An electric box furnace, currently headed to a Midwest equipment provider, will ultimately be installed at a Snap-on production facility that services tool and die support within the company’s production line.
The model QDD29 economical dual-chamber heat treating and tempering oven from L&L Special Furnace has a compact over/under design that saves floor space and provides reliable heat treating in-house.
QDD29 economical dual-chamber furnace (Source: L&L Special Furnace)
The top chamber is primarily deployed for heat treating tool steels at temperatures up to 2200°F; the tempering chamber is suited to temperatures up to 1250°F and has a recirculation baffle that makes it suitable for small aluminum work as well. The hardening and tempering chambers have interior dimensions of 12” wide by 8” high by 24” deep, with total external dimensions of 55” wide by 70” tall by 56” deep.
The QDD29 is controlled with digital single setpoint controls along with overtemperature protection. Solid-state relays drive the heating elements in a control circuit.
This press release is available in its original form upon request.
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Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently commissioned their third car bottom air furnace. This Class 2 air furnace has a maximum operating temperature of 1350°F measures 60” wide x 38” high x 168” deep.
The newly installed equipment, manufactured by Heat Treat Equipment Inc., joins two other HTE car bottom furnaces that are 14’ long and 20’ long respectively.
“After successfully hardening in vacuum at 1850°F +/- 10°F, the fully hardened die was transferred to the air car bottom furnace for the triple temper operation of 1025°F +/- 10°F.” – Bob Hill, President, Solar Atmospheres WPA and Michigan Source: Solar AtmospheresRobert (Bob) Hill, FASM President Solar Atmospheres of Western PA Source: Solar Atmospheres
Bob Hill, president of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA and Michigan, states, “the addition of this large air tempering/aging equipment compliments our five (5) state of the art vacuum car bottom furnaces very nicely. Instead of hardening and triple tempering this 6000 pound H13 die exclusively in a vacuum environment, Solar can save our customers and our company over 100 hours of valuable and expensive vacuum processing time.”
He continues, “After successfully hardening in vacuum at 1850°F +/- 10°F, the fully hardened die was transferred to the air car bottom furnace for the triple temper operation of 1025°F +/- 10°F. These large and uniform car bottom furnaces are a win/win for both the customer and for production — not exclusively for heavy parts, but also when treating long components.”
This press release is available in its original form here.
A supplier to the railway industry has ordered a technological line consisting of two vacuum furnaces, three tempering furnaces, and two washers. The line will be utilized for hardening processes of steel parts used in railway rolling stock.
The SECO/WARWICK line for voestalpine Fastening Systems consists of an electric chamber furnace, a washer, a cooling station, and an endothermic atmosphere generator. The hardening process will be carried out in a controlled atmosphere with temperatures up to 1742°F.
Additionally, the technological line includes an electric chamber furnace designed for the heat treatment of steel parts in a protective nitrogen atmosphere at temperatures up to 1292°F, along with a washer, cooling station and endothermic generator. The line will include a loader operating in automatic mode, a set of roller tables and a closed loop water system. The number of the supplied technological line units is selected to ensure the quality of manufactured components.
Mariusz Raszewski, Deputy Director of the Aluminum Process and CAB Furnaces Team, SECO/WARWICK (Source: SECO/WARWICK)
Mariusz Raszewski, deputy director of the Aluminum Process and CAB Furnaces Team at SECO/WARWICK said, “The line is configured in such a way that if the volume of the company products decreases, the customer can also offer commercial processing due to the wide technological spectrum of this main furnace unit.”
The whole solution will be supervised by a master system, which is used for the continuous monitoring of the heat treatment equipment operation and provides advanced data analysis for the production processes.
Mariusz Fogtman, COO, voestalpine Fastening Systems (Source: voestalpine Fastening Systems)
“The universal furnace solution will allow [us] to process details in various configurations,” Mariusz Fogtman, COO of voestalpine Fastening Systems commented. “Apart from technological parameters, it is important for us to limit the processed details’ deformations, which is possible in the ordered solution. SECO/WARWICK presented a partnership and flexible approach to the challenge of this order”
This press release is available in its original form here.
Vacuum heat treat operations expand for ZDT Glimag, an entity providing services in the field of vacuum heat treatment, laboratory tests, and production of parts for mining machines.
