Richard B. Conway Founder/Director/CTO DELTA H® Technologies, LLC Source: DELTA H
Multiple military facilities now operate more than 50 heat treat systems from a North American furnace and oven supplier. These facilities include Air National Guard bases, USAF bases stateside, Guam, Alaska, and Hawaii, Air Bases in Japan, Germany, United Kingdom – Royal Air Force, Middle East, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army facilities.
The systems from DELTA H included either single, dual or triple chamber designs of both the heavy duty commercial aviation standard models DCAHT® / SCAHT® Series, the supplier’s Defender Series – developed for the armed forces, and aircraft composite walk-in ovens.
All systems are in full compliance to NAVAIR Tech Order 1-1A-9, and meet AMS2750 accountability standards for accuracy, temperature uniformity, calibration, and secure batch records.
Ellen Conway Merrill with USAF Metal Technology personnel Source: DELTA H TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Richard Conway, director & CTO of DELTA H®, shares: “It is a deep honor and humbling for the DELTA H team to support our armed forces. We take the utmost care to ensure the best of our craftsmanship and abilities are utilized to deliver the finest heat treating equipment for aircraft maintenance to our Warfighters.”
Military personnel are provided full operator and heat treating and maintenance training, as well as on-site qualifying assistance to meet and maintain the stringent pyrometry standards. Successful trainees receive Certificates of Training as qualified to use their DELTA H® furnace for heat treatment of aircraft parts.
This press release is available available upon request.
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No matter where you sit on the advanced manufacturing supply chain, discover game-changing solutions at Ceramics Expo
Ceramics Expo is North America’s leading technical ceramics exhibition and conference that provides the opportunity to discover how the unique properties of advanced ceramics materials enhance high-tech manufacturing industries.
No other event offers the opportunity for professionals working across sectors such as Automotive, Aerospace & Defense, Electronics, Energy, Telecoms/5G, and Medical to delve into cutting-edge use cases for ceramics materials and components, helping to solve manufacturing and engineering challenges. Attendees can tap into the advantages of cross-sector networking and in-person engagements with the latest material engineering solutions and concepts.
Co-located with Thermal Management Expo, this event is scheduled for April 29 – May 1, 2024, at Suburban Collection Showplace, Novi, Michigan, USA. Global market-leading suppliers and manufacturers including 3M, Almatis, ERG Aerospace, Exentis Group, Fiven, GeoCorp, IPS Ceramics, McDanel, and Saint-Gobain will be showcasing the materials and manufacturing process innovations that are driving innovation across high-tech applications,
In addition to the exhibition, the free-to-attend conference will feature sessions led by technical experts from industry heavyweights such as Lockheed Martin, McDanel, The American Ceramics Society, Himed, Intel, Henkel, and more. These sessions will provide insights into innovation in ceramic materials, supply chain sustainability, piezoelectric ceramics, workforce and talent development, 3D printing, advanced ceramic innovations in aerospace and electronics, and next-generation solid-state batteries.
Ipek Saltik, Exhibition Director, emphasizes, “The pivotal role of advanced ceramics in fueling innovation across critical sectors cannot be overstated. This yearly gathering serves as a catalyst for innovation, fostering crucial exchanges of knowledge, progress, and optimal strategies, thereby propelling the future of advanced ceramics.”
Registration is now open, and Ceramics Expo encourages interested visitors to pre-register for free via the website at https://www.ceramicsexpousa.com/
Guangdong Tayo Motorcycle Technology Co. Ltd., a Chinese manufacturer of motorcycles and bicycles, has invested in a nitriding/nitrocarburizing system, increasing sustainability and growth for its new production facility in Jiangmen City, located in southern China’s Guangdong province.
Heat treat solutions company Nitrex was commissioned to deliver a comprehensive turnkey system, geared towards enhancing the performance and durability of multiple components within Guangdong Tayo Motorcycle, including those for the brands Haojiang, Daye, Shengshi, and Qidian.
