The Metal Treating Institute (MTI) Technical Standards Committee met to advance industry initiatives at a Nadcap meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. Critical issues which shape the heat treatment industry’s technical standards and audit compliance were addressed.
The meeting provided a collaborative platform for MTI members and technical leaders to exchange updates, align on upcoming revisions, and identify priority actions related to key AMS and ASTM specifications and Nadcap audit compliance.
“Our Technical Standards Committee plays a vital role in ensuring MTI members remain informed, compliant, and at the forefront of technical excellence,” said Tom Morrison, CEO of the Metal Treating Institute.
Highlights of the discussion included:
AC7102 Technical Comments: Review and clarification of current interpretations and their impact on member audits.
MTL Update: Insights into the latest developments from the Materials Task Group (MTL) and implications for ongoing audit cycles.
Audit Planning: Discussion of potential cutting days for audits to improve scheduling efficiency and reduce operational disruptions.
Product Impact and Auditor Training: Evaluation of recent updates in auditor training and product-impact assessment to ensure consistency across facilities.
AMEC and Commodity Committee Collaboration: Updates from AMEC and engagement with commodity committee sponsors to strengthen standard alignment efforts.
RAIL 387 Discussion: Review of ASTM hardness testing recommendations as potential requirements within future revisions.
AMEC Spec Updates: Deep dive into specifications currently under review, including:
AMS 2759: Cleaning Requirements
AMS 2759/1/5/7/8/9, 2769, 2753, 3025, 2771, 2761, and 81200 (Titanium & Raw Materials)
Turning ARPs to AMS Specs: Continued efforts to transition Aerospace Recommended Practices (ARPs) into full AMS specifications for greater clarity and industry consistency.
Spec 13100 and CMMC: Examination of updates to AMS 13100 and the integration of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) requirements across supplier operations.
MTI meets at NadcapTables of committee membersTechnical standards discussions
The committee also gathered member input through “Table Questions” which invited attendees to share challenges in audit preparation, findings management, and upcoming questions for the Heat Treating Task Group (HTSTG) meeting.
Press release is available in its original form here.
Heat TreatToday offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry. Enjoy these 17 news items.
Equipment
Pomini Tenova, which manufactures advanced roll shop equipment, recently signed two contracts for fully automatic roll shop equipment with Baowu of China. The first contract includes a set of four automatic CNC roll grinders with two automatic inspection stations, to be installed at a plant where two new cold rolling mills for silicon steel will be in operation. The second contract includes two automatic CNC roll grinders and an automatic inspection station, equipped with an automatic roll loading system, which will be installed in the roll shop of a new cold rolling mill for silicon steel production.
Nucor Steel has commissioned SMS group for the modernization and expansion of its Steckel mill at its site in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The existing Steckel mill will be converted into a tandem Steckel mill, designed to produce high-strength thin strip as well as to boost capacity.
A global car window manufacturer’s European branch has purchased two SECO/WARWICK technological lines for two of the company’s locations. The order includes RHLE units for bending car windows.
Jiangsu Dongpu Fine Ceramics Technology Co., Ltd., has installed a hot isostatic press (HIP) from Quintus Technologies. The HIP model operates company’s production line for Si3Ni4 bearing balls in its manufacturing facility in Lianyungang, China.
Zhang Qing, chairman of OBEI, the Industrial Products Purchasing Company of Baowu, and Paolo Gaboardi, executive vice president of Pomini TenovaSteckel mill commissioned by Nucor and delivered by SMS groupQuintus HIP line for Jiangsu Dongpu Fine Ceramics Technology Co., Ltd
Company & Personnel
Inductotherm Group has appointed Mick Nallen and Satyen Prabhu as co‐leaders, a transition which became effective July 1, 2024, when Gary Doyon stepped down from his role as CEO. Mick and Satyen have a combined experience at the company of nearly 70 years.
