PRIME Project Launches to Strengthen Global Nitinol Supply Chain

Five leading companies in the medical device industry have launched the PRIME project, a strategic initiative dedicated to advancing the consistency, scalability, and performance of nitinol materials. PRIME, which stands for PRoficient Ingot Material Evaluation, brings together deep technical expertise from every stage of the nitinol value chain.

The founding members are Fort Wayne Metals (ingot melting), Vascotube and Euroflex (tube drawing), and Admedes and MeKo MedTech (component manufacturing). Together, the consortium spans the complete nitinol production chain from melting through tube processing to final device assembly.

The initiative was created to strengthen supply chain stability and meet rising market demands through joint testing, real-world validation, and transparent evaluation of new ingot sources. A key goal is to prevent monopolistic dependencies and mitigate future supply risks for critical medical applications such as stents and heart valve frames.

Technical papers with testing data will be made available through the consortium’s website, and ingots, tubes, and components will be available for independent testing and production validation.

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Resonetics to Acquire Resolution Medical, Expanding Neuromodulation and Structural Heart Capabilities

Resonetics, Nashua, New Hampshire, announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Resolution Medical, a medical device design and manufacturing firm headquartered in Fridley, Minnesota, with additional operations in the Netherlands. The transaction is expected to close in 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

The acquisition adds complementary capabilities in high-growth therapeutic markets including neuromodulation, structural heart, and interventional cardiology. Resolution Medical brings integrated design engineering, new product introduction, and cleanroom production capabilities for Class II and Class III devices, along with a team of more than 240 employees, including over 100 engineers.

“This acquisition will enhance our ability to deliver fully integrated solutions for customers in high-growth markets,” said Kevin Kelly, chief executive officer of Resonetics. The deal marks Resonetics’ third acquisition in the past 12 months as the company continues to broaden its medical device manufacturing platform.

Resonetics specializes in laser processing, nitinol components, and advanced manufacturing for the medical device industry.

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Confluent Medical Debuts Filmcast Select for Tailored Polymer Tubing Performance

Confluent Medical Technologies, Chattanooga, Tennessee, announced the launch of Filmcast Select, a materials customization program that enables medical device OEMs to tailor key performance attributes of Filmcast PTFE and polyimide tubing for specific applications.

The program addresses a growing challenge in minimally invasive device design: as procedures advance and devices become smaller and more complex, the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to polymer tubing is no longer sufficient. Filmcast Select allows customers to select tubing based on the characteristics that matter most, including flexibility, strength, durability, surface finish, and optical clarity.

The program includes several specialized PTFE options: FlexaCast for increased flexibility and elongation, DuraCast for enhanced abrasion resistance, and UltraCast for higher tensile strength in demanding applications. Confluent can also work with customer-preferred PTFE dispersions, allowing OEMs to leverage existing biocompatibility data and reduce development time.

Confluent Medical Technologies is a global leader in the design and manufacture of medical devices and components, specializing in nitinol, polymer, and catheter-based technologies.

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New editors for Metallurgical and Materials Transactions

ASM International, Materials Park, Ohio, and The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), Warrendale, Pa., announced two new editors for the Metallurgical and Materials Transactions journals: Steven J. Zinkle, FASM, of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Sridhar Seetharaman of the University of Warwick.   Zinkle Named Editor for Metallurgical and Materials Transactions E   Steven J.

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Musical manuscript restored with x-rays

Scientists at Stanford University, Calif., x-rayed a damaged musical score to reveal the musical notes hidden beneath a layer of black carbon. The beautifully bound 1797 Luigi Cherubini opera Médée looks like an impeccably preserved relic of opera’s golden age. However, the final pages of the aria “Du trouble affreux qui me dévore” (“The terrible disorder that consumes me”) are blackened with carbon that completely obscures the closing lines.

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Shape-memory polymer printed into inchworm robot

Researchers at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, teamed up to produce a 3D-printed inchworm robot made of shape memory polymers. The robot transforms itself from a completely flat, two-dimensional object into a walking inchworm-shaped robot with almost no help from human hands. Shape memory polymers fold along specific hinges; the only human input needed is to attach the battery and motor.

