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

A Berwick, Pennsylvania, machining company which offers heat treating among its services was recently acquired by precision machining provider DPMS, based in Santa Clara, California. K-Fab Inc. operates a 22,000-sq.-ft. precision machine shop that manufactures parts for the aerospace, defense, and semiconductor sectors.
GKN Powder Metallurgy recently announced a strategic collaboration with HP Inc, becoming the first to deploy the just-launched HP Metal Jet, a groundbreaking binder jetting technology, into its factories to produce functional metal parts for auto and industrial leaders, including Volkswagen and Wilo, and for companies around the world.
Joshua Farrell recently took over the Operations Manager position at Mid-South Metallurgical, based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Equipment Chatter

California-based Delta H Technologies, LLC, recently delivered a commissioned dual chamber aerospace heat treating system — the largest and most advanced to date — to a leading U.S. military aircraft manufacturer. Both chambers are certified for heating parts up to 1200°F and capable of solution heat treating, aging, annealing aluminum, stress relieving titanium and ferrous castings, weldments, and aging of PH stainless steel.
An auto parts manufacturer recently received shipment of a customized oxidation nitriding furnace, manufactured by JGEF Furnace, a vacuum heat treating equipment supplier with U.S. offices in San Francisco, California. The pit furnace, which has useful dimensions of 43.3 inches (1,100 mm) in diameter x 70.9 inches (1,800 mm) high, has a maximum temperature rating of 1292°F (700°C). The goal for this project was to represent an advanced solution for metallic parts. The furnace includes an advanced oxidation system that ensures the workpieces are preheated in a controlled oxidizing atmosphere and guarantees corrosion resistance, which in turn facilitates nitrogen uptake and growth of the nitride compound layer.
A large capacity fastener hardening furnace system has been commissioned by a tier one automotive supplier based in Detroit, Michigan. CAN-ENG Furnaces International Ltd has been contracted to design and commission the system for the company, which offers heat treating among its services.
A large capacity SECO/Warwick vacuum furnace was delivered to U.K.-based Wallwork Heat Treatment company just before Christmas.

Kudos Chatter

America Makes recently announced the awardees of a Directed Project Opportunity on advancing additive manufacturing (AM) post-processing techniques (AAPT), funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Manufacturing and Industrial Base Technology Division. Awardee #1 is Arizona State University, in conjunction with Quintus Technologies; Phoenix Heat Treating, Inc.; and Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies, Inc. Awardee #2 is ASTM International Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence (AM CoE), a collaborative, which includes ASTM International, Auburn University, EWI, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wichita State University – National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), in conjunction with Quintus Technologies, Carpenter Technologies Corporation, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Rolls Royce Corporation, Honeywell Aerospace, GE Aviation, and Raytheon.
Paulo recently announced the recent addition of the St. Louis Division to the approved heat treat sources list for General Motors High-Pressure Die Casting Die Insert Material. The approval list references AWQ49658 which includes the heat treatment specifications for Hot Work Tool Steels for GM High-Pressure Die Casting applications. The St. Louis Division joins Paulo’s Nashville plant on the approval list, which includes only seven approved locations in the US. AWQ49657 covers approved material providers, heat treaters, and testing labs. Paulo is the only US source with two facilities on the list.
Nominations are open for the ASM HTS/Surface Combustion Emerging Leader Award, which recognizes an outstanding early-to-midcareer heat treating professional whose accomplishments exhibit exceptional achievements in the heat treating industry. The award was created in recognition of Surface Combustion’s 100-year anniversary in 2015. The winning young professional will best exemplify the ethics, education, ingenuity, and future leadership of our industry. Deadline for the nomination is February 1, 2019. Past winners include Olga Rowan of Caterpillar in 2015 and Lee Rothleutner of Timken in 2017. For nomination rules and forms, visit the Heat Treating Society website at hts.asminternational.org and click on Membership & Networking and Society Awards.

Heat Treat Today is pleased to join in the announcements of growth and achievement throughout the industry by highlighting them here on our News Chatter page. Please send any information you feel may be of interest to manufacturers with in-house heat treat departments especially in the aerospace, automotive, medical, and energy sectors to the editor at editor@heattreattoday.com.