Vincent Lelong of ECM USA presented on low pressure carburizing with vacuum furnace technology at Purdue University’s School of Materials Engineering undergraduate seminar. This seminar regularly features industry speakers, some of whom are members of the Purdue Heat Treating Consortium.
The direct reduction plant at Nucor Steel Louisiana achieved a world production record of 330.3 tons per hour of high-quality cold direct reduced iron (CDRI), yielding an outstanding 7,928 tons per day (tpd). A high-quality direct reduced iron (DRI) output with 95% metallization (%M) and a carbon content of 3.3% (%C) was measured. The ENERGIRON technology was jointly developed by Tenova and Danieli.
Jabil Inc, which designs and manufactures supply chain solutions, announced its acquisition of Mikros Technologies LLC, which engineers and manufactures liquid cooling solutions for thermal management.
Aerospace Testing & Pyrometry, Inc., (ATP) recently opened its Pacific Northwest office in Seattle, Washington. With this new facility, the company will now have a footprint in all four corners of the United States.
Satyen Prabhu Co-Leader Inductotherm Group Mick Nallen Co-Leader Inductotherm Group Vincent Lelong of ECM USA presents seminar for Purdue Heat Treating ConsortiumNucor achieves a World Production Record with ENERGIRON, developed by Tenova and Danieli Mikros Technologies facilityAndrew Bassett, President; John Hollman, Regional Manager, and Edwin Rosales, Pacific Northwest Manager Aerospace Testing & Pyrometry, Inc.
Kudos
Solar Atmospheres‘ Greenville, SC, facility recently announced it has been awarded Parker Aerospace approval. Its five facilities are now able to assist clients with Parker Aerospace thermal processing requirements.
Furnace manufacturer Grieve Corporation has reached its 75th year in business. Begun in 1949 as a small job shop in Chicago, the company now occupies a 100,000 square foot facility in Round Lake, Illinois
StandardAero, an independent provider of engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of its Singapore facility, a Pratt & Whitney Canada Designated Overhaul Facility (DOF) for the PW150A turboprop engine. This anniversary coincides with the company’s redelivery of its 500th PW150A engine, which powers the popular Bombardier Dash 8-400 regional turboprop.
Paulo’s Cleveland Division was recently awarded approval from GE Aviation for hot isostatic pressing, specifically GT193 Process Code FF.
C3 Data has achieved SOC 2 Compliance, which ensures stringent standards for handling sensitive data.
Tennessee Society of Association Executives recently honored Tom Morrison of the Metal Treating Institute (MTI) with the Industry Marketing Award for its Jobs of Tomorrow Workforce Development Program.
Solar Atmospheres of Western Pennsylvania announced that it has been awarded Pratt & Whitney‘s PWA 11, “Heat Treatments” approval. The facility is now certified to perform heat treatments for P&W’s Suffix 17, “Precipitation Harden,” and Suffix 22, “Austenitize, Quench, and Temper.”
Grieve Corporation Board of Directors Left to right: Frank Calabrese, vice president; Tony Caringella, president; Doug Grieve, chairman of the boardLeft to right: Jamie Flynn, Executive Director of Tennessee Society of Association Executives, and Tom Morrison, CEO of Metal Treating Institute (MTI)
Heat TreatToday offers News Chatter, a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry. Enjoy these 18 news items.
Equipment
Saarstahl expands its production with an alternate current-electric arc furnace (AC-EAF) supplied by SMS group.
A Class A safety oven equipped with a solvent monitor and roll-in rack, meeting the stringent safety requirements of industries working with volatile materials, was recently shipped by industrial and laboratory ovens manufacturer Blue M.
A manufacturer in the defense industry has received shipment of a gas-fired walk-in batch oven from Wisconsin Oven Corporation, to be used for curing filament wound composite materials.
