Heat TreatToday recently announced the launch of the Leaders in AerospaceHeat TreatLinkedIn Group and with it was a month-long event encouraging readers to join the group and comment on any of the posts during the month of April.
Leaders in AerospaceHeat Treat LinkedIn Group (click here) provides a professional-level space where heat treaters from the aerospace industry can discuss issues and ideas. Heat TreatTodayis regularly providing content related to the group, keeping members current on the latest technologies, products, processes, and discussions. If you’re a heat treat leader in the aerospace industry, you should be in this group.
As a special welcome to founding members of the Leaders in AerospaceHeat Treat LinkedIn Group, Heat TreatTodayconducted a drawing for three winners, each to receive a $100 Amazon gift cards, open to anyone who joined the group AND commented on any of the posts during the month of April.
The three winners have been notified and they are:
Gary Berwick, Sales Engineer at Dry Coolers, Inc.
Steve Offley, Product Marketing Manager at Phoenix Temperature Measurement
Ellen Conway Merrill, Vice President at DELTA H TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Each will receive a $100 Amazon gift card.
This new professional space was launched on the heels of releasing our inaugural Leaders in AerospaceHeat Treat monthly e-newsletter and the new AerospaceHeat Treat special print/digital edition (click here for digital).
Doug Glenn, the publisher of Heat TreatToday, was recently appointed to the board of directors of Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA). Doug served on the board once before from 2007-2013.
To see more of Doug’s accomplishments go to his Bio page.
Ceramics Expo, the leading exhibition and conference for ceramic materials, manufacturing, and components, will open this week in Cleveland, Ohio, to over 3,000 executives, engineers, technical leaders, and industry peers for two days of innovation, networking, and knowledge sharing.
“The overwhelmingly positive reaction to this year’s expo, now taking place over two action-packed days, is testament to the global reputation that has been garnered by Ceramics Expo over the last five years,” said Danny Scott, event director. “By the time we open the doors on 30 April, we expect an exhibit area featuring around 300 companies from over 25 countries. Covering ceramic science, the materials and manufacturing technologies, and the finished components, is what we’re all about and it’s a pretty unique offering.”
The exhibition will host the complete supply chain, from raw material suppliers to testing equipment to ceramic manufacturers, including CoorsTek, Corning, Morgan Advanced Materials, Kyocera, SCHOTT, and Saint-Gobain as well as first-time appearances from 3M, Creatz3D, GE Global Research, Kennametal, Harris Corp and Sasol.
Running alongside the exhibition, the Ceramics Expo Conference will present sessions exploring future trends, manufacturing practices, and developments from the ceramic and glass industry. The agenda has been specially designed for engineers and decision makers from OEMs and Tier 1s in the automotive, aerospace/defense, medical, electronics, industrial, energy, and communication industries. Speaking companies include Lockheed Martin, Ford Motor Company, NASA, General Electric Aviation and Oak Ridge National Lab.
To help guide attendees through the exhibition hall, Ceramics Expo has created the Innovation Trail highlighting companies who are at the forefront of R&D, developing cutting-edge materials, technologies and solutions for a range of ceramic applications. Exhibitors include 3M, Johnson Matthey, Saint-Gobain, and Corning. The Product Showcase will feature live demonstrations of new machinery, testing services, and analysis equipment from Ceramics Expo exhibitors including 3DCERAM-SINTO, Beckman Coulter, OptiPro Systems, and The Model Shop.
Ceramics Expo provides numerous opportunities to create new business connections such as the Tuesday evening networking reception taking place on the show floor from 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm, sponsored by GeoCorp. Also—a new addition for 2019—is the dedicated B2B Matchmaking area. Using an online portal, attendees are able to optimize their time by pre-booking meetings with exhibitors and other attendees, which will then take place in the dedicated B2B area throughout the event.
Registration is still open for Ceramics Expo 2019. For more information and to register for a free pass visit www.ceramicsexpousa.com.
Family likes sharing its big news, and that’s what we are at Heat Treat Today. And we have big news to share—2 big news items, in fact.
Brandon Glenn
First, Heat Treat Today’s web designer and all around IT guy, Brandon Glenn, recently made it to the front page of his local newspaper in an effort to drum up support for a very important issue hammering big cities and small municipalities from every corner of the U.S.
