Wisconsin Oven ships batch ovens to the manufacturing industry

Wisconsin Oven, East Troy, announced the shipment of two custom-designed Gas Fired Batch Ovens with roll-up doors. The ovens will be used to hold molded urethane wheels prior to a curing process.

The batch ovens have a maximum operating temperature of 350°F and work chamber dimensions of 9’ wide x 4’6” long x 10’6” high. The ovens are designed with electrically operated roll-up doors in the front of the oven constructed from high-temperature fabric. The door controls allow the door to open halfway or all the way by a command from a loading robot. In addition to the roll-up door on the front, a bi-parting, side-hinged, horizontal swing door is located on the rear of each oven.

These batch ovens feature a horizontal airflow arrangement, which is ideal for products arranged in multiple tiers where heated airflow cannot be directed vertically through the product. Both ovens utilize a Watlow F4T digital controller that includes a 4.3″ color touch screen, PID temperature control with adaptive tuning, and Ethernet communication capabilities for temperature control. A remote display for the flame relays is also mounted to each control panel to provide an annunciation of operation along with fault and diagnostic information.

 

https://www.wisoven.com/news/wisconsin-oven-ships-batch-ovens-manufacturing-industry

ALD develops a new powder recycling process for a sustainable circular economy

ALD Vacuum Technology, Germany, has developed an additive manufacturing solution, the EBuild 850 that can process powder with a wide distribution, enabling it to be used not only in industrial-scale part production, but also in powder recycling efforts. 

Using selective electron beam melting to create powder-filled ingots, ALD achieves an unprecedented build rate of over 1000 cm³ per hour. These ingots can be seamlessly converted into new powder, for example in ALD’s EIGA Premium systems, promoting a sustainable circular economy.

ALD’s approach not only reduces waste, but also offers versatile options for downstream processes. The powder-filled solid cased ingots are much safer to handle and process than loose powder. This flexibility increases the overall efficiency of the recycling process and enables integration into established processing routes.

By adopting ALD’s innovative approach, industries can now achieve economical production while contributing to a circular economy. ALD remains committed to driving sustainable practices within the industrial sector, paving the way for a greener future.

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One Minute Mentor: High-Performance Line

The continuous heat treatment of tool steel is applied to low- or medium-alloyed carbon steel strips as well as martensitic stainless steels. The described lines produce high-quality strip with respect to uniform structure, flatness, and bright surface finish. High quenching rates are necessary, especially for plain carbon steels. Cooling gradients of up to 600 K/s are possible in a molten lead-bismuth quench. Because two-stage quenching technology provides considerable advantages over quenching in oil, this method has been adopted worldwide. It is also possible to achieve isothermal transformation to bainite and pearlite using a molten metal quench, so this type of hardening and tempering line is extremely versatile.

The configuration of a high-performance line involves an entry and exit section of the strip handling equipment. The hardening section consists of the austenitizing furnace, the molten metal quench or hydrogen quench, and a martensite cooler.

For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 10. R Schneider; R. Mesquita; W Schützenhöfer, Distortion in Tool Steels, ASM International, 2014 

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Quintus cold isostatic press delivered to China’s Lingchuang Special Material Co

Qunitus, Västerås, Sweden, delivered a supersized Cold Isostatic Press (CIP) to China’s Henan Lingchuang Special Material Co. to raise the bar for domestically produced high-quality Isostatic Graphite. 

With its sights set on securing a place as market leader in both product quality and production efficiency, Lingchuang will install a Quintus press model QIC 2.4 x 4.5 – 2000 to maximize operation and output capabilities. The press itself is setting new standards, with its world’slargest vessel dimension—2400 mm x 4500 mm (7.87’ x 14.7’)—along with a new energy management system that offers energy savings of more than 30 percent compared to conventional intensifier solutions.

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Confluent Medical Technologies announces REACH and EU MDR compliant polyimide tubing

Confluent, Chattanooga, TN, has announced the offering of REACH and EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR) Compliant Polyimide Tubing.

REACH, an acronym for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals, is an EU regulation that imposes stringent limitations on the amount of restricted substances that can be contained in devices sold in the EU. The industry standard polyimide, a material used extensively in medical applications such as vascular catheters, contains one of the restricted solvents.

“Historically, ensuring REACH compliance required extensive post processing to remove the residual solvent and even after this processing, compliance is not guaranteed,” stated Jill Ellison, VP of site operations for Confluent’s Polymer Tubing Center of Excellence. “Confluent’s REACH Compliant Polyimide is made with no restricted substances, therefore, there are no restricted solvents to remove and no extensive and expensive testing is required.”

Confluent’s REACH Compliant Polyimide uses industry standard chemistry resulting in product that looks and performs like traditional polyimide while avoiding the historical hurdles of ensuring EU compliance. Confluent is offering their REACH Compliant Polyimide immediately with lead times of 4 weeks or less.