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Universal Stainless & Alloy Products achieves Nadcap accreditation for heat treating

Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc., Bridgeville, Pa.,  has achieved Nadcap Heat Treat accreditation at its Specialty Steel facility in Dunkirk, N.Y. “This is the fifth Nadcap accreditation that we have earned in the past six months, and it represents a further critical step in our move to premium alloys and more technologically advanced products,” commented Chris Zimmer, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

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Nitrex Metal supplies nitriding systems for two manufacturers in China

Nitrex Metal, Quebec, Canada, has received a follow-on order for a nitriding system from Shaoguan Hongda Gear Co. Ltd, a Chinese contract manufacturer of transmission gears. The addition of a second NX-1015 system will boost production capacity to 600 tons of gears annually. The system includes Nitreg technology required to achieve zero-distortion and ensures a finished gear of precise dimensions and tolerance.

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Thermal spray equipment based on advances in data acquisition, remote diagnostics

TAFA Inc., a Praxair Surface Technologies Co., Concord, N.H., has developed and improved  equipment for coating performance and repeatability, as reported in “Equipment Advances for Advanced Coatings,” a presentation at the thermal spray conference announced below. Advanced features such as recipe storage, data acquisition, and remote diagnostics are playing larger and more important roles in process development and control.

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Metlab flame hardens bridge crane wheels for aircraft manufacturing facility

Metlab Heat Treating, Niagara Falls, N.Y., announces completion of a successful project with a major crane manufacturer to flame harden the bridge crane wheels for a large overhead multiple bridge crane system. Installed at an aircraft manufacturer, the crane lifts airplanes as they are being assembled. Over 1,500 wheels made of 1045 steel, approximately 6.5 in. O.D. by 2.5 in. wide, were hardened to a hard and uniform outside rim of 425 BHN (HRC 45) and a case depth of 0.125 in. minimum.

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Selas Heat Technology relocates manufacturing to Ohio

Selas Heat Technology Co. LLC, Montgomeryville, Pa., has opened a new manufacturing plant in Streetsboro, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The facility will serve as the company’s new Global Headquarters. The modern building covers 73,500 sq. ft., with ample room for expansion on its 8 acres of land.

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Fraunhofer test program evaluates coatings for equipment in oil treatment plants

Fraunhofer IWM, Germany, has developed tests of the internal coatings of pipes in various sections of oil treatment plants to determine which materials are best suited to withstand the stresses  in each individual section. To assess the corrosion resistance of coatings in a laboratory environment, the researchers apply a number of different tests, such as high heat, strong chemicals, abrasive media, and many others.

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Jumping droplets for more efficient power plants

In a completely unexpected finding, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, researchers discovered that tiny water droplets that form on a superhydrophobic surface, and then “jump” away from that surface, carry an electric charge. The finding could lead to more efficient power plants and a new way of drawing power from the atmosphere, they say.

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Revised molybdenum metal brochure

The International Molybdenum Association, (IMOA) published an updated version of the brochure entitled, Application of Molybdenum Metal and its Alloys. This new edition covers the production of molybdenum metal and its physical, mechanical and chemical properties and explains how they make the metal and its alloys the materials of choice in a wide range of applications.   Nicole Kinsman, IMOA Technical Director said, “This brochure is one of our most popular website downloads over the years.

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Squid inspires comfortable implants

Led by scientists at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, researchers turned to an unlikely model to make medical devices safer and more comfortable: a squid’s beak. Many medical implants require hard materials that have to connect to or pass through soft body tissue. This mechanical mismatch leads to problems such as skin breakdown at abdominal feeding tubes in stroke patients and where wires pass through the chest to power assistive heart pumps. Enter: the squid.

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Help design equipment to make cars more intelligent

Engineering students around the world have just three months to take part in the global Valeo Innovation Challenge. The goal of the Valeo Innovation Challenge is to design equipment that, between now and 2030, will make cars more intelligent and intuitive. Students taking part in the challenge must develop bold, revolutionary solutions for the cars of 2030. Projects must be submitted to the contest’s dedicated website by February 14, 2014.

