Heat Treat Boot Camp, an event of Heat Treat Today provides basic training to those new to or inquisitive about the North American heat treat industry. From a technical perspective, the event provides an explanation of thermal processes and materials so that non-technical people can understand.
This Technical Tuesday original content piece provides a list of some of the content that will be covered in the sessions being offered this September 18-20 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Introduction
Technical session with Doug Glenn
Publisher and Founder
Heat Treat Today
Source: Heat Treat Today
The event kicks off with a welcome reception on Monday evening, September 18, at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel & Suites in downtown Pittsburgh. Coincidently, this is the same evening that the Pittsburgh Steelers have a home game against the Cleveland Browns. The hotel should be busy with activity since it is located quite near the stadium.
Day 1: Technical Presentation on Heat Treat Basics
On Tuesday, September 19th, the technical portion of the event kicks off with a presentation on Heat, Markets, and End Products. This presentation addresses what is heat treating and why you should care. It delves into the reasons why we heat treat and covers properties like strength, toughness/softness, durability, flexibility, corrosion resistance, heat resistance, wear & friction resistance, as well as biocompatibility.
Technical session with Thomas Wingens
Owner, Founder, President
WINGENS LLC
Source: Heat Treat Today
The session also covers the three sources of heat typically found in industrial processes, how heat is measured, and how it is transferred. A discussion about some of the major markets in which heat treating is used. Products being heated and the processes being used are briefly covered.
Day 1: Technical Presentation on Processes and Materials
The next session on Tuesday, September 19, goes a bit more technical to cover some of the processes performed and materials treated. Processes like annealing, tempering, stress relieving, hardening (both surface and through), homogenizing, normalizing, nitriding, and carburizing to name a few are covered in such a way that it is understandable for non-technical attendees.
Day 1: In-depth Presentation on Equipment Used in Heat Treating
Following lunch on this first day, the group takes a whirlwind tour of the different types of heat treating equipment, components, and supplies used in the heat treat industry along with a brief discussion of the high-heat materials needed to construct the equipment. Some of the specific topics covered include air & atmosphere furnace systems, vacuum furnace systems, induction heating equipment, heat sources including burner, heating elements, and induction power supplies, heat treating control systems including instrumentation, recorders, and controllers, as well as alloys and fabrications, ceramics, refractories, and insulations, quench media, as well as materials characterization & testing equipment. There is a huge amount of basic information covered in this session, preparing the attendee to understand enough about each system to recognize where each fits into the heat processing universe.
Day 1: Field Trip to Local Highlight
Atop Mt. Washington after riding the Duquesne Incline
Source: Heat Treat Today
The final session on the first day digs deeper into processes and materials and covers things like the types of steels, aluminum, and other nonferrous metals and how they are thermally processed.
In the evening on the first day, the group takes a trip to the famous Duquesne Incline, which is an historic Pittsburgh icon, and the evening ends with a group dinner.
Day 2: Industry Movers and Shakers
The second day is only a half-day in classes followed by an off-site plant tour — this year of Penna Flame in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, one of western Pennsylvania’s leading commercial heat treaters and one of the nation’s leading flame hardening job shops. The day starts, however, with a discussion of heat treat “players” — suppliers to the heat treat industry, including furnace and induction heating equipment manufactures, burner and heating element suppliers, on-site and industrial gas suppliers, control system and instrumentation manufacturers, insulation providers including both metal, graphite, and ceramic insulations, alloy and fabrication companies, as well as cooling systems and quench suppliers, and materials characterization & testing equipment manufacturing companies.
Day 2: The Latest in Heat Treating and Off-Site Plant Tour
Networking and learning from each other
Source: Heat Treat Today
The last two sessions before lunch and the plant tour include a discussion of some of the newest developments and innovations including 3D printing and hot isostatic pressing, as well as AI and sensor and instrumentation advances and a brisk discussion of other industry resources such as associations, institutes, and societies, media outlets, trades shows, training programs, etc.
The standard Boot Camp ends after lunch on the second day, September 20th, unless you’ve signed up for the plant tour of Penna Flame which is located less than one hour north of Pittsburgh in scenic Zelienople, Pennsylvania. Owners Jim, Michael, and Andrew of will greet the participants and give them an informative tour of their third-generation commercial heat treating shop which specializes in flame hardening. The company has also invested significantly in robotic heat treatment equipment and is well worth the trip. Participants should be back to the host hotel no later than 6:00 on Wednesday, September 20th. The heat treat shop tour costs an extra $95 dollars.
Learn More/Register
In 2022, over 30 attendees participated with positive reviews from nearly all. For more information on the 2023 event and to register, visit www.heattreatbootcamp.com. Early Bird registration ends on July 31st, and final registration closes on September 15.
