Solar Atmospheres South Carolina

15 Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

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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

  • Mike Paponetti recently accepted the position of Sales Manager at Solar Atmospheres South Carolina. Prior to accepting this position, Mike was the Regional Sales Manager at Solar’s Hermitage, Pennsylvania, facility.
  • Alliance Steel LLC has announced plans to relocate the company from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, to Gary, Indiana, where a new plant will allow the company to consolidate its multi-structure facility into a single-structure facility.
  • William M. Brown, Harris Corporation Chairman, President, and CEO, has been named chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Board of Governors for 2019. He succeeds outgoing AIA Chairman Tom Kennedy, chairman and CEO of Raytheon.
  • A new 107000-square-foot facility will focus on additive manufacturing, advanced composites, assembly, and industry 4.0 processes for aerospace design and manufacturing. GKN Aerospace’s new Global Technology Centre in Bristol, United Kingdom, has received support through the UK Governments Aerospace Technology Institute.
  • A provider of heat treatments and specialist thermal processing services held an official opening ceremony last week at its brand new facility on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), Rotherham, Yorkshire. Bodycote‘s new advanced heat treatment center, now fully operational and supporting customer requirements, offers a range of heat treatment services and has been established to support the aerospace and power generation markets in the UK and Europe.
  • An Iowa-based foundry recently sold its operating assets to its Galesburg, Illinois-based sister company, Aluminum Castings Company, an aluminum sand castings foundry. The transition will include the relocation of the ALCAST Midwest Works LLC‘s heat treating and grinding operations back to the Fairfield facility from their Clarence, Missouri, facility.
  • A supplier of live tooling for the North American machine tool industry, Prospect Heights, Illinois-based Heimatec Inc., has become part of a new corporation, Platinum Tooling Technologies Inc.
  • German car maker Porsche AG and Schuler, Inc., a Canton, MI-based provider of metalforming technologies and products announced plans to build an innovative press shop together for the car factory of the future. The objective of Schuler and Porsche’s joint venture is to create a so-called Smart Press Shop as part of a networked Industry 4.0 approach. The new press shop’s pioneering technologies will enable the highly flexible production of complex car body parts; whereby the focus will be on aluminum body panels and small batch production.
  • Constellium contracted with Tri-Arrows Aluminum Holding Inc. (TAAH) for the supply of cold coils from its Logan plant in Kentucky for up to five years as part of its agreement with UACJ Corporation and TAAH, its U.S. subsidiary, to acquire TAAH’s 49% stake in Constellium-UACJ ABS, LLC. Constellium’s plant in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, will continue to ramp-up its Auto Body Sheet substrate capability to gradually become Bowling Green’s sole supplier of cold coils.

Equipment Chatter

  •  A Japanese customer has placed an order with EBNER to expand an existing HICON/H2® bell annealer facility. The facility, which spheroidizes and recrystallizes coils of steel strip, will be upgraded with two additional gas-fired heating bells.
  • A natural gas-fired conveyor oven was shipped to a supplier of the oil and gas industry by Wisconsin Oven Corporation. This conveyor oven will be used for the preheating and powder coating of couplings. This conveyor oven has sufficient capability to heat 1,000 pounds per hour of steel parts from 70° F to 1000° F. In addition, Wisconsin Oven Corporation announced the shipment of a natural gas-fired conveyor oven to a leader in the forging industry. This conveyor oven will be used as a preheating oven for aluminum billets.
  • A Gruenberg truck-in-oven was recently shipped to the oil and gas industry by Thermal Product Solutions. The truck in oven will be used to test parts used for downhole drilling.

Kudos Chatter

  • Alloy Engineering Company, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of alloy equipment for high-temperature and corrosive industrial applications, celebrated its 75th anniversary in the month of November. The Berea, Ohio, company’s equipment is used for both commercial and in-house heat treating, and for processes such as annealing, hardening, carbo-nitriding, carburizing, nitriding, tempering, brazing, and sintering.