The Saarstahl team announces AC-EAF agreement with SMS Class A safety oven equipped to process volatile materialsGas-fired walk-in batch oven delivered to defense industry
Company & Personnel
Sean Patrick Murphy has been named product manager for laboratory and R&D furnaces at Centorr Vacuum Industries. He will be responsible for representing over 30 different vacuum furnace product lines to national laboratories, universities, and industrial sectors.
Charles (Charlie) Caldwell joins the team at Solar Atmospheres of Michigan Inc. as the quality manager for its new facility in Chesterfield.
Steel Goode Products LLC (SGP), a thermal spray specialist, has recently been acquired by Aalberts N.V., a provider of thermal spray coating and finishing services. The acquisition includes two operating facilities in Texas and one in Ohio.
The Wirco, Inc, team recently announced Chris Robbins as the new director of business development and Chad Kumfer to the position of director of sales.
Daniel Sonnenberg joins Nitrex Heat Treating Services as the new business development lead for North America. Daniel will focus on identifying and cultivating relationships with potential customers. His goal is to foster trust and drive growth by building enduring partnerships that deliver sustained value over time.
Dave Deiwart has begun a new position as president at Tracer Gas Technologies, based in Yorktown, Indiana. This follows a brief retirement after 35 years of providing leak detection and vacuum application support and training. Dave’s new focus will be on providing training and consulting.
Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser AS, a fully owned subsidiary of Nel ASA, has been awarded a grant from the EU Innovation Fund of up to EUR 135 million (over $145.4M USD) for industrialization of its next-generation pressurized alkaline technology. The technology is currently being prototyped, and the potential industrialization is planned at Herøya, Norway.
OTTO JUNKER GmbH, system providers for metallurgic processes and metal refinement, recently announced that the new business division OTTO JUNKER Solutions, which was established in late 2023, will be further expanded. The company’s focus will be on the development and implementation of green technologies. The new division is headed by R&D expert Tobias Mertens.
Sean Patrick Murphy Product Manager of Laboratory and R&D Furnaces Centorr Vacuum IndustriesCharles (Charlie) Caldwell Quality Manager – Chesterfield Solar Atmospheres of Michigan Inc.Chris Robbins Director of Business Development Wirco, Inc.Chad Kumfer Director of Sales Wirco, Inc.Daniel Sonnenberg Business Development Lead – America Nitrex Heat Treating ServicesTobias Mertens General Manager OTTO JUNKER SOLUTIONS GmbH
Kudos
Constellium SE has received the Supplier of the Year Award from Stellantis, recognized for its overall best-in-class performance as a long-time partner.
Gary Sharp, founder of Advanced Heat Treat Corp, has been honored with the Legends of Manufacturing Award at the Iowa Manufacturing Conference.
Global Thermal Systems (GTS) Mexico’s pyrometry laboratories recently completed the reaccreditation process in the ISO/IEC 17025 standard.
Rex Heat Treat has achieved its fourth consecutive merit-status Nadcap certification under the leadership of Conner Popo, quality assurance manager, and Vindon Griffin, technical services manager.
Aalberts surface technologies Dzierżoniów recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. Through acquisition and expansion, the company has grown from 16 employees in 2014 to a current team of over 90 employees, serving the automotive, aerospace, power, fasteners, agriculture, and mining sectors.
The Metal Treating Institute (MTI) recently celebrated its 2024 YES Management Training Program graduates at the final reception of Furnaces North America (FNA) 2024.
Bennett Heat Treating & Brazing Co. received the 2024 Master Craftsman Award, also known as the Heat Treater of the Year Award, at the Metal Treating Institute’s Final Night Dinner & Awards Ceremony following FNA 2024. The award was announced by Doug Glenn, publisher of Heat TreatToday along with a scholarship check for the heat treater to bestow upon a deserving young student going into heat treat.