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Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron to merge and form new company

Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., and Tokyo Electron Ltd., Japan, announce a definitive agreement to merge into a new company whose name has not been released. This combination brings together complementary leading technologies and products to create an expanded set of capabilities in precision materials engineering and patterning. The companies expect the transaction to close in mid to second half of 2014.

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Innovative thermal spray coatings for turbine engines to improve heat protection and fuel efficiency

Thermal Spray Technologies, Sun Prairie, Wis., in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, helped to develop innovative thermal spray coatings to improve heat protection and fuel efficiency in the next generation of jet turbine engines. The team’s experimental results were published in the August issue of the Journal of Thermal Spray Technologies in an article titled “Application of Plasma Spraying as a Precursor in the Synthesis of Oxidation Resistant Coatings.

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Siemens and Midrex to build direct iron reduction plant for Voestalpine in Texas

Siemens Industry Inc., Washington, D.C., and consortium partner Midrex Technologies Inc., Charlotte, N.C., has received an order from the Austrian Voestalpine group to build a direct iron reduction plant in the United States. The Midrex plant will be constructed near the city of Corpus Christi, Texas. It is designed to produce two million metric tons of hot briquetted iron (HBI) per year, making it the largest single module of this type worldwide.

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Beralcast beryllium-aluminum alloys under consideration for F-35 Lightning II optical components

IBC Advanced Alloys Corp., Wilmington, Mass., reports that its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, IBC Engineered Materials Corp., is working directly with Lockheed Martin to develop specific investment-cast optical components on the F-35 Lightning II aircraft to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of Beralcast beryllium-aluminum alloys. Beralcast principal alloys are more than three times stiffer than aluminum, with 22% less weight. They can be precision cast for simple and complex three-dimensional stability. These high modulus alloys are ideal for high-performance industrial and high-tech components, as well as for a wide range of aerospace applications.

 

This collaboration enables IBC to demonstrate its expertise and industry leadership in offering rapid prototyping and advanced materials solutions to provide investment cast parts to aerospace customers with short lead times and competitive pricing.

“IBC Engineered Materials is excited to be collaborating with Lockheed Martin and believe we will demonstrate the viability of our Beralcast alloys and cast components as mechanically compliant and cost effective components for the F-35 Lightning II program,” said Ray White, President of IB-EMC. “We hope that IBC’s partnership and collaboration with Lockheed Martin will advance the potential for our engineered materials products for other aerospace industry initiatives where modulus, weight, and cost are important design criteria.”

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One Minute Mentor: Mechanical Shock

Mechanical shock is sometimes used to stabilize tool steels. One method of producing shock is to suspend the part so that it hangs freely and then strike it with a wooden hammer. This is believed to set up elastic waves which add to the magnitude of the residual stress imparted by the previous heat treatment. At locations where the resultant magnitude of stress exceeds the elastic limit, plastic flow should occur and result in stress relief. This would be manifest by higher dimensional stability. A shock treatment should not be considered as a substitute for a thermal method of stabilization but rather as an auxiliary method which enhances stabilization.

Dimensional changes in W1 steel resulting from dropping on a concrete floor as determined by Fletcher (are shown in Fig. 6. The untempered specimens showed greater dimensional changes than the tempered specimens due to the higher level of residual stress in the untempered condition.

For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 6.

Jon L. Dossett; George E. Totten, *Control of Distortion in Tool Steels*, ASM International, 2014
https://doi.org/10.31399/asm.hb.v04d.9781627081689

Ipsen USA Receives New Vacuum Furnace Order from Urschel Laboratories

Ipsen USA, Cherry Valley, Illinois, announced a new equipment order from Urschel Laboratories for a MetalMaster HR 54×48 vacuum furnace. The order marks 40 years of partnership between the two companies, with the new unit replacing an original Ipsen furnace installed in 1986.

The MetalMaster HR is designed for high-performance heat treating applications including hardening, tempering, brazing, and annealing in a vacuum or partial-pressure environment. The furnace features a horizontal front-loading design with an integrated high-pressure gas quench system.

