.

“This latest order comes from a customer we have had a strong cooperation with," said Michel Frison, VP Global Sales, Nitrex and G-M Enterprise, "and which will be part of a series of multiple furnaces provided by G-M Enterprises over the past decades."

Global MIM Manufacturer Purchases 2 Vacuum Furnaces Read More »

SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS

Production Brazing Seminar

Additive Manufacturing with Powder Metallurgy (AMPM) 2022

ceramitec 2022

Unless identified otherwise, all other images from unsplash.com.

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