    SMS Group has won the German Design Award in 2018.
  • Paulo is celebrating its milestone 75th year in business. The company was founded in 1943 in St. Louis, conceived originally as Paulo Products Company was originally conceived as a manufacturer with heat treatment provided as a secondary service. Helping customers succeed by offering thermal processing solutions is where the company excelled. Founders husband and wife Ben and Pauline Rassieur had previously worked for Central Mine Equipment Company. Pauline, after whom Paulo is named, was one of the first women to earn an engineering degree from the University of Missouri.
  • SMS Group has won the German Design Award 2019 in the category “Industry” for the additively manufactured 3D spray header. The component for which plant and mechanical engineering company SMS group has received the German Design Award 2019 in the category “Industry” is a spray head used to cool dies in forging presses.

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 sector to the editor at editor@heattreattoday.com.

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A Baker’s Dozen Quick Heat Treat News Items to Keep You Current

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

A Baker’s Dozen 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

  • Ashleigh Walters, president of Onex, Inc., recently participated in Penn State’s 2018 Fall Engineering Speaker Series, addressing how leadership can create impact through focusing on teamwork, creativity, improved processes, and mission.
  • Wallwork Heat Treatment’s Richard Burslem recently received the Meritorious Service to Heat Treatment Industry Award at the annual Surface Engineering and Heat Treatments Awards, presented on October 12th at the Radisson Blu in Manchester by Alan Hick, the secretary of the Contract Heat Treatment Association (CHTA).
  • A high tech provider of vacuum solutions for multiple markets recently opened a new 27,000-sq ft building in Nashua, New Hampshire, to house the company’s North American headquarters for administration, sales, product management, marketing and customer care. Pfeiffer Vacuum will convert the former 24,000 square foot administration building into a Service Center of Excellence, bringing together under one roof all service activities for the major part of the Pfeiffer Vacuum product portfolio.
  • A mobile heating station where ceramic components can be heated uniformly to 400ºC has been introduced by StrikoWestofen, allowing the components of dosing furnaces to be heated up on site.
  • StandardAero recently extended its long-running relationship with leading aviation services provider Dumont Group, LLC, through a follow-on contract for Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) JT15D-5R engine overhauls.
  • Novelis Inc. recently made several newsworthy announcements: 1) The company announced that it expects its new $300 million automotive aluminum sheet manufacturing plant in Guthrie, Kentucky, to be in production in mid-2020 where it will operate heat treatment and pre-treatment lines that prepare aluminum for use in vehicle parts. 2) Novelis has agreed to partner with Impression Technologies to explore innovative ways to increase the broader adoption of aluminum through the hot stamping process. Impression Technologies has the exclusive rights to Hot Form Quench (HFQ®), a unique technology used to design and manufacture components using ultra high-strength aluminum for the high volume automotive and transport markets. 3) Finally, the company unveiled plans to establish a global network of Customer Solution Centers (CSCs) to accelerate collaborative innovation between Novelis and automakers for the next generation of vehicle design.

Equipment Chatter

  • Ipsen USA recently posted a record month of sales with orders for nine TITAN® vacuum furnaces to be shipped for use in a variety of applications for companies in aerospace, automotive and commercial heat-treating industries. In addition,  Ipsen also sold seven custom units, including MetalMaster®, TurboTreater® and vacuum aluminum brazing furnaces.
  • A Hot Isostatic Press from Quintus Technologies has been purchased by Paulo to be installed in the Cleveland Division’s recent expansion and primarily support densification and heat treatment of investment castings and additively manufactured parts.
  • GE Additive and GE Aviation recently announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given ‘change in design’ approval to replace a conventionally manufactured power door opening system (PDOS) bracket, used on GE Aviation’s GEnx-2B commercial airline engines that power the Boeing 747-8, with an additively manufactured bracket.
  • An order for a complete walking hearth furnace plant has been received by ANDRITZ Group from Deutsche Edelstahlwerke Specialty Steel GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, for its facility in Witten, Germany. Production is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2020.

  • The expansion agreement for an existing bell annealer facility is expected to begin production next month. Guang Xi Zheng Run New Material Technology Co., Ltd. placed an order with EBNER® for the expansion this summer. The agreement includes three HICON® workbases employing 100 % argon as a process atmosphere, two heating bells, and one cooling bell.

