Endothermic Gas Generator Added to Brazilian Fastener Heat Treatment System

/ ALLOY FABRICATIONS NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS

A major fastener manufacturer in South America recently received delivery of an endothermic gas generator intended for heat treatment operations at the company’s Brazilian plant.

Jomarca, a Brazilian producer of fasteners for the furniture, tooling, construction, and do-it-yourself markets, purchased the Atmosphere Engineering™ EndoFlex™ generator from United Process Controls (UPC) in reaction to doubled carburizing operations and increased production capacity. Carburizing operations now include ten large continuous rotary retort furnaces that process over 2200 US tons (2,000,000 kg) of fasteners a month.

The high-capacity generator was integrated into the plant’s existing gas distribution system in the first quarter of 2018 and is supplying endothermic gas to all carburizing furnaces. The EndoFlex operates at a lower cost and mixes to more accurate ratios, aimed at maintaining a constant furnace atmosphere and a consistent gas quality at all times. The enhanced control capabilities of the EndoFlex allow for continuous control and monitoring of CH4, dew point, differential pressure, gas temperature, and retort burnout, as well as data logging, which is critical for troubleshooting and meeting regulatory requirements.

Mr. Eric Jossart (Sales Director, UPC USA), Mr. João Marques Castelhano (President, Jomarca), and Marcio Torres Boragini (General Manager, UPC Brazil). In the background is an Atmosphere Engineering™ EndoFlex™ endothermic gas generator installed at Brazilian fastener manufacturer Jomarca

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Women’s History Month: Alice Parker’s Gas Furnace Patent

/ ATMOSPHERE GENERATORS TECHNICAL CONTENT, ENERGY HEAT TREAT, FEATURED NEWS
Alice H. Parker’s gas furnace design, as patented in 1919.

Heat Treat Today is pleased to join in the celebration of Women’s History Month by turning the spotlight on Alice H. Parker, an African-American woman from Morristown, New Jersey, who received a patent for a gas furnace heating system that played a key role in the development of the central heating systems most of us have in our homes today.

It was nearly 100 years ago that U.S. Patent No. US132590A was issued to Parker, whose furnace design shows gas being used as a power source when most homeowners were stocking up on wood and coal, and includes the idea of using air ducts to deliver the heat to different parts of a home. Officially granted on December 23, 1919, Parker’s patent was not the first for a gas furnace design, but it was unique in that it incorporated a multiple yet individually controlled burner system (see the text of the patent here). Although this exact design was never implemented due to safety issues with the regulation of heat flow, this structure was an important precursor to the modern heating zone system and thermostats as well.

Parker was a 1910 graduate of Howard University.

Sources: Face2FaceAfrica.com, TheFrisky.com,

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The Vacuum Sintering Furnace Examined

/ FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS
Andrea Alborghetti, Technical Manager of TAV Vacuum Furnaces

 

Source: TAV: The Vacuum Furnaces Blog

Following up on the first installment of his series on “perfect vacuum sintering” (linked here), Andrea Alborghetti, technical manager of TAV Vacuum Furnaces and contributor to the company’s blog, provides an overview of the right insulation for a vacuum sintering furnace, an examination of hot zone design, the distribution of gas-flow, and the box for loading and unloading.

Read more: “Perfect Vacuum Sintering Step by Step #2”

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Aerospace MRO Provider Expands at 3 U.S. Locations, Adds Heat Treatment

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FEATURED NEWS

An Arizona-based aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul provider recently announced a significant expansion at three of the company’s U.S. sites during 2018, including the installation of additional heat treatment equipment at one location.

Rick Stine, President of StandardAero Components, Helicopters & Accessories

StandardAero Component Service of Scottsdale, Arizona, reports that the overall investment to fund the expansions exceeds $16 million in construction and capital equipment, involving the facilities in the Cincinnati and Hillsboro, Ohio, and Miami, Florida locations.

The Cincinnati location expansion will include the build-out of an additional 200,000 sq. ft. of work space to accommodate component repair growth on new platforms, military and commercial engine component repair, as well as larger components.

Miami will add 30,000 sq. ft. of working space and capital improvements including the installation of a state-of-the-art clean line, an additional vacuum furnace as well as water jet cleaning capabilities. As a result, the facility will be able to repair large engine cases.

Hillsboro will be completing a 30,000 sq. ft. expansion to support new OEM manufacturing production, bringing the facility’s total manufacturing footprint to 115,000 square feet of space.

“We are making this commitment to grow our capacity to meet the continued demands of our customers – on both legacy platforms and next generation engines — as well as to continue to provide the aerospace industry’s best delivery performance for component repair and manufacturing services,” said Rick Stine, President of StandardAero Components, Helicopters & Accessories. “These expanded capabilities also include dedicated processes for the repair, overhaul and manufacturing of various component types to support our customers’ engine needs.”

 

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Metallography Techniques and Fundamentals Classes Offered in U.S., U.K.