Nikola Dzepina Nitrex Regional Manager – Asia Source: NITREX
Nikola Dzepina, Nitrex account executive, said, “Our partnership with Guangdong Tayo Motorcycle Technology Co. Ltd. will help them in fulfilling their mission of delivering top-notch, highly durable, and reliable motorcycles and bicycles to their global customer base.”
As part of their development strategy, Guangdong Tayo Motorcycle has placed sustainability, product quality, service excellence, and market expansion at the heart of their mission. Paving the way for superior motorcycles and bicycles, the company evaluated various options and ultimately selected Nitrex for its precision-controlled processes, process stability and repeatability, equipment longevity and reliability, and commitment to environmental friendliness.
Nitrex pit furnace Source: Nitrex
The turnkey system comprises a large pit-type furnace, model NX-1225, with a 4000-kg load capacity and the Nitreg® controlled nitriding and Nitreg®-C nitrocarburizing technologies. These surface treatments augment the properties of motorcycle and bicycle metal components, significantly enhancing wear resistance and providing protection against rust and corrosion. Additionally, the system features an ammonia dryer and accelerated cooling system, facilitating the delivery of high-purity ammonia and fast cycle times to optimize production efficiency.
Tao Liu, sales manager at Nitrex China, emphasized, “This system’s exceptional reliability, engineered for longevity with minimal maintenance requirements and low utility and production media consumption costs, aligns perfectly with Guangdong Tayo Motorcycle’s vision for a sustainable future.”
This press release is available in its original form here.
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Laser heat treating, a form of case hardening, offers substantial advantages when distortion is a critical concern in manufacturing operations. Traditional heat treating processes often lead to metal distortion, necessitating additional post-finishing operations like hard milling or grinding to meet dimensional tolerances.
This Technical Tuesday article was originally published in first published in Heat Treat Today’sJanuary/February 2024 Air & Atmosphereprint edition.
In laser heat treating, a laser (typically with a spot size ranging from 0.5″ x 0.5″ to 2″ x 2″) is employed to illuminate the metal part’s surface. This results in a precise and rapid delivery of high-energy heat, elevating the metal’s surface to the desired transition temperature swiftly. The metal’s thermal mass facilitates rapid quenching of the heated region resulting in high hardness.
Key Benefits of Laser Heat Treating
Consistent Hardness Depth
Laser heat treatment achieves consistent hardness and hardness depth by precisely delivering high energy to the metal. Multiparameter, millisecond-speed feedback control of temperature ensures exacting specifications are met.
Minimal to Zero Distortion
Due to high-energy density, laser heat treatment inherently minimizes distortion. This feature is particularly advantageous for a variety of components ranging from large automotive dies to gears, bearings, and shafts resulting in minimal to zero distortion.
Precise Application of Beam Energy
Unlike conventional processes, the laser spot delivers heat precisely to the intended area, minimizing or eliminating heating of adjoining areas. This is specifically beneficial in surface wear applications, allowing the material to be hardened on the surface while leaving the rest in a medium-hard or soft state, giving the component both hardness and ductility.
Figure 1. Laser heat treating of automotive stamping die constructed from D6510 cast iron material (Source: Synergy Additive Manufacturing LLC)
No Hard Milling or Grinding Required
The low-to-zero-dimensional distortion of laser heat treatment reduces or eliminates the need for hard milling or grinding operations. Post heat treatment material removal is limited to small amounts removable by polishing. Eliminating hard milling or grinding operations saves substantial costs in the overall manufacturing process of the component. Our typical tool and die customers have seen over 20% cost savings by switching over to laser heat treating.
Any metal with 0.2% or more carbon content is laser heat treatable. Hardness on laser heat treated materials typically reaches the theoretical maximum limit of the material. Many commonly used steels and cast irons in automotive industry such as A2, S7, D2, H13, 4140, P20, D6510, G2500, etc. are routinely laser heat treated. A more exhaustive list of materials is available at synergyadditive.com/laser-heat-treating.
Laser heat treatment is poised to witness increased adoption in the automotive and other metal part manufacturing sectors. The adoption of this process faces no significant barriers, aside from the typical challenges encountered by emerging technologies, such as lack of familiarity, limited hard data, and a shortage of existing suppliers. The substantial savings, measured in terms of cost, schedule, quality, and energy reduction, provide robust support for the continued embrace of laser heat treatment in manufacturing processes.