Urschel Laboratories, based in Chesterton, Indiana, is a global manufacturer of precision food cutting equipment. The company relies on vacuum heat treatment to achieve the hardness, wear resistance, and dimensional stability required for its cutting components, which operate under demanding production conditions in the food processing industry.

The replacement of the 1986 furnace reflects both the longevity of Ipsen equipment and the ongoing need for modern controls, energy efficiency, and process documentation capabilities in today’s manufacturing environment. Ipsen reported a 45% year-over-year increase in new equipment units sold in 2025.

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Seco/Warwick Partners with European Defense Sector Manufacturer

Seco/Warwick, Swiebodzin, Poland, announced its first contract with a European defense manufacturer. The company will deliver a customized single-chamber vacuum furnace equipped with advanced low-pressure carburizing technology and high-pressure gas quenching for heat treatment of steels used in firearm manufacturing.

The contract represents a shift by the defense client from traditional gas carburizing to modern low-pressure carburizing, which improves quality, process predictability, and energy efficiency. The vacuum furnace approach eliminates the environmental concerns associated with atmosphere-based systems while delivering more uniform case depth and reduced distortion.

The deal holds strategic significance for both parties. For the client, it represents a modernization of defense manufacturing infrastructure. For Seco/Warwick, it establishes a position as a solutions provider in the European defense sector, a market segment with growing demand for advanced thermal processing equipment.

Seco/Warwick operates globally with manufacturing facilities in Poland, the United States, India, and China, and service centers across Europe and Asia.

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Gasbarre and SOLO Swiss Announce Exclusive Licensing Agreement for North America

Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems, DuBois, Pennsylvania, and SOLO Swiss SA, Porrentruy, Switzerland, announced an exclusive licensing agreement granting Gasbarre the rights to promote, sell, and manufacture the SOLO ProfiTherm heat treating system in North America. The agreement was announced on January 21, 2026.

The ProfiTherm system features a modular arrangement of bell furnaces and quench tanks with direct, rapid transfer from furnace to quench. The design is positioned as a practical alternative to traditional integral quench batch furnaces, offering a more compact footprint that simplifies installation and reduces plant disruption.

ProfiTherm supports a range of heat treating processes including austempering, marquenching, carburizing, carbonitriding, and neutral hardening. Target applications include captive heat treat departments and commercial shops serving general industry, aerospace, defense, and bearing markets.

The partnership expands Gasbarre’s equipment portfolio and gives North American heat treaters access to SOLO Swiss bell furnace technology that has been widely adopted in Europe.

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Bodycote Expands U.S. Aerospace and Defense Footprint with Acquisition of Spectrum Thermal Processing

Bodycote, Macclesfield, UK, announced the acquisition of Spectrum Thermal Processing, a heat treatment provider based in Cranston, Rhode Island. The transaction closed on January 14, 2026.

Spectrum brings established Nadcap-accredited and ITAR-compliant capabilities to Bodycote’s North American operations, including vacuum heat treatment, low-pressure carburizing, and gas nitriding services. The acquisition strengthens Bodycote’s regional capacity in the northeastern United States and reinforces its ability to support aerospace, defense, space, and industrial customers.

The deal expands Bodycote’s presence in critical process categories that serve sectors with demanding quality and compliance requirements. With the addition of Spectrum’s facility and expertise, Bodycote continues to build on its position as the world’s largest provider of heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services.

Bodycote operates more than 160 facilities in 22 countries worldwide. The company noted that the acquisition aligns with its strategy of targeted growth in markets with high barriers to entry and strong long-term demand, particularly in the aerospace and defense sectors.

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Unconventional method strengthens metal in extreme conditions

Blacksmiths fire metals before hammering them, as heat always softens metal, making it more malleable and easier to reshape. Or does it? In a surprising new study, engineers from Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.) discovered that, in extreme conditions, heat does not soften pure metals—it strengthens them.

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How rough grinding makes stainless steel prone to corrosion

Stainless steel is widely known for its corrosion resistance. But when it is exposed to environments containing chloride ions, such as seawater, the risk of corrosion increases. Manufacturers typically grind the surface to smooth it. However, this finishing process reduces corrosion resistance even further. Researchers at Tohoku University in Japan have recently shed light on why this occurs.

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