Pictured, right, Brandon Glenn, on the left, colleague John Cruice of LCBC Church in Scott Township, from Press-Enterprise, 3/25/19
In his position as the Youth Director at Bloomsburg Shiloh Church in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Brandon was aware of many in the community who were dealing with the opioid crisis. When a member of the church congregation died of an overdose, he was energized to join the forces fighting the epidemic in central Pennsylvania.
This past March, Central Columbia High School hosted a seminar aimed at educating participants about the rise in the use of opiates and how it is affecting Columbia and Montour counties. You can read more about the seminar here: “Fatal OD Inspires Churches to Act” at the Press-Enterprise website.
You can also visit Brandon’s professional webpage here: BrandonGlenn.com
Jonathan Condon
The Heat Treat Today family would also like to offer public congratulations to Jonathan Lloyd Condon, Heat Treat Today’s audio and podcast editor, who recently became engaged to Rebecca Eyth. Jonathan also recently completed his Bachelor of Professional Studies at Berklee College of Music. Congratulations and way to go, Jonathan!
Join IHEA for this new 1-day seminar which will highlight the recent changes to NFPA 86. If you already have a good knowledge of NFPA 86, then this seminar will be a great overview of the recent changes to the standard and how they affect you. If you are not familiar with NFPA 86, we recommend attending the full IHEA Safety Standards Seminar which will be held this Fall (details coming soon).
Instructors are industry experts and committee members involved in the discussions and changes to NFPA 86.
Noteworthy updates to the following:
furnace heating systems
safety equipment and application
programmable logic controller systems
safety shutoff valves
safety controls and devices
commissioning, operations, maintenance, inspection, testing and auditing.
Tuesday, May 14, at Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) in Elgin, Illinois, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
Registration fee includes a printed copy of the slides and the new 2019 NFPA 86 Standard for Ovens and Furnaces. For heat treaters not familiar with NFPA 86 or who need more in-depth instruction on the standard and how it applies to a shop’s operation, the full two-day Safety Standards and Codes Seminar will be held this September in Cleveland, Ohio. For more information, click here.
The Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) will present a new, one-day seminar which will focus on the recent changes to NFPA 86 Standard for Ovens and Furnaces. The NFPA 86 Updates Seminar will be held on Tuesday, May 14, at Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) in Elgin, Illinois, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
This class is an overview for those who are already familiar with NFPA 86 but want to understand the recent updates and the impact on their business. Noteworthy updates include changes to furnace heating systems; safety equipment and application; programmable logic controller systems; safety shutoff valves; safety controls and devices; and commissioning, operations, maintenance, inspection, testing, and auditing. IHEA instructors are industry experts and NFPA committee members that are directly involved in the development of the standard and revision process.
Registration fee includes a printed copy of the slides and the new 2019 NFPA 86 Standard for Ovens and Furnaces. For heat treaters not familiar with NFPA 86 or who need more in-depth instruction on the standard and how it applies to a shop’s operation, the full two-day Safety Standards and Codes Seminar will be held this September in Cleveland, Ohio. Watch for details on the IHEA website, www.ihea.org.
In 2018, Heat TreatToday introduced one of its most popular features, the 40 Under 40 Awards for young, up-and-coming talent in the North American heat treat industry. Click here for the 2018 recipients. Heat Treat Today is posting occasional features of some of the 2018 recipients in anticipation of the 2019 40 Under 40 awardees to be presented in September (nominations are being accepted here). First on our list is also one of the first to have been nominated.
Michael Elmore
GKN Driveline
Heat Treat Engineer
Michael Elmore was nominated from within GKN Driveline. The following was provided by the nominator:
Michael continues to prove himself many times over by working to improve the heat treat and processes at GKN. He shows himself to be knowledgeable and takes great pride in what he does, working well with everyone in the department and always willing to help out. The heat treat department at our facility has already reaped rewards for his hard work. Michael’s work ethic is practiced daily, garnering him a great deal of respect.
Michael Elmore started at GKN Driveline right out of college with a little bit of familiarity with the territory, having worked for the company during a summer internship. That experience led him to shift his academic focus from design-based engineering to the type of process improvement work he encountered in the heat treat department at the automotive components manufacturer’s North Carolina facility.