Jupiter Aluminum Industries (JUPALCO), a newly established aluminum factory which will be part of the Jupiter Group in India, has ordered three furnaces for annealing aluminum coils from a heat treat furnace manufacturer with North American locations.
The equipment ordered by the Jupiter Group from SECO/WARWICK includes three Vortex® 2.0 furnaces for aluminum annealing, two cooling chambers, and one loader. A system configured in this way will ensure the optimal production volume of the Indian rolling mill.
The aim of JUPALCO’s new plant will be to achieve the highest level of domestic aluminum production in history and to create an ecosystem of comprehensive aluminum-based solutions. This is the first cooperation between SECO/WARWICK and the Jupiter Group.
The three Vortex furnaces are effective systems for annealing aluminum coils. In the Vortex 2.0 version, a system of straight nozzles has increased the heat transfer efficiency. The systems key feature is the increased heat transfer coefficient, achieved by directing high-velocity air to both sides of the coil. This allows air to flow over the coil edges, not just through its outer layer.
Piotr Skarbiński, Vice President of (Source: secowarwick.com)
With the use of patented air flow technology, the aluminum coil annealing systems operate with process cycles that are significantly shorter. This in turn ensures energy savings, increased efficiency, and improved surface quality of the finished coils.
“In the case of coil annealing,” commented Piotr Skarbiński, VP of the CAB andAluminum Products Segment at the SECO/WARWICK Group, “the challenge is to optimize the process by reducing the cycle time as much as possible while maintaining the desired metallurgical properties throughout the entire load.”
The Jupiter Group plans to recycle over 50,000 tons of aluminum scrap every year once fully operational. This scrap will come from both in-house and customer scrap, purchased scrap, and recycled cans/foils etc. The new rolling mill in India will help the Group expand its footprint in the aluminum industry and produce Made in India products which will be known for its quality and reliable products and services.
“Since the 1990’s,” says Mr. Sandeep Bajaj, CMD of Jupiter Aluminum Industries, JUPALCO, “the Jupiter Group processes aluminum as a partner of the converting and packaging industries. Ecology is an important value for us. It is included in our mission, just like our Partner’s. The rolling mill in India will be one of the most modern facilities of this type in this region, which is why we are equipping it with the best solutions available on the market.”
This press release is available in its original form here.
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May you have a blessed Easter weekend! Heat Treat Today offices are closed today (Friday, March 29), but will be back open Monday morning.
As we’ve come to Good Friday, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on the gift of the resurrection of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through his death and resurrection, we can have eternal life! At Heat Treat Today, our prayer is that as we are helpful to you, you would also see the light of Christ shine through us. See you Monday!
Heat Treat Today offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry. Enjoy these 13 news items.
Company
IHEA celebrate 95 years with an anniversary dinner at the industry association’s annual meeting.
Furnaces North American 2024 registration is open, with the event scheduled for October 14–16, 2024.
EVERGREEN KILN TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, located in Niagara Falls, U.S., and SUZHOU KILNPARTNER Mechanical Technology Co., Ltd., located in China, officially announced their strategic partnership to service and support the growing demands of the North American lithium-ion battery market.
SECO/WARWICK opened SECO/LAB, a production automation and mechatronics laboratory, at the University of Zielona Góra in Poland.
Tenova will partner with De Nora, Snam, and other European steel producers and RTOs on the HyTecHeat project, a Horizon Europe program funded by the EU with the goal to validate hybrid heating technologies based on natural gas with a progressive increase of hydrogen up to 100% in downstream processing. Within this project, Tenova will install an electrolyzer at the Demo headquarters in Castellanza (Italy).
Tenova’s SafeForPorts project has won a call for proposals issued by the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) under the banner of RAISE (Robotics and AI for Socio-economic Empowerment). The project is aimed at revolutionizing the safety and efficiency of port operations through cutting-edge Industry 4.0 technologies.
Indian steel producer JSW STEEL (Dolvi Works) has placed an order with SMS group to supply its trailblazing CSP® Nexus plant, which will fundamentally transform flat steel production.