Ingrid Joerg, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer at Constellium, and Maxime Picat, Chief Global Purchasing & Supply Chain Officer, Greater Paris Metropolitan Region, at StellantisGary Sharp, founder of Advanced Heat Treat Corp, honored with the Legends of Manufacturing Award The Global Thermal Systems (GTS) Mexico’s pyrometry laboratories team completes ISO/IEC 17025 standard reaccreditation process
The final day of Furnaces North America (FNA) began for Heat TreatToday with the presentation of a plaque to Timothy Joseph Wright (T.J. Wright), who served as a Major General in the U.S. Army, as well as a critical player in the history of heat treating, specifically as a past president of Wirco.
Two of his sons, Matthew Wright, vice president of marketing at pyrometry software company C3 Data, and Nathan Wright, CEO of C3 Data, joined T.J. at their booth for the presentation, as did his nephew, Chad Wright, current president of Wirco.
Heat TreatToday wishes to thank T. J., for his life of service to the country and to others and to the whole Wright family for their kindness and partnerships with us.
The day ended with the Metal Treating Institute’s (MTI) final event where MTI Yes Management Training graduates were recognized, awards were given to individuals and companies who have uniquely served the industry and MTI, and the 2025 MTI officers and board of trustees were announced.
Look for upcoming articles highlighting MTI news from the event!
Main image (left to right): Matthew Wright, T.J. Wright, Nathan Wright, Chad Wright
The Metal Treating Institute (MTI), recently held its 2023 Spring Meeting in Naples, FL. The three-day event included a mixture of business and fun with highlights including money raised for the scholarship fund, keynote speaker Joe Theismann, and educational/informative sessions for attendees.
MTI CEO Tom Morrison discussed the diversity of the events encapsulated in the three days of the meeting:
"What is great about MTI’s Spring Meeting is when you have the best minds in heat treating in one room, only great things can happen. Through key experts and round table discussions, MTI members worked through key issues like workforce development, lean manufacturing, predictive maintenance, and managing costs in inflationary times. MTI also raised $35,000 for the MTI Educational Foundation through raffling off a series of NFL jersey’s, footballs and helmets signed by MTI’s featured speaker, Super Bowl winning quarterback, Joe Theismann from the Washington Redskins."
MTI Board of Directors under the leadership of President Jim Orr (center) meets to help guide the organization to greater heights. Source: Heat Treat Today
L-R: Jim Orr, Penna Flame & MTI President; Robert & Judy Rudy, Queen City Steel Treating; Joe Theismann, Featured Speaker; Doug Glenn, Heat Treat Today & MTI Educational Foundation Treasurer Source: Heat Treat Today
L-R: Joe Theismann, Featured Speaker; Lesley Wright, Wirco, Inc. Source: Heat Treat Today
L-R: April Uhlenburg, former MTI First Lady & Tom Morrison, MTI CEO Source: Heat Treat Today
L-R: Doug Glenn, publisher of Heat Treat Today & MTI Educational Foundation Treasure awards a custom Washington Redskins helmet to the highest bidders – Leslie & Chad Wright of Wirco, Inc. Also pictured is DL Wright, Wirco, and George Motes, who custom designed the helmet. Source: Heat Treat Today
L-R: Stacey Liebke, ECM USA & Karen Gantzer, Associate Publisher of Heat Treat Today. Source: Heat Treat Today
Joe Theismann autographs the back of Jim Orr, Penna Flame & current MTI President during an MTI Educational Foundation fundraising event with raised in excess of $35,000. Source: Heat Treat Today
MTI Spring Meeting evening dinner at the Naples Grand Hotel, Naples, FL Source: Heat Treat Today
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
The Metal Treating Institute (MTI) hosted a special meeting for members at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Downtown Pittsburgh, PA, on Monday, October 17, to review key Nadcap and AMEC topics. During the meeting, members addressed challenges that heat treaters face in Nadcap/audit compliance, how to navigate audits more effectively, and what suggestions to present to the Nadcap committee so that heat treaters would be better equipped for audits.