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Solar Atmospheres adds Boeing approval

Solar Atmospheres, Souderton, PA, has announced the addition of Boeing BAC-5613 approval for the processing of titanium for Boeing aircraft. With this approval, all five Solar Atmospheres facilities are approved to process Boeing end-use titanium components requiring vacuum heat treatment.

Mike Moyer, vice president of sales for Solar Atmospheres of Eastern Pa facility said that “We are proud to announce this addition to our scope of approvals for Boeing. Solar has unique expertise and capabilities in the realm of processing titanium, and we are happy to gain Boeing’s confidence in that regard. This new approval opens the door for Solar Atmospheres to better serve Boeing’s suppliers in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US, as well as provide overflow capacity for other Solar facilities nationwide.”

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One Minute Mentor: Salt Bath Furnaces

The salt bath method of hardening is predominant with high-speed steel tools. With correct operating conditions, tools can be heat treated without carburization, decarburization, and scaling. The surface will be fully hard with a minimum of distortion. The four types of salt baths generally used are preheating baths, high-temperature baths, quenching baths, and tempering baths.

Molten salts of various compositions are well adapted to all operations in the heat treatment of tool steels. For tools that cannot be ground after hardening or for tools that require an excellent surface condition and the maintenance of sharp edges, salt bath heating provides excellent results. These salt baths contain different compositions of BaCl2, NaCl2, and KCl as well as additional additives to avoid decarburization. The higher the working temperature, the higher the content of BaCl2 usually is. Higher additions of CaCl2 are typically used in salt baths for the quenching step.

For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 2.

R Schneider; R. Mesquita; W Schützenhöfer, Distortion in Tool Steels, ASM International, 2014, https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v04d.a0005958

Wisconsin Oven ships electrically heated horizontal quench system

Wisconsin Oven, East Troy, announced the shipment of an Electrically Heated Horizontal Quench System to a manufacturer of products for the automotive industry. This system will be used for the solution treatment of aluminum.

The maximum temperature for this horizontal quench furnace is 1200°F and interior chamber dimensions of 2′ wide x 2′ high x 2′ long. The system has the capacity to heat 450 pounds of aluminum parts and the steel basket within 60 minutes. Temperature uniformity of +/- 10°F at set points 850°F and 1050° F was verified with a nine point profile test prior to shipment.

This horizontal quench system provides a 15 second quench delay from when the door begins to open until the load is fully submerged in the tank. The quench is manual, where the operator pulls the load out of the oven and onto the quench elevator using a hook. The quench delay time is recorded and enforced using sensors to detect the start and end of the quench operation, and to stop the process if the quench delay time expires.

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Quintus Technologies supplies high pressure Flexform press to airframe manufacturer

Quintus Technologies, Vasteras, Sweden, announced that they will supply a high pressure fluid cell press to France’s LAUAK Group, a Tier 1 supplier to the aerospace industry. The press will be installed at the LAUAK Aerostructures factory in Grandola, Portugal, in September 2023. 

Reaffirming its continued commitment to productivity enhancement, LAUAK selected the Quintus model QFC 0.7×1.8-800 press with high pressure technology to bolster its manufacturing efficiency. “The forming press is undoubtedly at the heart of sheet metal production,” says Mikel Charritton, LAUAK Group Managing Director. “Especially in the context of the current aerospace ramp-up, in particular the A320, A350, and B737 programs, LAUAK’s capital equipment investments are strongly influenced by the imperatives of competitiveness. This press significantly increases and secures our production capacity.” Quintus’s proprietary hydroforming process requires only one rigid tool half, an innovation that not only generates significant tool cost savings but also eliminates several forming operations, intermediate heat treatments, and operator dependencies. 

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Constellium joins EPA’s Energy Star program as an industrial partner

Constellium, Paris,  announced that they are participating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star program as an Industrial Partner.

The Energy Star program is a voluntary initiative that helps businesses protect the environment by promoting energy-efficient products, homes, buildings and manufacturing plants, as well as save on energy costs. As an Industrial Partner, Constellium will work closely with the EPA to identify and implement energy-saving strategies and technologies across its manufacturing operations in the United States.

Constellium has already taken significant steps to reduce its energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The company has set a target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 vs 2021, and reports its results annually in its sustainability report. 

https://www.constellium.com/news/constellium-joins-epas-energy-star-r-program-as-an-industrial-partner

Lindberg ships full muffle mesh belt conveyor furnace to manufacturing industry

Lindberg/MPH, Mich,  a leading manufacturer of heat treat furnaces, announced the shipment of a continuous full muffle mesh belt conveyor furnace to an industrial manufacturer.