EVERGREEN KILN TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, and SUZHOU KILNPARTNER Mechanical Technology Co., Ltd., announced their strategic partnershipTenova electrolyzerTenova’s SafeForPorts project
Company & Personnel
Hubbard-Hall welcomes John Forlenzo as supply chain manager. In this role, he will oversee the global purchasing activities for the company, including logistics and inventory.
David Wolfe joins ECM USA as senior sales engineer. As a former east coast sales representative for ECM, Wolfe brings important industry knowledge to the role.
John Forlenzo, Supply Chain Manager, Hubbard-HallDavid Wolfe, Senior Sales Engineer, ECM USA
Kudos
Akron Steel Treating is pleased to share we are now in the Nadcap 18 Month Merit Program. The Nadcap Merit Program is an allowance for extending the accreditation lengths between audits and is only awarded to companies which have proven themselves as exceeding Nadcap’s already highly stringent standards.
Steelhead Technologies is proud to be a winner of the Top Performer award from SourceForge, the world’s largest software reviews and comparison website.
Ipsen USA celebrated 75 years in operation on February 27, 2024.
Advanced Heat Treat Corp. has renewed its Nadcap accreditation in heat treating and passed its Aerospace Quality System (AC7004) audit.
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Today’s News from Abroad installment shares exciting news from the steelmaking world that is of international importance.
Heat Treat Today partners with two international publications to deliver the latest news, tech tips, and cutting-edge articles that will serve our audience — manufacturers with in-house heat treat. heat processing, a Vulkan-Verlag GmbHpublication, serves mostly the European and Asian heat treat markets, andFurnaces International, a Quartz Business Media publication. primarily serves the English-speaking globe.
French ECM Group Expands with IOS Acquisition in Europe
ECM Group to consolidate its presence in Germany Source: heat-processing.com
“With the acquisition of IOS, the French ECM Group strengthens its presence in Germany and Northern Europe as well as its service activities. The medium-sized company IOS – Industrie Ofen Service is based in Arnsberg (Hochsauerlandkreis) and specialises in the maintenance of industrial furnaces for vacuum heat treatment. IOS currently employs around a dozen people and is mainly active in the German-speaking and Northern European markets. The company has extensive expertise, is a competent partner for its customers and focuses on rapid response and high quality.”
Center set to help forgers explore modern processes and new integrated digital technologies. Source: furnaces-international.com
“A research and innovation hot forging platform has announced it [would open] on the 21st March at the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, connecting the $75 billion global forging sector with the Scotland-based team and industry-scale testbed, no matter where they are in the world.”
Metso has decided to discontinue foundry operations in Prerov, Czech Republic. Source: heat-processing.com
“According to the statement of Metso, the decision is based on fundamental changes in the market environment, which have negatively impacted the foundry’s competitiveness. The decision affects around 160 manufacturing-related positions. Operations at the foundry will be ramped down during the second quarter of 2024.”
Tenova Takes on Sustainable Steel with RINA Partnership
Caption: Schematic for Hydra project Source: furnaces-international.com
“Tenova, announced it is partnering with RINA on the ambitious European Commission-backed Hydra project. This partnership will drive innovation in sustainable steel production leveraging Tenova’s cutting-edge technologies. The €88M project is funded by the European Commission’s NextGenerationEU and backed by the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy.”
The search for sustainable solutions in the heat treat industry is at the forefront of research for industry experts. Michael Stowe, PE, senior energy engineer at Advanced Energy, one such expert, offers some fuel for thought on the subject of how heat treaters should prioritize the reduction of their carbon emissions by following the principles of reuse, refuel, and redesign.
This Sustainability Insights article was first published in Heat Treat Today’sJanuary/February 2024 Air & Atmosphereprint edition.
Reduce
Michael Stowe PE, Senior Energy Engineer Advanced Energy
We explored why the question above has come to the forefront for industrial organizations in Part 1, released in Heat Treat Today’s December 2023 print edition. Now, let’s look at the four approaches to managing carbon in order of priority.