“When I came to GKN, I fell in love with heat treating,” said Elmore. “I expected this to be a puddle and it turned out to be more like jumping into an ocean. There’s so much more to it than I expected.”
Michael worked with Jack Gerochowski, head of the heat treat department, whom he describes as “a heat treating genius”. He spent time in the metallurgical lab with Gerochowski, learning all about the process. GKN was in the process of creating the position of heat treat engineer and Elmore was the first to be hired. Four years later, “I’m still finding out things I didn’t know. It goes deeper and deeper the longer I’m here, never hitting the bottom of what can be learned, done, or explored.”
As an engineering student, he expected he would be doing a lot of design work on the field, but he states the work he does now with heat treating provides “more immediate satisfaction. We can help the company save money. GKN already has a top-notch heat treat department. I didn’t arrive and make any huge improvements — just a few tweaks here or there, like increasing checks, decreasing possibilities of a spill.”
The North Carolina facility employs over 1,800, with 25-30 in the heat treat department. Michael said the next new project in line at GKN Driveline is in Non-Destructive Testing using their first NDT equipment recently purchased from Forester Instruments (Pittsburgh). The heat treat department hopes to develop a new way of testing gears to eliminate inconsistencies, save money, and free up the metallurgy labs to do more exploratory work.
Asked what he would advise the next generation of heat treat professionals, Michael offered: “The possibilities are endless with heat treating, an industry that is instrumental in every aspect of life. There are broad opportunities and many different fields to work in. It’s very satisfactory being a part of making things better.”
He added, “I couldn’t do anything without all the support and training from Jack, and also Greg Cook, GKN maintenance manager for the heat treat department who nominated me for the 40 Under 40.”
Ceramics Expo — running April 29 – May 1, 2019 — is the leading annual supply chain exhibition and conference for technical ceramics and glass materials, manufacturing and components.
Ceramics Expo is North America’s leading supply chain exhibition and conference for advanced ceramic and glass materials, manufacturing and technologies, bringing together manufacturers and engineers from across the medical, automotive, electronics, aerospace and defense, and energy sectors to source new materials and technologies, network with like-minded professionals, and discuss the challenges and opportunities in the ceramic industry.
Now in its fifth year, Ceramics Expo, to be held April 30-May 1, 2019, will once again host more than 300 leading global manufacturers and suppliers from across the supply chain. Running concurrent to the exhibition is Conference @ Ceramics Expo, where over 60 speakers will share their technical expertise in ceramics and provide real-world case studies, new technologies, and materials, along with information on industry trends.
From Ceramics Expo 2018
Ceramics Expo provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to hear the latest advancements in ceramic materials, technologies, manufacturing, gain an in-depth view of the ceramic materials markets, the latest innovations, and R&D for commercialization, manufacturing, and technological solutions, challenges and future requirements, alongside a 300-vendor supply chain exhibition.
The free-to-attend conference will run alongside the main exhibition and is specially designed for engineers and decision makers from OEMs and Tier 1s in the automotive, aerospace/defense, medical, electronics, industrial, energy, and communication industries.
Why you should attend the conference:
Gain a 360° view of the ceramic materials market: new material formulations, future material requirements of end-user markets and material challenges
Find solutions to technology development and implementation, cost reduction and scaling-up of manufacturing processes
Benefit from in-depth insights into new ceramic material properties, performance, applications, and efficiencies
Discover the latest innovative ceramic R&D for commercialization
Learn the latest innovative forming processes for unique geometries and high surface area parts
Optimize your manufacturing processes through microstructure and multiscale modeling
New for 2019:
Supply chain exhibition with 300+ exhibiting companies
Two-track manufacturing and applications conference
B2B meetings connecting exhibitors with key buyers
Complimentary networking receptions
Ceramics Expo 2019 will take place at the I-X Center, Cleveland, Ohio, from Tuesday, April 30, to Wednesday, May 1, 2019, with a gala reception and networking event for exhibitors and VIPs, on Monday, April 29.