Kudos Chatter

  • Solar Atmospheres – Greenville, SC, announces that it has been awarded Nadcap 18-month Merit status for Heat Treating, Brazing and Carburizing. We are extremely pleased PRI has recognized our corporate commitment to quality. Achieving 18-month merit has been a goal set by Solar’s employees since opening its doors in 2015. The adherence to strict specification requirements, flawless process execution, and a daily commitment to quality processing is evident among all employees of Solar Atmospheres. The Solar Atmospheres Greenville facility has held Nadcap accreditation since 2015.
  • Meron Medical, LLC, announces the successful transition to ISO 13485:2016. Safety and quality are non-negotiables in the medical devices industry. Regulatory requirements are increasingly stringent throughout every step of a product’s life cycle, including service and delivery. With greater attention on the organization’s ability to meet applicable customer and regulatory requirements, ISO 13485:2016 focuses on the entire supply chain of the medical device industry, with added emphasis on risk management.

 

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.

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Quick Heat Treat News Chatter Items To Keep You Current

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

The heat treat industry is one of people transitioning and companies executing business, achieving goals, and receiving acknowledgments. Heat Treat Today begins a feature highlighting representative moves, transactions, and kudos from around the industry.

Gabriel Giraldo, Sales Engineer, Solar Atmospheres of South Carolina

Personnel Changes and Moves

  • The Solar Atmospheres Greenville, South Carolina, facility recently announced that Gabriel Giraldo accepted the position of Sales Engineer and will be

    Kip Bailey, Field Service Technician, Bloom Engineering

    responsible for supporting relationships with existing customers and developing new business within the region. Prior to accepting this position, Giraldo worked in the heat treat industry as a mechanical engineer serving a broad spectrum of metalworking industry sectors, including aerospace and defense.

  • Bloom Engineering recently welcomed Mr. Kip Bailey as a full-time Field Service Technician. Mr. Bailey brings experience in both combustion and specific process knowledge via his work as a furnace builder.
  • Sue Harrod has been appointed chief operating officer (COO) of Diablo Furnaces LLC, a Machesney Park, Illinois-based, company that manufactures, refurbishes, upgrades, services, and supplies parts for atmospheric heat-treating equipment. Harrod has worked in the thermal-processing industry for 25 years in supporting and leading roles at BeaverMatic, Ipsen, and Diablo Furnaces.

Equipment Transactions

  • German heat-treating systems manufacturer IVA Schmetz received a new order for five vacuum hardening furnaces from Taiwan to be delivered to a leading steel supplier with

    IVA Schmetz delivered five vacuum hardening furnaces

    various locations throughout the country. IVA Schmetz is supported by the local partner Pan Folks, who is also responsible for commissioning the furnaces. The order is part of a larger investment project which also includes seven vacuum annealing furnaces delivered by IVA Schemtz's sister company BMI in France.

  • Hirschvogel Automotive Group from Denklingen in Bavaria and Sacotec Components Oy in Finland, a company specializing in

    Cast link belt furnaces from Slovenian industrial furnace manufacturer Bosi

    precision steel casting, each ordered cast link belt furnaces from Slovenian industrial furnace manufacturer Bosio, part of the Aichelin Group. A cast link belt furnace more than 22 meters in length with a performance of two tons of forged parts per hour went to Hirschvogel. Sacotec's order was for a shaft furnace for carburization of small parts.

  • An electrically heated, gas nitriding, pit furnace with an ammonia dissociator system for heat treating parts has been shipped to a technology manufacturer by Lindberg/MPH.  The pit furnace has a maximum temperature rating of 1250°F and work chamber dimensions of 28" diameter x 36" depth.
  • Shougang Jingtang United Iron & Steel, China, contracted Fives to design and supply a new galvanizing line furnace and inductors dedicated to the production of ultra high-strength steels at its Caofeidian facility. This is the sixth Fives furnace at this location.
  • Pirson Refractories installed the hearth refractory lining of Blast Furnace 2 at Arcelor Mittal Bremen.

Accreditations, Certifications, Patents, and More

Solar Atmospheres Western PA adds tensile testing

  • Solar Atmospheres of Western PA expanded its mechanical testing capabilities to include tensile testing. In the summer of 2017, Solar tookdelivery of a new Tinius Olsen 300SL Universal testing machine, as well as a new Haas Model TL-1 CNC lathe in order to custom machine test specimens. Currently, many aerospace specifications demand at least one tensile test to be performed on each heat lot of material and/or for every furnace load of components being heat treated. Previously outsourcing tensile testing, Solar is now able to avoid delay due to shipping and transporting test specimens to these labora

    Karen Stanton, owner and director of HTA Group

    tories.

