Peters Heat Treating Inc., Meadville, Pa., plans to broaden its customer base by expanding production capabilities with a multimillion-dollar investment in West Mead Township. It is a thermal processing manufacturer of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. The company will purchase and renovate the existing 12,700-square-foot facility in West Mead Township.In addition to the Meadville location, Peters  Heat Treating has a location in McKean.

ASM International (ASM), the world’s leading resource for materials information, today announced the development of HTPro, a new quarterly insert for its Advanced Materials & Processes (AM&P) magazine. HTPro is the new official voice of ASM’s Heat Treating Society (HTS) and will provide reliable, up-to-date heat treating and thermal processing technical information.

The Bloodhound Project, an international education initiative focused on a world land speed record attempt, will be equipped with a Rolls-Royce (London) EJ200 jet engine in conjunction with a custom designed hybrid rocket to propel the car to over 1000 mph (1600 kmh). Rolls-Royce is also providing financial and technical support for the project.

Materion Brush Beryllium & Composites, a Materion Corporation business, Mayfield Heights, Ohio, announces  investment cast AlBeCast aluminum beryllium products for the aerospace, defense, and precision industrial equipment markets. AlBeCastR 910 is a ternary Be-Al-Ni alloy with a high specific modulus, good ductility, and reasonably good strength. AlBeCastR 920 is an aluminum beryllium alloy containing Ag, Co, and Ge.

The Metal Treating Institute, Jacksonville Beach, Fla., reports that June 2013 year-to-date sales for the metal treating industry were $459.1 million, a decrease of 6.6% from 2012, when sales for January-June equaled $491.6 million. Sales for June 2013 totaled $75.2 million, a decrease from 2012 when sales for June equaled $80.6 million.   One out of the nine MTI districts reported higher sales in June 2013 compared to the previous year.

Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC, Thornwood, N.Y., introduced a new hardware auto focus and cleanroom kit for its Axio Imager Vario microscope system, well suited to surface inspections on reflective, low-contrast samples. In transmitted and reflected light, the focus system ensures precision to 0.3 of the depth of field of the objective lens. The sensor registers changes to the focus position and automatically compensates any deviations via direct access to the Z drive of the microscope.

ThyssenKrupp System Engineering, Germany, is developing a pioneering line for the manufacture of hot-formed parts in close cooperation with Audi AG and Ebner Ofenbau.  Hot forming of high-strength steels is becoming established worldwide as a cost-efficient lightweighting solution in medium- and high-volume car body manufacture. Components produced in this way meet rising demands in terms of shape and occupant safety as well as for lower weight.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, Wash., is developing a titanium-based catalyst that regenerates an important chemical that will enable a more efficient magnesium extraction process that should cut magnesium production costs in half. PNNL is partnering with Global Seawater Extraction Technologies and Utah magnesium plant owner U.S. Magnesium LLC.

Nitrex Metal, St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada, has sold a compact nitriding system to Altest Ltd.at its Bulgarian plant to nitride aluminum extrusion dies. The NXK-412 system has a capacity of 880 lb., and is supplied with Nitreg technology, a neutralizer, and an ammonia purification system. Altest opted for a nitriding system with a higher capacity than their current requirements to keep pace with expansion plans that will see its extrusion capacity double by next year.

Picodeon Ltd., li, Finland, developed ColdAb ultra-short pulsed laser deposition technology (US PLD) for use in the application of gold and platinum thin films, enabling thinner films and thereby reducing precious metal costs.   Precious metals like gold and platinum are finding more and more industrial applications in memory storage, energy harvesting, energy storage, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) applications.

Integran, Pittsburgh, Pa., says it has demonstrated that its Nanovate CoP (cobalt-phosphorus) coating outperforms hard chrome in corrosion resistance, sliding wear, and cost effectiveness.  Its better corrosion resistance is due to its fully dense structure, which provides better protection of steel even at reduced thicknesses.  It achieves better sliding wear resistance because its coefficient of friction is lower than that of hard chrome.

Miba Sinter USA LLC, McConnelsville, Ohio, has invested $7 million to double the size of its sintering plant by February 2014. A division of the Miba Group, Miba Sinter offers upper end, highly technical, sintered solutions for the automotive industry. It produces complex parts by means of its sophisticated iron powder sintering process. Sinter produces parts for Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and Volkswagen, among others.

Seco-Warwick, Meadville, Pa., has received an order for an aluminum annealing furnace that features a simple, compact design and an innovative loading system that does not require power. The simple design ensures reliability and low operating costs. A unique system for loading and unloading does not require electricity and can be operated manually by one person. It does not require expensive foundations and permits the furnace to be placed directly on a shop floor.