The call for speakers is open. If interested, click here: http://www.ceramicsexpousa.com/conference/call-for-speakers
Welcome to another episode of Heat Treat Radio, a periodic podcast where Heat Treat Radiohost, Doug Glenn, discusses cutting-edge topics with industry-leading personalities. Below, you can either listen to the podcast by clicking on the audio play button, or you can read an edited version of the transcript. To see a complete list of other Heat Treat Radio episodes, click here.
Audio: Heat Treat Radio: Laser Heat Treating with Laser Hard
In this conversation, Heat Treat Radio host, Doug Glenn, interviews two families who have been at their manufacturing game for multiple generations. Not long ago they joined forces to establish a new company — Laser Hard, Inc. — and to introduce one of the most cutting edge-heat treat technologies around today: laser heat treating. For many of you who have difficult-to-heat treat parts, whether it’s because of blind holes, or the fact that the part is too big to move, or perhaps you’d like to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, post-heat treat hard machining, you’re going to find today’s Heat Treat Radio episode on laser heat treating especially interesting.
Click the play button below to listen.
Transcript: Heat Treat Radio: Laser Heat Treating with Laser Hard
The following transcript has been edited for your reading enjoyment.
Click the image to connect to Heat Treat Radio
In this episode of Heat Treat Radio, let’s talk about one of the most cutting-edge heat treat technologies around today — laser heat treating.
Thanks for joining us. My name is Doug Glenn and I’m your Heat Treat Radio host and publisher of Heat Treat Today. You can find us on the web at www.heattreattoday.com or simply by Googling Heat Treat Radio. And here’s something new, Heat Treat Radio is now on iTunes! On the website, we update our heat treat content daily, and if you’re a manufacturer with an in-house heat treat department, you’re going to love our site.
Although it sounds Star Treky, laser heat treating is a pretty well-established technology, especially in Europe, but not so much in the United States. The applications are intriguing to say the least – as is the way it is being introduced into the United States – and as are the two families introducing it. One family – long time heat treaters. The other family – long time laser welders and laser cladders. Both minding their own businesses – literally – both thinking about ways to better serve their customers. These two businessmen were from the same small town in Pennsylvania, and they paired up to create a new company called Laser Hard.
And that’s where our story begins.
Introducing Doug Peters of Peters’ Heat Treating and Blair Learn of Phoenix Laser Solutions
Doug Glenn (DG): First, let me introduce you to the two patriarchs: Doug Peters of Peters’ Heat Treating, and Blair Learn of Phoenix Laser Solutions.
Both Doug and Blair are seasoned veterans in their respective industries, and both have children involved in their family businesses in Meadville, Pennsylvania – a mid-sized city about 40 minutes south of Lake Erie and 20 miles from the Ohio state border. These two patriarchs have known each other for years – primarily because Phoenix Laser had been sending heat treating to Peters’ Heat Treating.
Doug Peters, Peters’ Heat Treating Inc.
Peters’ Heat Treating started in 1979, and here’s Doug Peters with a short history of Peters’ Heat Treating.
Doug Peters (DP): We basically started because there was a need in the area for a commercial heat treater. I heard about it from clients of mine. I was in the insurance business and I finally got tired of listening to everybody saying that the place needed a good heat treater so we started one. That expanded to Erie in ’82, then opened the production plant on 13 acres up here in 2013.
Doug and his wife Jackie have three kids involved in their business: Christopher, who helps with IT and other special projects at the heat treat company, and then husband and wife team Diana Peters Wilkosz and her husband Andy Wilkosz who are both heavily involved in Laser Hard as well as the heat treat company.
The other patriarch in this picture is Blair Learn, father of three boys, Chris, Dave, and Mike, all of whom are owners of Phoenix Laser Solutions. Here’s Blair with a brief history of his family business.
Blair Learn, Phoenix Laser Solutions
Blair Learn (BL): So we started here in 2008, but we’ve been laser welding for 25 years. We used to have a design and build plastic injection mold hut. We would build high cavitation molds, and we needed a laser there to fix the day-to-day bumps and dings — you know, DCRs and stuff.
Besides the laser heat treating technology, which we’ll get to in just a minute, the thing that excites these two seasoned entrepreneurs is seeing their 20- and 30-something kids run with a new business. Doug Peters says it well.