15 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

November 30, 2018 / FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

15 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

Tracy Dougherty has been named Vice President of Sales at AFC-Holcroft. Dougherty has been with AFC-Holcroft since 2008 and served in several sales-related roles, most recently as the company’s Sales Manager. As Vice President of Sales, Dougherty will now have a number of added responsibilities, including overseeing the company’s activities in Europe.
Retech Systems, which has been manufacturing vacuum melting systems in Northern California, will transition much of the manufacturing and assembly to facilities in Świebodzin, Poland. All of the future work done at the SECO/Warwick facilities in Poland will be per the established Retech standards with the focus on maintaining all expectations associated with the Retech brand. The Ukiah office will be downsized and will retain engineers, technical directors, technologists, and service staff. Retech’s unique R&D Center will continue to be built up, maintaining a west coast office along with the recently opened east coast office in Buffalo, NY.
Philip Wrisley, Project Manager at Plibrico‘s Salem, Ohio, office, is the recipient of an API STD 936 Refractory Personnel Certification from the American Petroleum Institute (API). This internationally recognized certification verifies Wrisley’s knowledge of API Refractory Installation Quality Control Guidelines for field-testing of monolithic refractory materials, as well as best practices in the installation and repair of refractory linings.
A new 57,500 square foot building dedicated to vacuum furnace manufacturing is under construction at Solar Manufacturing‘s campus in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. As can be seen in the photo below, the four bridge cranes are in place, the full plant and office roof is complete, and much of the concrete floor poured.
A thermal technology company recently announced the opening of its new sales and operations office in Norway. Chromalox, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, manufactures process heating and heat tracing products.
A global leader in aluminum rolling and recycling recently announced an expansion at the company’s Pindamonhangaba, Brazil, plant. This $175 million investment of its flagship facility in South America will bolster Novelis‘s capacity with 100 kilotonnes of additional rolling production and 60 kilotonnes of increased recycling and bring total capacity of the Pindamonhangaba facility to approximately 680 kilotonnes per year of aluminum sheet and 450 kilotonnes annually of recycled metal.
Nucor Corporation has announced that it is acquiring Corporacion POK, S.A. de C.V. (POK), a fully integrated precision castings company with a facility in Guadalajara, Mexico. POK produces complex castings and precision machined products used by the oil and gas, mining and sugar processing industries.
A new automotive structures facility opened in Zilina, Slovakia, dedicated to the production of aluminum crash management systems and body structure components. Constellium‘s 5,200 square meter facility in Zilina features advanced technologies for forming, machining, welding, and heat-treating aluminum automotive components, along with a state-of-the-art quality lab to ensure products meet customer specifications. Constellium plans to expand its facility to 15,000 square meters by mid-2019.

Tracy Dougherty, VP Sales, AFC-Holcroft Source: AFC-Holcroft

Philip Wrisley receives certification from API

Construction underway for Solar Manufacturing\’s new building. at Sellersville, PA.

Equipment Chatter

A Japanese manufacturer of precision tool steels components recently commissioned a precision vacuum furnace system from SECO/WARWICK. This specialized system reduces energy consumption through power optimization and cycle time reduction, customized to work within the tight physical space limitations.
In addition, an American manufacturer which produces transportation components recently ordered a new precision gas nitriding furnace with ZeroFlow® from SECO/VACUUM (SVT), a SECO/WARWICK Group company.
L&L Special Furnace Co., Inc., has supplied a custom designed and manufactured oil quench tank to a metal stamping manufacturer in the Midwest. The quench tank is specifically used to quench metal stamping dies that are heated to 1,550°F.
Advanced Heat Treat Corp recently posted to Facebook a video of the installation of one of three new nitriding vessels delivered to the company’s MidPort Blvd location as part of an ongoing building expansion.
An international heat treating equipment manufacturer with a location in California, JGEF Furnace, recently sold 6 furnaces to a Japanese heat treating company. Four nitriding horizontal furnaces are front-loading and designed specifically for precision gas nitriding in a retort style with vacuum purge, and two tempering horizontal furnaces are designed to temper workloads after hardening.

SECO VACUUM sells gas nitriding furnace with ZeroFlow®.

L&L Special Furnace Co., Inc., delivers oil quench tank.

JGEF Furnace ships 6 furnaces to Japanese manufacturer.

Kudos Chatter

Hydro Extruded Solutions Hoogezand B.V. (Netherlands), which produces aluminum profiles as well as anodized and painted components, has become the first aluminum extrusion company to be certified with ASI’s Performance Standard for environmental, social and governance performance.
SECO/WARWICK was recently awarded the Honorary Badge for Meritorious Performance in the area of innovation in a badge award ceremony held at the Royal Castle as part of the celebrations of the 100-year anniversary of the Patent Office and industrial property protection system in Poland. The badge, given to entities and organizations having outstanding achievements in their pro-development activities, was received by Bartosz Klinowski, Managing Director (Europe), Member of the Management Board of SECO/WARWICK.