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The best way to manage your carbon footprint is to manage your energy consumption. Therefore, the first and best step for reducing your carbon footprint is to reduce the amount of energy you are consuming. Energy management tools like energy treasure hunts, energy assessments, implementation of energy improvement projects, the DOE 50001 Ready energy management tool, or gaining third party certification in ISO 50001 can all lead to significant reduction in energy consumption year over year. Lower energy use means a smaller carbon footprint.
Additionally, ensuring proper maintenance of combustion systems will also contribute to improved operational efficiency and energy savings. Tuning burners, changing filters, monitoring stack exhaust, controlling excess oxygen in combustion air, lubricating fans and motors, and other maintenance items can help to ensure that you are operating your combustion-based heat treating processes as efficiently as possible.
Reuse
Much of the heat of the combustion processes for heat treating goes right up the stack and heats up the surrounding neighborhood. Take just a minute and take the temperature of your exhaust stack gases. Chances are this will be around 1200–1500°F. Based on this, is there any effective way to reuse this wasted heat for other processes in your facility? One of the best things to do with waste heat is to preheat the combustion air feeding the heat treating process. Depending on your site processes, there are many possibilities for reusing waste heat, including:
Space heating
Part preheating
Hot water heating
Boiler feed water preheating
Combustion air preheating
Refuel
Once you have squeezed all you can from reducing your process energy consumption and reusing waste heat, you may now want to consider the possibility of switching the fuel source for the heat treating process. If you currently have a combustion process for a heat treat oven or furnace, is it practical or even possible to convert to electricity as the heating energy source? Electricity is NOT carbon free because the local utility must generate the electricity, but it typically does have lower carbon emissions than your existing direct combustion processes on site. Switching heating energy sources is a complex process, and you must ensure that you maintain your process parameters and product quality. Typically, some testing will be required to ensure the new electrical process will maintain the metallurgical properties and the quality standards that your customer’s specific cations demand. Also, you will need a capital investment in new equipment to make this switch. Still, this method does have significant potential for reducing carbon emissions, and you should consider this where applicable and appropriate.
Redesign
Finally, when the time is right, you can consider starting with a blank sheet of paper and completely redesigning your heat treating system to be carbon neutral. This, of course, will mean a significant process change and capital investment. This would be applicable if you are adding a brand-new process line or setting up a new manufacturing plant at a greenfield site.
In summary, heat treating requires significant energy, much of which is fueled with carbon-based fossil fuels and associated-support electrical consumption. Both combustion and electricity consumption contribute to an organization’s carbon footprint. One of the best ways to help manage your carbon footprint is to consider and manage your energy consumption.
For more information: Connect with IHEA Sustainability & Decarbonization Initiatives www.ihea.org/page/Sustainability Article provided by IHEA Sustainability
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A North America-based company is set to receive a four-gun electron beam hearth melting furnace from their industry partner of 3 years.
Retech, a division of SECO/WARWICK Group, received this third contract in as many years from the returning partner after the successful planning, installation, commissioning, and subsequent operation and progress of the last two EB hearth melters. Along with that, repeat orders from a known partner reduce uncertainty and risk for the company. Put more simply, practice makes perfect.
Source: SECO/WARWICK
These EB furnaces have a throughput that is suitable for large-ingot casting of reactive/refractory metals when alloying with metals having similar vaporization temperatures, whereas plasma arc melting, although slower, would be the more suitable choice for dissimilar vaporization temperatures.
Earl Good Managing Director at Retech Systems, LLC Source: Retech
“We are thrilled to be an ongoing partner in this customer’s growth,” said Earl Good, managing director of Retech Systems. “We know they have multiple competitive options for their vacuum metallurgy equipment, so we take nothing for granted, and work hard to earn their business every step of the way. Ongoing awards like this suggest we’re doing a lot of things right.”
Retech produces and assembles vacuum melting equipment entirely in North America. Their integrated R&D, manufacturing, and assembly facility in Buffalo allows them to do that. The North American supplier also has exclusive use of electron beam guns from Von Ardenne, industry pioneers of electron beam technology.
This press release is available in its original form here.