DP: I think one of the things that’s most interesting to me is that the two patriarchs have stepped back and this company truly belongs to our sons and daughters.
DG: And who are these sons and daughters? Well, there are more than we have time to put in this podcast, but let me introduce them all to you now and then we’ll hear from just two of them.
Introducing Chris Learn and Andy Wilkosz of LaserHard, Inc.
Laser Hard, Inc:: Andy Wilkosz, Diana Wilkosz, Chris Learn, David Learn
On the Peters’ Heat Treating side of the business is, as I mentioned before, Diana Wilkosz, maiden name, Peters. Diana is the marketing brains behind Laser Hard and oversees marketing, HR, and finance for Peters’ Heat Treating. This is a good time to mention that Laser Hard can be found on the web at www.laserhard.com, a website undoubtedly put together by Diana and her team.
We’ll hear from Diana’s husband, Andy Wilkosz, in just a few minutes.
From the Phoenix Laser Solutions side of the business is two of the three brothers, Chris and Dave Learn. Dave is treasurer and Chris is president. Both of the patriarchs, Doug Peters and Blair Learn, are heavily involved in sales and oversight of the new company.
Now, let’s hear from Chris Learn.
Chris Learn (CL): Yeah, my name is Chris Learn. I’m the owner of Phoenix Laser. And I pretty much oversee the shop floor. Mainly on the laser welding side.
DG: And now, as promised, let’s hear from the spokesperson from the Peters’ Heat Treating side of the business – Andy Wilkosz.
Andy Wilkosz (AW): I’m Andy Wilkosz, vice president of Laser Hard. I also work for Peters’ Heat Treat.
DG: So these are the players. But what about the technology – laser heat treating. Pretty fascinating stuff. Listen as we go back to Andy as he discusses cutting-edge robotics and real-time, feedback-loop pyrometry that makes this laser heat treating system so much different AND BETTER than other laser heat treating systems.
AW: So, I was part of the team that worked on initial startup and all the initial projects associated with the robot and the laser system. Some of the things that set it apart from the traditional lasers and systems that are out in the marketplace now is this has the Fonhoffer Control System so there is onboard optical pyrometry which is a very strong tool for this. A traditional laser is almost like a guess-and-check type of method where you adjust the wattage, see if you achieved the hardness, and in this system, we have the optical pyrometry that has a feedback loop that reads the temperature of the part and then it can control which is really important as a part’s geometry changes. We are going to be able to have better repeatability and control for our customers’ parts. Now, obviously it’s always best if you get one set up part but if the customer just has one part, we are much more likely to get it right and not hurt their part with some of the hazards that could be associated with laser-like melting.
DG: Doug Peters expounded as well on some of the advantages of the Laser Hard heat treating system.
DP: You can locally heat treat parting lines. You can locally heat treat shear areas in a cut off die. You can, instead of having to heat treat the whole part — basically the strength, Doug, is that you can finish a part, we can locally heat treat and then you can put it to work. So the precise heat of a laser enables us to not have to temper everything. In Europe, as they employ this technology, they don’t temper much, if anything because they don’t need to, because of the way this works. Right now I can tell you that the main strength I see in this thing is the precise placement of the treatment, whether it be cladding or heat treating, and the areas that we can direct the beam that you cannot get at with any other technology or method of heating. So, in other words, if you have a blind hole that is two inches deep, I can put a beam into the bottom of the hole and I can harden just the bottom of the hole, and you can’t do that with induction or flame. And with traditional heat treating you are going to have the hard finish cost associated with the distortion as part of the base heat treating cycle.
DG: With laser, you can get in the hole, do the job, and be done with no additional post treatments.
DP: Exactly. And no post hard finish time either — which is huge. The majority of time in building a tool is generally in hard finish time.
DG: And finally, Chris Learn also had something to say about the advantages and application of laser hardening. Chris Learn…
CL: It’s heavily being used in the automotive industry for very large plastic injection tools. So they got this very large plastic injection cavity or core and they are just locally heat treating the parting line and the shut offs. Where before they would have to buy a more expensive material and you know, rough machine it, then heat treat the entire huge block and then finish machine it, you know, with hard milling or eem processes that are very expensive, where now they can just buy a cheaper material, finish machine it and then laser harden just the part you need.