/ HEAT TREAT NEWS

SumMet™ Fundamentals of Metallographic Techniques, a three-day course designed for both metallographers without formal training and experienced metallographers who want to learn the latest preparation techniques, will be offered throughout 2018 in the United States and Europe.

Dr. Mike Keeble, Buehler US instructor

Buehler, an ITW company and a global industrial manufacturer of value-added consumables and specialty material testing equipment, announces that classes will be held at the Buehler headquarters in Lake Bluff, Illinois and in the company’s laboratories in Düsseldorf and Esslingen in Germany, and Coventry in the United Kingdom. The courses begin in March 2018 and run through November 2018.

According to Dr. Mike Keeble, United States laboratory and technology manager, “Buehler recognizes the need to educate lab technicians with the most current equipment and methods. The fundamentals of sectioning, mounting, grinding and polishing are covered both in theory and practice in this course. They are based on the SumMet methods developed at Buehler since 1936. Students will also be exposed to optical microscopy, etching, hardness testing, and microstructural interpretation.”

In the United States, the class is taught by Dr. Mike Keeble, who has 12 years of experience with Buehler specializing in applications support, as well as more than 10 years of experience in metallurgy Research and Development for key industries like aerospace, automotive, electronics, energy, metals and medical devices.

In Düsseldorf, Germany, the class is taught by Matthias Pascher, Buehler product manager for hardness testing and imaging analysis. Mr. Pascher has extensive applications support in metallography, hardness testing, and imaging analysis combined with a solid background in material science.

Dr. Evans Mogire, Buehler UK instructor

In Coventry, United Kingdom, the class is taught by Dr. Evans Mogire, EMEA laboratory and technical manager. Dr. Mogire has extensive experience in metallography of metallic, polymeric, and ceramic materials, as well as more than nine years of experience in metallurgy R&D.

Technicians and engineers can register on the Buehler website https://www.buehler.com/training.php . For additional information on Buehler please visit the Buehler website.

 

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Oilfield Supplier Increases Heat Treatment Capacity

/ ENERGY HEAT TREAT, FEATURED NEWS

A major manufacturer and supplier of oilfield logistics services recently invested in a heat treating line to facilitate processing of oilfield related equipment at its new site in Dubai, UAE.

Premier/BeaverMatic, a heat treatment manufacturer based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, provided an extensive furnace line for heating tools, parts, and components, and for providing repair and inspection services and hard metal applications for oil, gas, energy, and process industries.

The installed atmospheric heat treating system consists of an internal quench furnace including SER heating system, quench oil cooling and centrifugal separation systems, transfer system, and front load table; temper furnace; drying oven; spray and dunk washer; and endothermic gas generator.

The complete system is capable of processing 30″W X 48″L X 26″H workloads which weigh up to 1,500 lbs.

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We Made A Mistake – We’re Making It Right 

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In last Friday’s New Chatter, we did not give credit where credit was due. Three of the items we reported on were first published by Gordon Montgomery on “The Monty” –www.themonty.com. We did not give credit to Mr. Montgomery for being the source of the story. We have personally apologized to Mr. Montgomery and have sought his forgiveness. Credit should be given where credit is due and we didn’t do it! We also believe that when we make a mistake we should admit it quickly and set the record straight. The three stories for which we did not give proper credit were the stories from:
  • Dependable Metal Treating
  • Mr. Remus Bica at IVAC Group, and
  • Kentucky Heat Treating
We’ve corrected our mistake and all three stories can be seen online, with proper attribution, by clicking here. Finally, our sincere thanks to one of our readers for pointing this error out to us. 

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Rebuilt Rotary Furnace Increases Capacity for Canton Forge

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, FORGING NEWS

An Ohio-based forge which specializes in precise and durable forgings for aerospace, energy, and transportation markets recently commenced production with a rebuilt rotary furnace designed to service and increase heating capacity for some of its largest hammers.

The furnace was rebuilt in-house at Canton Drop Forge (CDF) in Canton, Ohio, and has North American high-velocity tempest burners. Another furnace will be rebuilt in 2018 to increase the heating capacity for its oilfield forging cell.

CDF’s unique ability to rebuild furnaces in-house advances heating capacity and efficiency, producing forgings used in critical applications with zero tolerance for failure. Home to some of the industry’s largest drop forging hammers in its 241,000 square foot manufacturing facility, the company operates 13 forging hammers and can produce forged parts up to 3500 lbs.

In February, Canton Drop Forge was acquired by Park Ohio, an international supply chain management outsourcing company based in Cleveland.

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10 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

 

 

 

10 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

Heat Treat Today offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry.