This conveyor furnace is designed for applications with a nitrogen atmosphere and a maximum temperature of 1,100°C. Additionally, the furnace has a hydrogen flow meter and combustible gas system so the customer can run a hydrogen atmosphere when needed. The combustible gas system provides a timed nitrogen gas purge of the muffle before process gas can be introduced into the furnace muffle. The conveyor furnace has overall dimensions of 128” L x 22” W 41.5” H. There are tables at both ends of the furnace for loading and unloading of the product. The unit is designed with four (4) temperature zones and a water-cooling section that parts travel through prior to exiting the chamber.

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Wisconsin oven completes spray quench aluminum solution furnace for the defense industry

Wisconsin Oven, East Troy, Wis. announced the completion of a Horizontal Spray Quench Furnace for C/A Design located in Dover, NH. This furnace will be used for the solution treatment of aluminum. The system is designed to soak the product load at temperature in the furnace and then a pusher mechanism rapidly moves the load into the spray quench. The spray quench offers reduced distortion in comparison to submersion quenching.

The maximum temperature for this system is 1,150°F and it has sufficient capacity to heat a 200 pound aluminum load plus the work grid and product fixture. A temperature uniformity survey was documented for +/-10°F at 985°F to verify the furnace has the capability to meet AMS 2750G, Class 2 furnace and Instrumentation Type D requirements.

The spray quench is located in front of the oven and has vertical-lift, pneumatically operated doors on each end. The spray quench system utilizes fifty (50) fine mist nozzles located above, below, and on each side of the quench chamber to rapidly cool the product from all sides. Each nozzle is independently selectable from the touchscreen HMI and a variable frequency drive allows the pump speed to be adjusted to maintain a constant pressure to each spray nozzle. 

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Seco/Warwick furnace to process Jet Engine components

Seco/Warwick, Meadville, PA, has developed a system to perform clean brazing processes in high vacuum as efficiently as possible, ensuring the highest protection of the treated part surfaces. The solution will be used to process jet engine components.

The German Partner carries out comprehensive repairs of technologically advanced jet engines. The company also has a research center which develops innovative repair techniques for various types of components and entire engines. The group employs several thousand qualified employees in various locations around the world and is a leader among companies repairing and providing full service MRO for jet engines. The purchase of a vertical vacuum furnace will improve production processes and significantly increase the commercial heat treater’s efficiency.

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Processing of nano-reinforced aluminum hybrid metal matrix composites and the effect of post-heat treatment: a review

A review from the School of Engineering and Technology, India, describes the increasing demand for cutting-edge materials with a high strength-to-weight ratio and economic considerations. Lightweight materials such as aluminum (Al) and its alloys are attractive, but some properties such as low thermal stability and high wear rate limit the application of aluminum alloys (AA) to some extent. Many researchers have developed various composites to get around these restrictions and increase the performance of aluminum and its alloy. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) with nanoparticles have revealed greater mechanical and tribological properties compared with micron-sized reinforcements. This review summarizes the latest developments in this field.

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One Minute Mentor: Controlled Atmosphere Furnace Equipment

Heat treatment of tool steels usually requires high flexibility combined with small lots of parts. Seal quench furnaces, executed with a single heating chamber, meet this demand. Figure 5 shows a typical schematic of a single-chamber furnace, executed with a pre-chamber, which is used both for loading and unloading and also for oil quenching or gas cooling. Another execution is shown in Fig. 6, where the load is fed directly into the heating chamber (left side in the drawing). In this case the load is transported through the furnace and received after oil quenching on the right-hand side.

For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 5.

R Schneider; R. Mesquita; W Schützenhöfer, Distortion in Tool Steels, ASM International, 2014, https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v04d.a0005958

Three from Aalberts Surface Technologies included in this years 40 under 40

Aalberts Technologies, Livonia, announced today that Angella Sell, Connor Montgomery, and Chris Pietszak are members of Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2023. The Heat Treat Today 40 Under 40 award recognizes rising leaders in the heat treat community who are giving their time, talent, and education to make the industry a great place to work.

Angella Sell, Research & Development Engineer, is a proven leader, having chaired the ASM Detroit Chapter from June 2020 to June 2021. In 2022 Angella received the ASM Detroit Chapter President’s Award for her leadership role during the challenging pandemic years. Angella is the vice-chair of the AFS Cast Iron Research Committee and will assume the role of chair in May 2024. 

Connor Montgomery, Oshkosh Plant Manager, is focused on hiring and retention practices as well on effective communications. Connor is leading major efforts to improve flow, efficiency, and throughput in the Oshkosh plant. He has introduced the use of modern lean tools such as 5S, FIFO, and Supermarkets to reduce unproductive manhours. He is actively involved in the reduction of additional waste within plant processing. 