Portability
One of the other benefits of this new laser heat treating service being offered by Laser Hard is its portability.
One of the other benefits of this new laser heat treating service being offered by Laser Hard is its portability. Andy Wilkosz commented on the unit’s portability and its potential application in the gear market.
AW: Another powerful aspect of this is we are hoping to really serve the gear market as well. Where in traditional heat treating, what you run is going to be limited on your furnace size. With this robot having the ability to move around — it’s on tank treads — and the range that it can articulate to, you are only limited by what you can get to. So we have the ability to do very, very large parts.
DG: I don’t know if you caught what Andy said. He said that the laser heat treating unit was on “tank treads.” Those tank treads along with a robotic laser heat treating or cladding arm allow the unit to move on-site to where the part is located and once there to move around the part as needed to do whatever process needs done whether it be heat treating or cladding.
As we left the Laser Hard offices and went into the shop to see the unit in action, I asked Chris Learn about the unit’s mobility as well – the ability to take that machine on-site.
CL: So I think the biggest reason for taking this piece of equipment mobile is if the workpiece is too large to transport. Or if it’s too expensive and too risky to transport. So, it’s a very high-cost situation that instead of taking the part here and having us manipulate it here at our shop, even though we have a ten-ton crane, some parts that we deal with are twenty tons, thirty tons. So, it’s a size restriction. Sometimes it’s going to make sense to take this on site.
DG: I next asked Andy to give us a brief explanation of how the unit works. Here’s Andy, and again, please pardon the background noise from the laser welding shop.
AW: Right now, we have a part chucked up in the rotary axis and with the laser scan technology that we have on the laser, it interfaces with the software on the computer and what Mason can do is, we’ll rotate the part, as he rotates the part, it requires image information through the scan and it will actually build a 3D model of the part and its geometry on the computer. Then once we have that on the computer, we can use the computer to draw and program the path of the heat treat or the laser hardening pattern – whether it be a spot or in this case it’s a round bar and what we are going to do is we are going to traverse the bar in a spiral candy cane/barber pole pattern so that you can harden the entire surface. The beam size is about, the max width is, we’ll say 850,000, it’s a little bit more than that but we’ll use round numbers. So if you want to harden an area larger than that, what you end up doing is making multiple overlapping passes.
DG: To actually see the equipment in action, you’ll have to link over to Heat Treat Today’s website and search for Laser Hard. We’ll have an article there with photos of the players and a brief video of the laser heat treating system in action.
This laser heat treating and cladding system has a real-time feedback loop that makes it possible to not guess at whether the heat treating process being run is being run correctly.
This laser heat treating and cladding system is portable and can go on-site to perform any process needed.
For large parts or for specialty parts where shipping is problematic, this laser heat treating system may be just the ticket you’ve been looking for.
The young team at Laser Hard, backed by the two industry veterans, are bringing an innovative new heat treating technology to the United States.
If you’re interested in knowing more about Laser Hard and the services they provide, feel free to visit their website at www.laserhard.com or contact me directly and I’ll put you in touch with one of the key players. More information, including photos of the Laser Hard team and the equipment, as well as a short video of the equipment in use, can be seen by visiting Heat Treat Today’s website and searching for Laser Hard.
Stop back at Heat Treat Today’s site frequently. We update the site daily with information pertinent to heat treaters with in-house heat treating departments, especially those in the aerospace, automotive, medical, and energy sectors, as well as general manufacturing.
If you’d like to hear more Heat Treat Radio, you can do that in one of three ways:
You can Google “heat treat radio” – we’re the first thing that pops up,
You can visit www.heattreattoday.com and find “Heat Treat Radio” under the Resources tab,
Or, as I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, you can find “Heat Treat Radio” on iTunes or on SoundCloud.
If you have a specific topic you’d like covered on Heat Treat Radio, please feel free to contact me directly with your suggestion. My email is doug@heattreattoday.com.
Heat Treat Radio podcasts are the sole property of Heat Treat Today and cannot be reproduced without permission and appropriate attribution.
This episode of Heat Treat Radio was produced and mixed by Jonathan Lloyd, Butler, Pennsylvania.
My name is Doug Glenn. Thanks for joining us.
