TEMPERING NEWS

TimkenSteel Increases Quench-and-Temper Capacity with New Facility

A leader in customized alloy steel products and services has brought online its newest thermal-treatment asset and has begun processing orders for the oil and gas industries.

Tom Moline, Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations, TimkenSteel

The $40 million advanced quench-and-temper facility, located at the company’s Gambrinus Steel Plant in Canton, Ohio, increases TimkenSteel’s existing capacity by 50,000 tons or 45 percent and brings the company’s total annual thermal-treatment capacity to 500,000 process tons.

“We’re pleased to bring this newest asset online now that market demand for thermal-treated bars and tubes has increased,” said Tom Moline, executive vice president of commercial operations. “The advanced quench-and-temper facility is the largest of our four thermal-treatment facilities and enables us to meet customer needs faster and at more precise specifications. In addition to servicing automotive applications, this will be especially beneficial for our oil and gas customers’ most demanding applications in down-hole tools and top-of-hole infrastructure.”

TimkenSteel announced its plan to build the advanced quench-and-temper facility in October 2014. The company announced earlier this year that it expected the startup to occur in the fourth quarter, after deferring commissioning of the facility in response to market conditions.

Manufactured by SMS Group with custom modifications made by TimkenSteel’s in-house team of scientists and engineers, the facility can accommodate 4-inch to 13-inch bars and tubes.

 

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No Cal Heat Treat Services Supplier Adds Austempering, Marquenching Capabilities

A brazing and heat treating services supplier based in Northern California has announced the expansion of process services to their heat treating line. ThermoFusion now offers marquenching and austempering, in addition to their annealing, hardening, vacuum, and hydrogen services, for clients in the aerospace, automotive, medical, energy and general manufacturing industries.

Marquenching and austempering use a less aggressive quenchant, reducing the cooling rate slightly, and reducing distortion caused by rapid temperature change (thermal shock).  In high carbon material, these alternative processes allow for the formation of bainite instead of martensite, which allows spring steels to remain “springy” as they get hard.

 

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Hardening and Tempering Line Receives Upgrade

The Ohio-based Engineering Division of Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems completed a full system upgrade of an automated hardening and tempering line for Nelson Fastening Systems, also located in Ohio. The project involved the removal of the existing control system, VFD drives, limits, and control wiring for Nelson, and included the installation of a new system that features safety controls.

A Honeywell HC900 with a 15-inch operator interface terminal integrated with a computer running Specview HMI software controls a 2-zone hardening furnace, generator, quench tank, water cooling tank, washer, 2-zone tempering furnace, and a blackening unit. The equipment was linked with six conveyors and wired into the four control panels completed by Kacsik’s engineering team.

The old conveyor system had VFD drives that did not communicate with a PLC. The new system was programmed with safety features: in the event of a chain break or a conveyor jam, the system will alarm and automatically shut other conveyors off.

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Flame Treating Systems Orders Tempering Oven

Flame Treating Systems Inc in Durham, NC has purchased one natural gas fired draw batch oven from Wisconsin Oven to be used for tempering various steel parts. Flame Treating Systems Inc. provides customized flame hardening systems to customers along with in house flame hardening services. The addition of this tempering oven allows them to efficiently temper their customers’ parts in house.

The tempering oven has a maximum temperature of 1250°F and basket dimensions of 4’ W X 3’ H X 4’ L. Steel parts are loaded into the draw batch oven in the basket on two (2) stainless steel pier rails with the load capacity of 2,000 pounds gross. The recirculation system features a combination air flow arrangement that utilizes a 7,000 CFM @ 10 HP plug mounted blower. The combination airflow arrangement provides both horizontal and vertical upward airflow which maximizes heating rates and temperature uniformity of the product.

“We’re so glad to be able to temper parts in our own facility. We are starting to do a significant amount of flame hardening for customers in our shop now, so we needed a better solution than sending parts out for tempering. We installed the oven in the warehouse room adjacent to our 2000-lb. capacity spin flame hardening machine. Five days later it was in production, tempering batches of 800 lb. sprockets. That pretty much tells you what you need to know about the ease of installation. We’re looking forward to continuing to expand our services in the mid-Atlantic region for both localized hardening and tempering. Thanks, Wisconsin Oven.”  Mark Sirrine, President – Flame Treating Systems Inc.

Unique features of this tempering batch oven include:

  • 7,000 CFM / 10 HP recirculation system
  • Stainless steel pier rail hearth rated for 2,000 pounds
  • Industrial air heat burner rated at 450,000 BTU per hour
  • Motorized, modulating gas control valve
  • Flame detector and relay with alarm horn
  • Digital process timer
  • Digital temperature controller and high limit controller

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SMS Supplies Heat Treatment Line to Axis Pipe and Tube

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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Vermont Precision Tools Selects Lucifer Furnaces

Vermont Custom Gage LLC. a subsidiary of Vermont Precision Tools Inc., Swanton VT, selected Lucifer Furnaces to create manufacturing capability with the addition of an air recirculating oven, a salt bath pot furnace and a quench tank. The new equipment will be used in the production of small steel component parts of their measuring (gage) equipment. The oven, a 4000 series, model 48-R36 with working dimensions of 24”Hx24”Wx36”L, heats to 800°F and will be used for Tempering. Insulated with 6.5” multi-layered lightweight firebrick and block insulation with a roof lined with ceramic fiber modules, the oven features a stainless steel liner which isolates the workload from the heating elements and directs airflow in a horizontal pattern. A high CFM fan assembly mounted through the oven rear wall circulates air over heating elements and back through the work chamber. The horizontal swing door is mounted with heavy duty hinges, 6” of insulation and two cam latches for a secure seal. After pre-heating, parts will be loaded into the salt pot furnace, model 2055-1624 and then oil quenched in a Lucifer Quench Tank, QT-2020, complete with air mixer, heater and soak timer. Next, the tools will be loaded into the 4000 series, model 48-R36 oven to be held at a constant temperature over a period of time to stabilize the structure of the steel. Vermont Precision Tools dba Vermont Gage manufactures a wide range of fixed limit gages including both threaded and cylindrical. Vermont Gage manufactures high quality gages with tolerances ranging from .00020” – .00002”.  Vermont Precision Tools Inc. chose Lucifer Furnaces for the equipment based on its robustness and value.

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