The addition of this Vector® vacuum furnace will be the third vacuum furnace from SECO/WARWICK. The current design has an operating space of 600 x 600 x 900 mm and will be equipped with numerous options to allow a wide range of heat treatment processes for various steel grades. Main processes will include vacuum brazing, FineCarb® vacuum carburizing, and high-pressure hardening. The design of the chamber size will enable efficient heat treatment of large packages of test and research elements.
The efficiency of processes is also influenced by the ability to cool at 15 bar (which, unlike the old furnaces, eliminates the need to wash the parts after the process). In combination with inverter control, the system also helps reduce power consumption peaks, which are so problematic today. Another big advantage is low heat losses and appropriate temperature uniformity in the heating chamber, which is resistant to rapid wear and is easy to use and service.
Beata Kowalewska President of the Management Board – Financial Director of ZDT Glimag Source: LinkedIn
Beata Kowalewska, president of the Management Board – Financial Director of ZDT Glimag, comments: “Since the 1960s, we have been designing prototypes, conducting research and technological tests, and implementing new technologies for mining. We are currently in the process of materializing the project titled ‘Implementation of an innovative product resulting from research and development work: a brake pad with a composite friction layer with increased abrasion resistance,’ implemented under the European Funds for a Modern Economy (FENG) 2021-2027 Program. FENG is a program supporting entrepreneurs in the area of broadly understood innovation. It places great emphasis on R&D activities.”
He continues, “The new SECO/WARWICK furnace fits perfectly into the policy of broadly understood modernity implemented in this project. It will streamline and expand the scope of heat treatment processes and improve their economics, taking into account energy savings and the graphite chamber efficiency. It will also ensure the process cleanliness and velocity. With the FineCarb® vacuum carburizing option, the technology also increases our flexibility and research capabilities. Additionally, this technology will allow us to perform more difficult processes requiring extremely low contamination levels, thanks to the ability to obtain the appropriate vacuum needed for these processes.”
Maciej Korecki VP of the Vacuum Furnace Segment SECO/WARWICK Source: SECO/WARWICK
Maciej Korecki, VP of the Vacuum Furnace Segment in the SECO/WARWICK Group, comments on ZDT Glimag saying, “It is a center very well oriented in the metal heat treatment industry, constantly testing new, innovative solutions that in turn make the mining industry more efficient. The new Vector will introduce revolutionary changes in the hardening plant, introducing innovation and a very wide range of precise processes.”
The Vector® line vacuum furnaces can be used in most standard vacuum carburizing, hardening, tempering, annealing, supersaturation, and brazing processes. At the same time, the solution can be adapted to the recipient’s individual requirements, and therefore to a specific industry, an attribute necessary for research centers that test innovative solutions for external customers.
The solution‘s characteristic features are convection heating, i.e., a system improving the heat transfer efficiency when heating at lower temperatures, and directional cooling, which allows complex, flimsy, and long elements to be cooled in various ways, minimizing their deformations. An additional advantage is the vacuum carburizing option, which allows users to carry out precise processes to increase the steel surface hardness (carburizing) during the entire thermal process.
The original press release from SECO/WARWICK Group is available here.
Tom Schulz Sales Manager L&L Special Furnace Source: L&L
An investment castings manufacturer's heat treat department received a large floor-standing box furnace from a North American specialty furnace company. The furnace will be used as support in the client's tool and die production along with tempering of finished castings.
The L&L model XLE3436 box furnace from L&L Special Furnace has an effective work zone of 34” wide by 22” high by 32” deep. It is equipped with a direct-lift vertical door with a floor switch to activate. The cantilevered vertical door eliminates the need for the upright structure to reduce the overall height of the equipment.
Tom Schulz, sales manager at L&L, highlights the key role this will play for the heat treat department, saying that this type of furnace is the company's “workhorse when it comes to thermal processing.”
The inert blanketing gas enables the part to be heat-treated with minimal surface de-carb. A stack light indicates the furnace status via an audible and visual indicator light mounted on top of the control.
Additionally, the furnace is equipped with a pyrometry package that has reference control thermocouple ports along with corner locations to record the high and low points within the unit as indicated by the latest temperature uniformity survey.
The original press release from L&L Special Furnace is available upon request.
Skana Aluminum Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, has recently been supplied with an Exogas™ exothermic atmosphere generator.
The atmosphere generator from SECO/WARWICK USA, an American SECO/WARWICK Group subsidiary, provides an indirect-chilled exothermic atmosphere for annealing, brazing, normalizing, drawing, and tempering.
