Medical Manufacturer Chooses Vacuum Furnace System

April 21, 2017 / FEATURED NEWS, MEDICAL HEAT TREAT, MEDICAL HEAT TREAT NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS, VACUUM PUMPS GAUGES VALVES NEWS

A vacuum heat-treating system with 2-bar gas quenching was shipped to Costa Rica and will be used to manufacture surgical components. The TITAN^® H2, manufactured by Ipsen, helps companies accelerate the pace of innovation while satisfying the strict legal requirements of the medical industry.

The standardized vacuum furnace features an 18″ x 24″ x 18″ (455 mm x 610 mm x 455 mm) all-metal hot zone with a 1,000-pound (450 kg) load capacity. It is capable of operating at temperatures of 1,000 °F to 2,400 °F (538 °C to 1,316 °C) with ±10 °F (±6 °C) temperature uniformity. Equipped with the PdMetrics^® platform for predictive maintenance – which securely connects to a network of integrated sensors on the furnace to gather and analyze data, run algorithms and provide real-time diagnostics – the furnace provides sophisticated monitoring of critical systems and key parameters that improve the health and integrity of the equipment. The company also received a gas backfill reservoir, a loader with a 2,000-pound (907 kg) load capacity and a complete air-cooled, closed-loop water system.

Medical Manufacturer Chooses Vacuum Furnace System Read More »

Medical Manufacturer Chooses Vacuum Heat Treating System

March 24, 2017 / FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES, MEDICAL HEAT TREAT

Ipsen recently shipped a TITAN^® H2 vacuum heat-treating system with 2-bar gas quenching to Costa Rica. There it will be used to manufacture surgical components. With its compact dimensions and superior quality, the TITAN helps companies accelerate the pace of innovation while satisfying the strict legal requirements of the Medical industry. This shipment included more than just a furnace, though. The company also utilized Ipsen’s full-scale support offerings with Ipsen U training, a spare parts kit and installation/start-up support to advance their equipment and maximize uptime.

This standardized vacuum furnace features an 18” x 24” x 18” (455 mm x 610 mm x 455 mm) all-metal hot zone with a 1,000-pound (450 kg) load capacity. It is capable of operating at temperatures of 1,000 °F to 2,400 °F (538 °C to 1,316 °C) with ±10 °F (±6 °C) temperature uniformity. Equipped with the PdMetrics^® platform for predictive maintenance – which securely connects to a network of integrated sensors on the furnace to gather and analyze data, run algorithms and provide real-time diagnostics – the TITAN furnace provides sophisticated monitoring of critical systems and key parameters that improve the health and integrity of the equipment. They also received a gas backfill reservoir, a loader with a 2,000-pound (907 kg) load capacity and a complete air-cooled, closed-loop water system.

Medical Manufacturer Chooses Vacuum Heat Treating System Read More »

Ipsen Expands Controls Retrofit Options

February 20, 2017 / FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

Steve Hartenberger – Ipsen

Ipsen is introducing a new, competitively priced option for controls retrofits in the form of CompuCore™. Available for installation on most brands of vacuum heat-treating systems, these newly enhanced controls reduce the potential for human error and maximize uptime, allowing users to achieve greater efficiencies.

This controls software package is a cost-effective option for those that want to automate their manual system with the latest technology. It helps users gain comprehensive control of all furnace functions while also achieving repeatable throughput and results. CompuCore features five main screens, which allow operators to monitor and control operations – including viewing and editing an entire recipe – while it monitors and controls vacuum levels and temperatures. Other key features include:

Capable of meeting applicable AMS 2750 requirements
Gain greater control over temperature uniformity with DigiTrim® and DigiPID™ heat zone control (five temperature ranges each)
Create, edit, store and execute process recipes with ease via a menu-driven screen that shows the entire recipe
A streamlined solution, the CompuCore controls upgrade helps companies increase their capabilities while maximizing their equipment’s potential. To learn more, contact Steve Hartenberger at Steve.Hartenberger@IpsenUSA.com, or visit www.IpsenUSA.com/CompuCore.