Doug Glenn, Heat Treat Today publisher and Heat Treat Radio host.
To find other Heat Treat Radio episodes, go to www.heattreattoday.com/radio and look in the list of Heat Treat Radio episodes listed.
The emails below from Dr. George Totten and Dr. Nik Kobasko below announce the passing of Dr. Hans Tensi. These emails also declare why scientists such as Dr. Tensi, Dr. Totten, and Dr. Kobasko are the founders [and] fathers of modern heat treating metallurgy – what I call the 3rd Generation of Heat Treating. Dr. Kobasko, nd his Ukrainian and Russian associates worked with scientists such as Dr. Totten [and] Dr. Tensi as well as many other heat treating metallurgists and part makers from the USA, Germany and [other] European countries before the fall of the Soviet Union’s Iron Curtain. They all tried to understand the many mechanisms at work in heat treating and especially quenching distortion.
Dr. George Totten and Dr. Kobasko worked with the late Dr. Hans Tensi to try to quantify the modern quench cooling processes using various quenchants and agitation rates; their early work to characterize the many polymer, water-salts and oil quenchants is still in use today. Dr. Tensi was the creator of the Tensi Quench Probe, a probe used for gathering thermocouple data for quench cooling curves for characterizing various quenchants in the lab for constructing better quench cooling curves. The Tensi probe helped to identify and to quantify the three phases of quench cooling – “film” boiling, “nucleate” boiling and “no boiling” – uniform convection cooling and the relationship of agitation rates to part distortion caused by non-uniform quench cooling.
Early 20th-century heat treaters like my father, Prosper Powell, and Dr. Kobasko, Dr. Tensi and Dr. Totten developed heat treating methods from a First Generation of “Blacksmithing Arts” (with a bucket of quench water and horse urine salts at a forge) to 2nd Generation Heat Treating Sciences with modern quench oils and polymer/water quenchants. 2nd Generation heat treaters also introduced thermocouple temperature controls and oxygen probe atmosphere controls as well as traditional forms of “uniform” controlled quenching with various liquid quenchants, molten salts (Martemper and Austemper) and high pressure gas quenching; all to avoid “The faster the quench rate, the more likely you will blow up the part!”
This generation of heat treaters all began a process of trying to measure, quantify and ultimately to control “uniformity and intensity” of both heating and quenching during heat treating. Their 2nd Generation Heat Treating methods and equipment led to a full understand of the relationships between both the “Left Side” and the “Right Side” of Dr. Kobasko’s “Quench Cooling Rate versus Probability of Part Cracking” – the Bell-Shaped Curve that Dr. Kobasko and his IQ Technologies’ colleagues, Dr. Michael Aronov and I, introduced to the USA at Akron Steel Treating Company in 1999 with the first IQ-2 batch quenching unit. (Unfortunately, we still do not have a reliable, in situ quench uniformity probe or a way to capture a part’s “quench cooling signature” in real time. . . but IHTS Consultants are working on it!)
Our last Generation of 2nd Heat Treaters also paved the way for a 3rd Generation of heat treat process modeling; we created the fundamentals of FEA and CFD modeling for both a heat treating process and equipment design that is linked to heating and cooling on a “Grainular” level of part metallurgy. 3rd Generation Heat Treating is what Integrated Heat Treating Solutions’ Consultants, and our many other Teaming Partners, are trying to bring to everyday heat treating practice for Industry 4.0. Joe Powell, Akron Steel Treating. Photo credit: ASM International
We are sorry to see the passing of Dr. Tensi, but will always remember the groundbreaking work that he and his colleagues did in the last century for heat treating in the 21st Century.
Group and with it was a month-long event encouraging readers to join the group and comment on any of the posts during the month of April.
Leaders in Aerospace Heat Treat LinkedIn Group (click here) provides a professional-level space where heat treaters from the aerospace industry can discuss issues and ideas. Heat Treat Today is regularly providing content related to the group, keeping members current on the latest technologies, products, processes, and discussions. If you’re a heat treat leader in the aerospace industry, you should be in this group.
Doug Glenn, the publisher of Heat Treat Today, was recently appointed to the board of directors of Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA). Doug served on the board once before from 2007-2013.
To see more of Doug’s accomplishments go to his Bio page.