Says Marcus Lord, managing director of SECO/WARWICK USA, “At 30,000 CFH, it is one of the largest atmosphere generator units we’ve made to date. It should be plenty large enough to meet the exothermic atmosphere needs of the multiple processes within the Skana plant.”
Skana has also placed an order with the furnace supplier for a smaller atmospheric gas drier for use elsewhere in the plant.
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Vacu-Braze recently installed a new water quenching furnace in their Quakertown, PA, facility. This acquisition will allow for the expansion of capabilities to include rapid quenching of specialty aerospace materials such as steels or titanium.
The new furnace from LuciferFurnaces, measuring 45.5”x29.5”x28,” contains argon and nitrogen atmosphere capabilities which allow for processing in a protective atmosphere even at high temperatures while maintaining AMS 2750 compliant uniformity. The pyrometry team at Vacu-Braze was able to achieve Class 2 pyrometry, opening up more available processes such as annealing, austenitizing, normalizing, stress relieving, solution treating, and tempering.
"Lucifer Furnaces was selected for the order," commented Jerry Novak, process engineer at Vacu-Braze, "[as their furnaces] are locally made and could be custom designed for the application. They are built in Eastern Pennsylvania to our desired specifications. Vacu-Braze is always happy to partner with companies that manufacture quality equipment and products in the USA."
The heat treat company also noted that this piece of equipment expands their services to existing clients while providing processes for new clients.
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A mesh belt temper furnace has been shipped to a manufacturer in the U.S. South. The client will use this heat treat furnace for preheating and tempering steel bar stock.
Mesh belt temper furnace packed and shipped
(Source: Premier Furnace Specialists. Inc./BeaverMatic)Steve Ignash
Sales Engineer
Premier Furnace Specialists, Inc./BeaverMatic
Source: Premier Furnace/BeaverMatic
"We had built the client a similar furnace in 2022," commented Steve Ignash, sales engineer at Premier Furnace Specialists, Inc./BeaverMatic. "Our furnace gave them the confidence to purchase five more of the similar style to replace outdated equipment and add to their current increase in production."
The remaining four furnaces from the recent purchase will be completed and installed through January 2024.
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The first of five new mesh belt temper furnaces was shipped from Michigan manufacturer to the southern U.S. The second and third furnaces are ready for the next phases of production, and they all will be used for preheating and tempering of steel bar stock.
Premier Furnace Specialists, Inc./BeaverMatic has scheduled the first installation for the last week of August. The remaining four will be completed and installed through January 2024. These furnaces are natural gas fired with an operating temperature of 1600°F. They have thirty-six inch wide mesh belts capable of 2000 lbs per hour. The furnaces are all operated through a 23.8” HMI color touch screen interface.
Mesh belt furnace from Premier Furnace Specialists, Inc./BeaverMatic Source: Premier Furnace/BeaverMatic
“We built them a similar furnace in 2022,” commented Steve Ignash, sales engineer at Premier. “The [latest] system was designed, built, and tested at our new 40,000 square foot facility in Farmington Hills, MI.”
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A leading U.S. manufacturer of high-quality alloy steel and carbon steel closed-die forgings will have five furnaces installed and their combustion system updated between May and December 2023. Onsite work will be completed one furnace at a time, so that in any given month no more than one furnace will be out of operation.
Rodrigo González VP Metals at Nutec Bickley Source: LinkedIn
This project involves five new lift-up furnaces from Nutec Bickley – two for tempering and three for austenitizing. Each furnace will be fitted with a NFPA 86 compliant combustion system. Operation will be based on a fuel-only control system (fixed air modulating gas). When complete, the newly lined units (9in/23cm thick ceramic fiber modules) will work to operational temperature ranges of 900°F–1950°F for the austenitizing furnaces, and 840°F–1600°F for the tempering furnaces.
The control panel will be installed next to the existing furnace panels and will be prewired and positioned before the furnace replacements begin. They will be wired across the quench pit to the local furnace areas prior to the first furnace being converted. A master PLC will be supplied to integrate the five furnaces and communication with the two existing quench tanks, manipulator/charging machine, the two panel views, the SCADA system, two recording units, and the central hydraulic system.
“[O]ur observation over many years in this sort of undertaking is that the closer the cooperation and the better the flow of information, then the nearer one can get to the optimum progress levels,” commented Rodrigo González, VP Metals at Nutec Bickley.
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