In addition to controls upgrades and retrofits, the ICS (Ipsen Customer Service) Team also facilitates system installations and provides expert training, startup assistance and 360° support throughout the entire life span of the equipment for any brand.

Ipsen Expands Controls Retrofit Options Read More »

Aerospace, Automotive, Commercial Heat Treating, Medical and MIM Industries Purchase Equipment

February 2, 2017 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES, MEDICAL HEAT TREAT NEWS

Leading companies in the aerospace, automotive, commercial heat treating, medical, and metal injection molding industries received shipment of 25 furnaces during the last three months of 2016 from Ipsen, one of North America’s leading suppliers of industrial heat treating furnaces. Furnaces were received at heat treat facilities in six counties and 13 U.S. states and ranged in design from custom-built debinding and sintering furnace to a horizontal vacuum furnace (MetalMaster^®) with 20,000-pound (9,072 kg) load capacity.

Newly received units also included an atmosphere washer and loader and several TITAN^® vacuum furnaces equipped with PdMetrics^® predictive maintenance software designed to optimize equipment performance and minimize downtime. Other vacuum furnaces received included horizontal and vertical MetalMaster furnaces, TITAN DS (debinding and sintering) furnaces, a VerticalTurbo, a TITAN LT (low-temperature), a horizontal TurboTreater^® and an HEQ (horizontal external quench) from the VFS^® product line.

The company’s global ICS (Ipsen Customer Service) Team facilitated system installations, as well as provided expert training, startup assistance and 360° support throughout the entire life span of the equipment for any brand.

Aerospace, Automotive, Commercial Heat Treating, Medical and MIM Industries Purchase Equipment Read More »

Ipsen to Offer One-Day, Furnace Maintenance-Focused Seminars

January 19, 2017 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FEATURED NEWS

With last year’s successful conclusion of customer seminars in California, Texas and Connecticut, Ipsen will begin 2017 by continuing to provide one-day, expert-taught classes throughout the United States. Ipsen’s next available seminars will occur on Wednesday, February 22 in Greenville, South Carolina and on Wednesday, March 1 in West Chester, Ohio.

During this one-day training, you will learn how to master the nuances of maintenance and Aerospace compliance. You will also be able to take part in an open-forum discussion on your specific maintenance challenges throughout the day.

Specific topics covered during the seminar include:

Vacuum and atmosphere furnace maintenance best practices
Optimizing operations with predictive maintenance
Achieving and maintaining Aerospace compliance

Ipsen has been providing training to the heat treatment industry for 30+ years, both on-site at Ipsen U and at customers’ facilities. This local seminar carries on the tradition of these trainings, teaching you best practices for regaining control of your equipment and offering insight into specific issues you might be experiencing on a daily basis.

The seminar is $60 per registration, including meals and handouts. Additional locations will also be available soon. Learn more and register now at www.IpsenUSA.com/Seminar.

Ipsen to Offer One-Day, Furnace Maintenance-Focused Seminars Read More »

Majority of Heat Treatment Done In-House at SKF — New Equipment Purchased

September 6, 2016 / ANNEALING, BRAZING, CARBURIZING, FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES, QUENCHING NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

Ipsen recently installed both atmosphere and vacuum heat-treating systems at SKF’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in St. Louis, Missouri. With the relocation of their existing facility to a new location, SKF continues to focus on enhancing the quality, efficiency and overall effectiveness of their heat-treating equipment. Among this new Ipsen equipment was a complete ATLAS atmosphere heat-treating system, including two ATLAS integral quench batch furnaces and ancillary equipment – washer, temper, endo generator, loader/unloader and a feed-in/feed-out station. SKF also purchased a TITAN^® vacuum heat-treating system to round out their production capabilities.

Heat-treating is considered a core competency at SKF, and this new equipment will allow them to bring the majority of heat treatment in-house and efficiently handle the increase they’ve seen in production demands and volume of parts. Reflecting on the equipment purchased and what appealed to SKF, Bryan Stanford said, “Initially, I would say it was the general purposefulness of these Ipsen products that appealed to us. We run a very large variety of parts and batch quantities here. A custom solution designed to run tens of thousands of the same parts was not going to work for us. We wanted a low-cost, off-the-shelf-type solution that would allow us the flexibility we required – which is what the ATLAS and TITAN delivered. Now after having performed some pre-training, I would say what stands out the most is the ease of use and control of the equipment.”