MTI’s Technical Standards Committee Co-Chairs Bob Ferry, VP of Engineering and Quality at FPM Heat Treat, and Edward (Ed) Engelhard, VP of Corporate Quality at Solar Atmospheres, facilitated the meeting. It was hosted by Tom Morrison, CEO MTI Management, and Jim Orr, president of Penna Flame Industries and current president of MTI. Several attendees who made particularly significant contributions to the discussion were; Doug Shuler, lead auditor at Pyro Consulting, LLC; and Roy Adkins, director of Corporate Quality at Braddock Metallurgical and recipient of the 2022 MTI Award of Industry Merit.
A Room Full of MTI members Including (l-r): Doug Glenn, Ed Engelhard, Bob Ferry, and Doug Shuler
At the meeting, attendees identified the number one challenge in Nadcap/audit compliance is understanding and implementing new Nadcap revisions; a close second was the challenge of ensuring quality when auditors give different feedback. These challenges were addressed in the meeting, especially when discussing two specific topics: first, Auditee Advisories – Type P (Potential Product Impact) and Type C (Confirmed Product Impact) as well as Audit Observations.
Several key points that came out of these discussions were to (1) always read up on the most recent revisions in order to be confident in your compliance with quality standards; (2) be sure to reference objective evidence on the Nadcap Checklist questions to help facilitate the audit; (3) let the Nadcap auditor do their job but address any clarifications/follow-ups to the staff engineer immediately; (4) investigate immediately when receiving a Type P write-up so that you can ask the auditor to add a comment on the limits of that product impact; and finally (5) always push-back on findings that are clearly not valid so that they are “voided” by the Performance Review Institute (PRI).
Another main point of the meeting was to address AMS2750H, an update consisting of editorial and language updates for added clarity.
Lastly, the facilitators of the meeting addressed aerospace standard AS13100: AESQ Quality Management System Requirements for Aero Engine Design and Production Organizations. The standard seeks to harmonize and simplify supplier quality requirements among the major aero engine manufacturers, supplemental to standard AS9100. This standard is in the process of being flowed down to the supply chain and compliance is required January 1 of 2023, meaning that heat treaters have a couple months to get up to standard.
This special meeting happens each year during the October Nadcap meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. MTI encourages heat treaters to attend the Nadcap meetings to share their invaluable voice to guide industry standards.
Photo caption for main image: Jim Orr speaks to members of MTI.
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
Jim Oakes, president of Super Systems, has been awarded the first ever Furnaces North America (FNA) Industry Award at the trade show's opening night kickoff reception.
This award is given to an individual in recognition of their contribution(s) and current/ongoing commitment to the betterment of the heat treating industry with one or more significant accomplishments in the last five years in the area of innovation, leadership, academia, or research.
The Metal Treating Institute’s 2018 President, Pete Hushek, who gave the award to Jim stated, "[No] one has been more deserving of this award than Jim Oakes. Having served as the President of ASM for two years and immediately being elected as president, serving two years during the pandemic, along with his service in a host of other technical standards groups, Jim’s leadership shined as he led two of the major associations the last five years."
Jim Oakes (pictured above in the center) stated upon receiving the award, "This is truly an incredible honor to be recognized by my peers. We don’t do what we do for awards. We do it to make a difference. It is through that difference that we make a better future for everyone. It has always been a pleasure to serve this great industry."
The FNA trade show is produced by the Metal Treating Institute in partnership with its media partner, Heat TreatToday.
Find heat treating products and services when you search on Heat Treat Buyers Guide.com
Paulo Products was the recipient of the Commercial Heat Treater of the Year award presented by Heat Treat Today, in cooperation with The Metal Treating Institute (MTI). The award was initially decided and presented virtually in 2020, and was formally awarded in person on October 6, 2021 during the MTI Annual Fall Meeting awards banquet in San Antonio, Texas.
MTI awards the Commercial Heat Treater of the Year to the company that demonstrates they are making a positive impact in the community and the industry. The award is judged by a panel of previous recipients based on quality programs, pollution and hazardous waste control, community involvement, and leadership.