Personnel and Company Chatter

  • Heat treatment provider Bodycote PLC announced this week that its 2017 pretax profit rose 27 percent, due in part to a return to growth in general industrial markets following a multiyear negative trend. The pretax profit amounts to $161.6 million ((117 million pounds) in the year, compared with GBP91.9 million in 2016, the company said.
  • The UK-based specialist in thermal processing and hard coating of metals, Wallwork Group Ltd, announced that Tecvac Ltd, which supplies heat treatment and vacuum brazing to a variety of industries covering aerospace, automotive, biomedical, motorsport, and manufacturing sectors in the UK and Europe, will now operate as Wallwork Cambridge. Tecvac Ltd is BSI ISO 9001:2000 and NADCAP approved for PVD/CVD coatings and also holds various Aerospace Prime approvals. In addition, Metaltech, which was recently acquired by Wallwork, has been renamed Wallwork Newcastle.
  • Aeromet International, a leading supplier of airframe and aero engine components, recently agreed to the acquisition of the business and assets of the London-based aluminum and magnesium foundry, Stone Foundries Ltd, from Langham Industries, a UK engineering group serving particularly the marine and aerospace industries.
  • The Manufacturing Institute announced the recipients of the Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Ahead Award are Aleris leaders Helene Lagace and Brittany Kanz. The STEP Ahead Awards honor women who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their careers and represent all levels of the manufacturing industry, from the factory-floor to the C suite.

Equipment Chatter

  • North American heat treater Paulo has added a new precision controlled nitriding furnace.  Also known as vacuum nitriding the equipment is similar to a vacuum heat treatment

    Paulo adds precision controlled nitriding furnace

    furnace but operates at lower temperatures and without quenching capability, which produces minimal distortion. The recently installed furnace has a 6,000lb capacity and a work zone that measures 70"L x 47"W x 39"H. Process controls allow Paulo to meet specific requirements with respect to which nitride phases are formed and to what depth. This furnace is also capable of vacuum (protective atmosphere) tempering, which prevents oxidation during the tempering process.

Kudos Chatter

  • Stock Drive Products/Sterling Instrument (SDP/SI) has announced that the company meets all certification requirements of the new ISO 9001:2015 + AS9100D standard, maintaining processes that provide superior components and assemblies with detailed quality reporting. SDP/SI is a leader in providing mechanical based design, engineering, and manufacturing services for critical motion control and small power transmission applications for aerospace and defense.
  • ASTM International, based in West Conshohocken, Pa., announces F3301 - 18 Standard Specification for Thermal Post-Processing Metal Parts Made Via Powder Bed Fusion. This standard specifies the requirements for thermal post-processing of parts produced via metal powder-bed fusion to achieve the required material properties and microstructure to meet engineering requirements. This standard is intended to be referenced by Material Part Property specifications for powder-bed fusion. Currently, this standard includes thermal post-processing for the following materials: titanium alloys; cobalt 28 chromium 6 molybdenum; UNS N07718; UNS N06625; UNS 31603; and AlSi10Mg. This specification will be updated as new powder-bed fusion material heat treatments are developed.
  • Advanced Heat Treat of Waterloo, Iowa, has announced that their Burton Avenue location successfully transitioned from ISO/TS 16949:2009 to ISO 9001:2015 / IATF 16949:2016.
  • Toronto-based Innovation Metals Corp., which specializes in cost-effective processing solutions for critical metals, was recently awarded a research contract from Natural Resources Canada for work on the production of rare-earth-element ("REE") oxides and alloys. The contract was awarded as part of NRCan’s Rare Earth Elements and Chromite R&D Program. NRCan is the Canadian government department that oversees the responsible development and use of Canada’s natural resources and the competitiveness of Canada’s natural-resources products.
  • Pelican Wire was certified under ISO 9001:2015 standards by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The Naples, Florida-based company had previously earned certification under ISO 9001:2008 in 2010 and has been audited and registered since that time by DQS Inc.

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NC Aviation Facility Invests to Expand Jet Engine Production

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FEATURED NEWS

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper tours GE Aviation’s Asheville, NC, facility

A world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components, and integrated systems recently announced investments to expand its production facilities at two of its North Carolina locations.

GE Aviation, which designs its products for commercial, military, business, and general aviation aircraft, reported that 131 jobs will be created at its Asheville facility and 15 positions at its West Jefferson manufacturing plant, investments totaling $105M to increase production of jet engines and components.

Michael Meguiar, Asheville Plant Leader

“We are very pleased to continue expanding our GE Aviation business in Asheville,” said Michael Meguiar, Asheville Plant Leader. “We continue to build on a great workforce, culture, and community that supports advanced manufacturing jobs in Western North Carolina. This merging of technology and a strong, creative workforce is the foundation of our success. Our site continues to grow as we win components for our next generation of engines such as the GE9X and the CFM LEAP. I’m very proud of the technology advances and the continued competitiveness that our teams have been able to demonstrate.”

GE Aviation also operates a component manufacturing facility in Wilmington and an engine assembly plant in Durham. The Asheville CMC plant, opened in 2014, was the company’s first site to mass produce CMC components for jet engines.

 

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