The ATLAS batch furnaces feature a 24″ W x 36″ D x 30″ H (610 mm x 910 mm x 760 mm) load size with an 1,100-pound (500 kg) load capacity. They also operate at temperatures of 1,400 °F to 1,800 °F (750 °C to 980 °C) and have a quench oil capacity of 1,030 gallons (3,900 L). The TITAN vacuum furnace features an 18″ W x 24″ D x 18″ H (455 mm x 610 mm x 455 mm) load size with a 1,000-pound (454 kg) load capacity. It operates at temperatures of 1,000 °F to 2,400 °F (538 °C to 1,316 °C). Overall, this Ipsen equipment will be used for carburizing, carbonitriding, brazing and annealing and will process a wide variety of parts that support SKF’s Lubrication Business Unit.

Majority of Heat Treatment Done In-House at SKF — New Equipment Purchased Read More »

Record Gas Quenching Speeds Achieved in Ipsen’s ARGOS Heat Treating System

May 6, 2016 / CARBURIZING, FEATURED NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, QUENCHING NEWS

KLEVE, GERMANY – Ipsen’s Global Development Team recently celebrated the first build and testing of the ARGOS heat-treating system. The ARGOS uses low-pressure carburizing (AvaC®) in combination with 20-bar nitrogen quenching to provide metallurgical properties never before seen in gas quenching systems – even those utilizing 20-bar helium quenching. One industry visitor who witnessed the test run commented, “The ARGOS is likely the fastest inert gas quench furnace in the world.”

This initial test was performed on one of the most difficult to quench vacuum carburized components: layshafts for large gears. Until now, helium gas, which is both expensive and declining in availability, was required to fully transform parts with very high cross-sectional thicknesses.

Test outcomes showed that the shafts processed in the ARGOS system with 20-bar nitrogen quenching achieved higher surface hardness and core hardness values than shafts processed in the existing vacuum heat-treating furnaces that use 20-bar helium quenching. The ARGOS heat-treating system also offers several benefits, including:

Flexible installation with a selectable number of carburizing, nitriding, subzero and high vacuum process chambers with a nitrogen gas and/or oil quench module
Excellent temperature uniformity during heating and cooling
Minimal and controllable distortion due to temperature homogeneity throughout the entire load and the reversible gas flow during cooling
Extremely high gas velocity and volume due to Ipsen’s unique cooling system design

Overall, the ARGOS furnace line represents a significant milestone in the growing trend to operate low-pressure carburizing (LPC) lines in combination with inert gas quenching.

Record Gas Quenching Speeds Achieved in Ipsen’s ARGOS Heat Treating System Read More »

Ipsen Ships Seven Vacuum Furnaces

March 28, 2016 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, AUTOMOTIVE HEAT TREAT, ENERGY HEAT TREAT, EQUIPMENT, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

Ipsen recently shipped seven furnaces around the globe, which will be used to support the Aerospace, Automotive and Power industries. This selection of shipments included both custom-built furnaces and standard TITAN® furnaces that were sent to customers in Alabama, California, Missouri and Texas, as well as China and Japan.

The equipment shipped ranged from a vertical, bottom-loading MetalMaster® with an 84″ x 84″ (2,134 mm x 2,134 mm) molybdenum hot zone traveling to California to a TITAN® H2 vacuum furnace that was sent to Japan. Other furnaces shipped included horizontal MetalMaster furnaces, H2- and H4-sized furnaces from Ipsen’s TITAN line and a Global Vertical furnace from Ipsen’s TurboTreater® line. Overall, these shipments represent Ipsen’s ability to provide sophisticated and intuitive heat-treating solutions through an all-inclusive product line that supports various applications and processes.

Ipsen Ships Seven Vacuum Furnaces Read More »

Ipsen