Schuler Group, Canton, Mich., offers a heat-treating technology called press-hardening to increase the strength of steel parts.  In this technology, blanks or pre-formed parts are heated in a furnace to a temperature of 930°C, then placed into the press as quickly as possible, within just 10-12 seconds. The press remains closed for a few additional seconds during the forming process. During this time, the parts are cooled and hardened.   The cycle times range from 8 to 30 seconds.

Lake City Heat Treating, Warsaw, Ind., introduces new literature featuring its hot isostatic pressing and vacuum heat treating services. The company  specializes in vacuum heat treating of stainless steels, cobalt and nickel alloys, and vacuum heat treatable steels. Cryogenic, hot isostatic pressing, and tempering services also offered. The literature includes photos of the company’s equipment and descriptions of its capabilities and services, as well as contact information.

Using ultra-fast laser pulses, a team of researchers led by University of Arizona (UA), Tucson, assistant professor Vanessa Huxter made the first detailed observation of how energy travels through diamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy centers-promising candidates for a variety of technological advances such as quantum computing.

Alcoa, Pittsburgh, will invest $275 million over the next three years to expand and convert capacity at its rolling mill in Alcoa, Tenn. The project will convert some of the plant’s can sheet capacity to high-strength automotive aluminum, as well as install incremental automotive capacity. The Tennessee expansion is scheduled to be completed by mid-2015. Much of the volume for the automotive expansion is already secured under long-term supply agreements.

Ambrell, an Ameritherm company, Scottsville, N.Y., has released the flexible, 25 ft EasyCoil. It can be used with Ambrell Ekoheat induction heating systems-up to the 250 kW model-and is designed for large, oddly shaped parts that cannot be heated with a traditional copper coil. The EasyCoil is ideal for slow and bulk heating applications such as preheating, annealing, stress relieving, die heating, and much more.

ThyssenKrupp Aerospace North America, Hutchinson, Kan., announces that it has entered into a three-year contract extension with Cessna Aircraft Company to remain its service provider for aluminum sheet products and related supply chain services. The company will service Cessna’s facilities in Wichita, Kan., as well as Cessna’s key subcontractors throughout the North American region.   ThyssenKrupp is a diversified technology and materials group based in Essen, Germany.

Praxair Inc., Danbury, Conn., has started up a second nitrogen plant at its facility in Kirtland, N.M., to support growing nitrogen demand in the San Juan basin, which includes southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The new plant, along with an additional liquefier expansion to be completed later this year, will increase total capacity at the site to 300 tons per day of liquid nitrogen.

Ralph P. Poor, Surface Combustion Inc., Maumee, Ohio, presented “Batch Integral Quench Furnace Innovations: Heating, Quenching, Automation” at Heat Treat 2013 in Indianapolis. Original batch integral quench (BIQ) furnace technology was introduced in the 1950’s, and the paper covered innovations for the 21st Century.   Sealed quench furnace designs mate a quench to a carburizing hot zone, with the goal of maximizing throughput and uniform properties.

Hoganas AB, Bruksgatan, Sweden, announces the implementation of a combined vacuum sintering and low pressure carburizing (LPC) furnace technology to provide more cost-efficient and higher quality PM component solutions. LPC also results in reduced distortions during the heat treatment process and consequently improves the overall dimensional quality and tolerances of PM components.   Chromium-alloyed powders provide a cost-efficient way to manufacture high-performance applications.

Phoenix Thermal Measurement, Clearwater, Fla., has developed a new thermal barrier designed for use in brazing aluminum parts. It addresses the problems of protection from hydrofluoric acid produced from chemicals in the flux combining with moisture within the thermal barrier, and oxygen in the air leaking from the thermal barrier that can “pollute” the nitrogen atmosphere inside the furnace.

Ipsen Group, Cherry Valley, Ill., will be shipping 27 vacuum furnaces to diverse customers and regions all over the world.  Model types to be shipped include thirteen Titan  furnaces, four TurboTreater furnaces, two vertical bottom-loading furnaces, two Turbo2Treaters, two VFCK (vacuum furnace with convection heating) models, one VFS  HEQ (horizontal external quench), one MetalMaster, one Vacuum Oil Quench with AvaC carburizing, and one VTL (vertical top load) furnace.