Chris Pietszak, Quality Manager, is focsed on the implementation of and support of ISO, IATF, and Nadcap as well as CQI-9 compliance. He is a trained ISO and IATF auditor and an MTI YES Program graduate. Chris played an important role implementing the quality systems during the start-up of the Fort Smith facility. 

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Medical implant hardening in a SECO/WARWICK furnace

SECO/WARWICK, Meadville, PA, announced that they will supply a Vector vacuum furnace to the Marle Group, a global manufacturer of orthopedic prostheses. The furnace on order will be used for the heat treatment of cobalt implants. Cobalt alloy hardening requires very high temperatures, and the heating process for these materials require a high puriity environment, temperature uniformity and very fast and effective cooling.

In order for cobalt alloys to be used in implantology, they must be deprived of their ferromagnetic properties. This shiny, hard metal loses this property only when it reaches a temperature higher than 1131°C. Such a high temperature makes it necessary to use a vacuum furnace in the implant production process. The furnace can not only provide such a temperature, but also guarantees its maintenance over a longer period of time. As a comparison, the temperature, above which a ferSECO/WARWICK, Meadville, PA, announced that they will supply a Vector vacuum furnace to the Marle Group, a global manufacturer of orthopedic prostheses. The furnace on order will be used for the heat treatment of cobalt implants. Cobalt alloy hardening requires very high temperatures, and the heating process for these materials require a high puriity environment, temperature uniformity and very fast and effective cooling.


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Lindberg/MPH completes roller hearth furnace system for the energy industry

Lindberg/MPH, Mich., announced the installation of a roller hearth furnace system for a manufacturer of products used in the energy industry. The heat treat system is comprised of two box furnaces with quench tanks, a dual directional load transfer car, four companion draw batch ovens, and two stationary load/unload tables.

The maximum operating temperature of the box furnaces is 1850°F and they are designed for nitrogen-based atmosphere applications. The load space dimensions of the box furnaces are 48” W x 96” D x 36” H, and the internal chambers are larger to provide clearance for baskets or fixtures. A snake chain pusher assembly is used by each furnace to transfer the loads from the chamber to the quench elevator deck.

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Testing the limits of an ancient artform to increase aircraft range

As part of a prestigious 2023 summer internship with the U.S. Department of Defense, John Migliore, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill departments of applied physical sciences and chemistry, conducted tests on whether high-performance polymers would change the mechanical and structural properties of ceramic materials.

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One Minute Mentor: Continuous Operating Furnaces for Tool Steel Strips

The continuous heat treatment of tool steel is applied to low- or medium-alloyed carbon steel strips as well as martensitic stainless steels. The described lines produce high-quality strip with respect to uniform structure, flatness, and bright surface finish. Steel grades with 0.4 to 1.2% C, low and high alloyed, can be processed. 

Strip dimensions range between 10 to 750 mm (0.4 to 29.5 in.) wide and 0.05 to 4 mm (0.002 to 0.16 in.) thick. High quenching rates are necessary, especially for plain carbon steels. Cooling gradients of up to 600 K/s are possible in a molten lead-bismuth quench. Because two-stage quenching technology provides considerable advantages over quenching in oil, this method has been adopted worldwide. It is also possible to achieve isothermal transformation to bainite and pearlite using a molten metal quench, so this type of hardening and tempering line is extremely versatile.

For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 9. R Schneider; R. Mesquita; W Schützenhöfer, Distortion in Tool Steels, ASM International, 2014  https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v04d.a0005958

Wisconsin Oven ships two horizontal quench systems to the semiconductor industry

Wisconsin Oven, East Troy, WI, announced the shipment of two Electrically Heated Horizontal Quench Systems to the semiconductor industry. These systems are designed for the annealing and rapid cooling of various high purity alloy parts.

The operation of each horizontal quench system begins with loading the product onto a work grid located on the loading platform. After the load is lifted into position, a pusher/extractor mechanism at the front of the quench tank moves the load onto the quench lift platform. Then, the furnace pusher/extractor mechanism transfers the load into the furnace for annealing. Once the heating cycle is complete, the vertical lift door opens, and the furnace pusher/extractor moves the load back onto the quench lift platform, lowering it into the water quench tank for cooling. After adequate cooling, the quench lift raises the load, and the front-mounted pusher/extractor mechanism returns it to the scissor lift, where a blow-off system removes most of the water from the load. A video demonstrating this system’s operation is available through a provided link.

Each horizontal quench furnace can reach a maximum temperature of 1,250°F and has the capacity to heat and support a 4,500-pound gross load. These furnaces are designed to achieve a temperature uniformity of +/-10°F. The customer requested a uniformity tolerance of ±20°F at 500°F, 900°F, and 1200°F, which was documented for each system through a nine-point profile test conducted in an empty oven chamber under static conditions.

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