The award consists of a plaque and a $1,500 donation to the MTI Educational Foundation by Heat Treat Today in the name of the winning company. The donation was matched by MTI’s Educational Foundation. Paulo Products will award this $3,000 as a scholarship to a high school or college student pursuing an education towards heat treat.
Photo: Paulo Products being recognized as 2020 Commercial Heat Treater of the Year. (L-R) Jim Oakes, Super Systems, Inc. & MTI President; Will and Ben Rassieur Paulo Products; Doug Glenn, Heat Treat Today
A new resource created and run by the Metal Treating Institute (MTI) offers tools to those seeking a career in the heat treat industry. Review some of these insightful videos, resources for young professionals, and a network to further your heat treating capabilities below!
There’s a new kid on the block trying to get young people to join the heat treat “club”. A product of the Metal Treating Institute (MTI), this new website called HeatTreatCareers.com features site tours, first-hand testimonials, and orientation videos for anyone seeking to understand the world of heat treat. These handy videos and brief articles also include resources for heat treaters who are looking to outsource some of their processes or for equipment solutions as they update and expand their offerings.
Calling All Young Industry Professionals
If you know someone who is new to heat treat – maybe a potential hire, a new hire, or a colleague who is looking into joining the field – they must check out this website. For young professionals, this website provides specific direction, explains what heat treating is, and how to pursue a career in it.
Three resources that HeatTreatCareers.com offers are:
“What is Heat Treating?” video (see below)
Searchable directory for heat treaters in your state (or by name)
MTI YES Management Training Program
There are more training opportunities available here to increase professional management and/or technical knowledge pertinent for the heat treating industry.
But perhaps the most import aspect of this website is we get to hear from real heat treaters how this industry is more than a job. Be it the relationships or the day-to-day challenges that inspire creative thinking, it can be hard to locate one specific reason why anyone would enter our obscure industry. The video below makes a great case for this.
More Resources to Increase Heat Treat Capacity
For the young-at-heart and those who are ALWAYS looking to try something new, there are several resources for you, too. The first is a RFP form that allows you to propose a wild heat treat project to a network of commercial heat treaters to help you complete the project. This feature is part of the CallMTI.com resource, which connects you with MTI members from 40 states and eight countries, who are open for consultation.
Another resource is the “Why Outsource” tab that you can navigate to after clicking the Featured Plant Tours page. This resource helps you identify which heat treating challenges you’d prefer to overcome via outsourcing. Those challenges could include:
finding qualified good-workers
meeting OSHA safety requirements
funding needed equipment
continuing on-going maintenance
Of course, feel free to use that career finder that we mentioned above. Who doesn’t like a new challenge?
Bottom line: The website has something to offer everyone, especially if you are looking for a change or a challenge. And, by the way, who can visit the site and leave feeling unimpressed. . .?
Creation requires endurance and continued hard work. Find out what creative applications and research services your colleagues are committed to bringing from across the heat treat industry.
These innovations could bring the next level of innovation to your industrial plants. Enjoy!
Novel Mechanical Testing Systems Powered By Finite-Element Analysis, Optimization Algorithms, and Machine Learning
- An excerpt from a Heat TreatRadioepisode with James Dean -
Doug Glenn: You may have already stated this a little bit, but briefly: indentation plastometry is basically taking an indentation to be able to test, not just hardness or not even necessarily hardness, but the deformation or the strain of material. Do you have to know the microstructure of the material when you’re doing these tests?
James Dean: That’s a good question. In principle, no. If we were to dig deep into the mechanics of what’s going on within our system and our software package, you’d come to recognize that it’s, from a mathematical point of view at least, insensitive to microstructural features. There is a numerical method underlying this – a finite-element analysis – therefore, treating this as a continuum system doesn’t take account explicitly of the microstructure.