  • Heat Treatment Australia (HTA Group) and its corporate and strategy director Karen Stanton were recently featured in a news article, "Risks Paying Off in a New Age of Manufacturing", published in Australia's Courier-Mail, drawing attention to the firm's investment "in research and development and machinery to position itself to become part of the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program" as part of a nationwide growth in manufacturing.

  • High-performance tubing supplier Fine Tubes announced it received Nadcap accreditation for fluid distribution systems.

    Phil Adderley, Director, Quality & Technical, and Rob Eatwell, QA Manager, for Fine Tues with fifth Nadcap Accreditation Certificate

    The Plymouth, UK-based, company already holds accreditations for heat treating, non-destructive testing, fusion welding, and chemical processing, and the five achievements qualify Fine Tubes for the industry-recognized AS5620 industry standard required by Boeing for its suppliers of titanium hydraulic tubing.

  • Ipsen was awarded U.S. Patent No. 9,719,149 B2 for the development of a new load transport mechanism that can move a load within a multi-station heat-treating system. Named inventors on the patent, Chief Engineer Craig Moller, Director of Engineering and Supply Chain Kevin Woerner, and Dr. W. Hendrik Grobler began developing this design five years ago.
  • Dana Incorporated was named Supplier of the Year by Blue Bird Corporation, a leading independent designer and manufacturer of school buses. Dana earned this top honor by introducing new products that align with Blue Bird's commitment to delivering innovative, market-leading technologies. Dana supplies Blue Bird with a complete range of drivetrain solutions including Spicer® medium- and heavy-duty single-drive axles, SPL® Series driveshafts, and Spicer end yokes.
  • Wisconsin Oven Corporation announced the company is pursuing new patents for equipment most commonly used in the aerospace industry, as well as a patent for “intelligent” oven technology, where the oven is able to monitor certain processes.

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.

 

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Boeing Approval for So. Carolina Heat Treat Supplier Covers AMS 2759/3 Requirements

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

Steve Prout, President, Solar Atmospheres, Greenville, South Carolina

Boeing has granted an approved scope of processing to a South Carolina heat treat processing plant to include the processing of precipitation hardening, corrosion resistant, and maraging steel parts to the requirements of Aerospace Material Specification AMS 2759/3.

Solar Atmospheres recently announced the expansion to its current scope of Boeing approval at its Greenville, South Carolina, facility, which now includes the following specifications:

  • BAC 5613 – Heat Treatment of Titanium and Titanium Alloys
  • BAC 5616 – Heat Treatment of Nickel-Base and Cobalt-Base Alloys
  • BAC 5619 – Heat Treatment of Corrosion Resistant Steel
  • AMS 2759/3 – Heat Treatment of Precipitation-Hardening, Corrosion Resistant, and Maraging Steel Parts

“We are proud to be able to expand upon our process offerings in support of Boeing and its many suppliers,” said Steve Prout, President of  Solar Atmospheres’ Greenville facility. “This step allows us to once again provide the U.S. Southeast with another regional option for aerospace thermal processes.”

The facility handles small lots and development cycles to a 6-1/2 foot diameter by 24 foot long vacuum chamber capable of processing up to 50,000 lb loads with a maximum temperature of 2400°F.  Solar Atmospheres has previously been awarded AS9100 and Nadcap accreditation.

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Solar Atmospheres in South Carolina Now Nadcap Approved

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Solar Atmospheres Southeast has successfully completed its first round of surveillance audits for maintaining its AS9100 and Nadcap accreditations.  Solar also expanded its scope of Nadcap approval to include Low Pressure Vacuum Carburizing to meet growing aerospace carburizing needs in the Southeast US.

Steve Prout, President of Solar Atmospheres Southeast states: “We are proud to be taking this next step in our start up plan to be able to offer Low Pressure Vacuum Carburizing services alongside the rest of our Nadcap approved scope of thermal processing capabilities.  We are excited that once again we are able to offer the Southeast US another regional option for aerospace processing that did not exist previously.”

With thermal processing in furnaces ranging from those suited for small lots and development cycles to a 6-1/2 foot diameter by 24 foot long vacuum chamber capable of processing up to 50,000 lbs at 2400°F, Solar Atmospheres is backed by AS9100 and Nadcap quality systems to provide our customers the confidence that their product is being processed appropriately.

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