When you’re doing the test, it’s actually helpful to know something about the microstructure simply because our technology is all about extracting bulk mechanical behavior engineering properties. Therefore, when we do our indentation test, it is important that we are indenting a representative volume of the material.
It is important that we are capturing all of the microstructural features that give rise to the behavior you would measure in a microscopic stress strain test. Otherwise, you can’t pull out those bulk, core engineering properties, and therefore, the scale on which you do the indent is important. Your indenter has to be large relative to the scale of the microstructure. So, it’s only at that level that you need to understand or know anything about the microstructure.
DG: This test is a nondestructive test, right? You said you can actually test live materials, correct?
JD: Yes.
DG: You don’t have to destroy them, you don’t have to machine them, you don’t have to make them into something you can rip apart, right?
Bert demonstrates the benefits of working with a collaborative robot to induction harden steel parts. The robot gives the operator the ability to work directly next to it, as opposed to conventional robot arms where fencing and distance is required.
The computerized robotic surface hardening systems have revolutionized the surface hardening industry. These advanced robots, coupled with programmable index tables, provide an automation system that helps decrease production time while maintaining the highest quality in precision surface hardening.
A few benefits of this service are:
Increased wear resistance
Higher hardness and longer life
Less processing time
Higher efficiency and productivity
Maintain tensile strength
Quick turnaround of the project
Consistent, repeatable process
Less distortion when compared to furnace treatment
High Pressure Break Through For Additive Manufacturing
- An excerpt from a Heat TreatRadioepisode with Johan Hjärne -
DG: Doing it all- stress relief, HIP, age, or whatever. Just for clarity sake, you’ve got a typical HIP process, you’re going to heat it up, put it under very high pressure, then, normally, if you didn’t have the high pressure heat treatment capabilities, you would have to cool that part down which is typically cooled quite slowly in a conventional HIP unit, taking more time and whatnot. It then comes down to ambient, or close to ambient, where it can be held, you take it out, you put it back in another furnace (a normal furnace, not a HIP furnace), take the temperature back up, get it to the point where you want it, quick cool it, quench it, to a certain extent, to get the characteristics that you’re looking for, and you’re done. What we’re talking about here is the combination of those two processes plus potential other things like stress relief, and all that, in a single unit, correct?
JH: Yes. This has very beneficial effects on time. Many of the HIP vendors do not have HIP and heat treatment in the same facility. Now we have sold a couple of units to some new HIP vendors that have this capacity, but, historically, the HIP vendors didn’t have both HIP and heat treatment. First, the customer had to send it to a service provider for HIPing, they got the part back, they had to send it to somebody that could do the heat treat step, and then got the part back, and so on. The time, and specifically for additive manufacturing, is important. Keep in mind they can do a part pretty fast, anywhere between a day to two days, worst case a week, but then having to wait week after week after week to get the part back for the HIPing or for the heat treating.
DG: So there’s a substantial, potential time savings, for sure; not just process savings in between furnaces, but the fact that you can buy one furnace and do both of those things.
Let’s talk for just a second about what types of products are most effectively HIPed and/or, if we can, high pressure heat treated.
JH: As I said before, we really started to realize the potential with this technology with the additive manufacturing world. That is were we started to realized that we can actually make a difference here. Not only does it have a beneficial effect for the total time, but having the components under elevated temperature for a shorter period of time is actually beneficial for the microstructure; the grain doesn’t grow as much.
Recent improvements include a new cooling tower, chiller system, enhanced duct work, LED lighting in the plant, a renovated breakroom for the associates, a quality room for the engineering staff, a new HVAC system for the front offices, and upgrades in technology systems.
The updated technology is not only used for improving efficiency and data analysis, but also for communication. It has been key to improving operations and has had a significant impact on relationships with clients. Franklin’s ability to effectively communicate enhances collaboration, which allows FBMT’s clients to more efficiently manage their supply chains, reduce the cost of rework and scrap, and better serve their clients.
