Evolution D6 two-chamber furnace enables 30% cost reduction
February 11, 2015
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Seco Warwick Corp., Meadville, Pa., announces that ZAP Mechanika, a Polish heat treating company, reduced its heat treatment costs by 30% with the installation of a CaseMaster Evolution D6 two-chamber furnace for vacuum carburizing and oil quenching. Both chambers are able to operate under vacuum or a partial pressure of inert gas. They are separated from each other with vacuum-tight and pressure-tight internal doors.
The system uses vacuum carburizing, which has the benefit of reducing process time while achieving excellent uniformity when carburizing complex shapes and high-density charges. The furnace also enables elimination of oxidation on the austenite grain boundaries, high accuracy, and repeatability of carburized layer shaping. It minimizes consumption of process gases (hydrocarbons) and energy, and is environmentally neutral. It allows operation at temperatures up to 1200°C (2200°F).
The charge is transferred between chambers with an internal transport mechanism. Integrated into the transport mechanism is a load elevator to quench and remove the load from the quench oil. The heating chamber is used for thermal and thermochemical processes, and is equipped with thermal insulation and a heating system.
Hands-on operation is limited to loading and unloading, selecting a recipe, and starting the process. The furnace operates in either a continuous or a task mode. If necessary, the equipment can be switched on and switched off immediately, and no time is needed for process atmosphere change or conditioning.
www.secowarwick.com
Seco Warwick Corp., Meadville, Pa., announces that ZAP Mechanika, a Polish heat treating company, reduced its heat treatment costs by 30% with the installation of a CaseMaster Evolution D6 two-chamber furnace for vacuum carburizing and oil quenching.
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Release agent designed for lightweight composite materials
February 6, 2015
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Chem-Trend, Howell Mich., is helping the aerospace industry remove mass, lower fuel consumption, and respect the environment with a release agent targeted for use with composite materials. Zyvax TakeOff is a newly developed water-based, semi-permanent release agent specifically formulated for aerospace manufacturers. It is especially effective for vacuum bagged and autoclave molding of epoxy carbon fiber prepreg. This water-based release agent does not require a sealer in most cases when used on high-quality mold surfaces in aerospace and other epoxy prepreg applications.
Zyvax mold release systems from Chem-Trend are developed specifically to address the molding needs of premium aerospace composites materials. A distinct advantage of TakeOff is its ability to be applied to molds at varying temperatures, thus reducing the required downtime to allow the mold to cool, as is sometimes needed when using solvent-based release agents. TakeOff needs only a minimal number of coats to become effective, with short dry times between applications. It also provides multiple release capability, potentially contributing to improved productivity in the manufacturing process.
Zyvax TakeOff is ideal for aircraft application because it is specifically formulated to work on extremely large epoxy molded parts and uses an environmentally conscious water-based carrier. Additionally, there is very low transfer of the release agent to the molded part. That can eliminate or significantly reduce any cleaning process that might be required prior to a post-molding procedure, such as painting and gluing. This saves material, time and money for manufacturers.
For those parts that do require cleaning, only a mild detergent and water are needed to easily remove any transferred release material. TakeOff is virtually solvent-free, exceeds the most demanding environmental requirements and provides employees a more pleasant plant environment.
"Aerospace manufacturers are not alone in their use of lightweighting solutions to increase fuel economy and decrease emissions," said Barton. "Manufacturers in the marine, rail and automotive sectors are also increasing their use of composite materials to gain the same economic advantages. With as much as 50% of today's aircraft comprised of composite material, release agents play a major role in production.
Chem-Trend is helping the aerospace industry remove mass, lower fuel consumption, and respect the environment with a release agent targeted for use with composite materials.
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Harper’s carbon-fiber oxidation ovens reduce energy use and emissions
February 1, 2015
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Harper International Corp., Buffalo, N.Y., offers advanced carbon fiber oxidation oven technology to complement its furnaces for carbon fiber processing. State-of-the-art oven designs are available for tow-bands from 300 mm to greater than 4000 mm. Technology advancements enable faster oxidation through elimination of the chimney effect, improved velocity uniformity and range, assurance of temperature uniformity at a variety of flow rates, and optimal control of the reaction.
Harper's designs incorporate a multitude of improvements, including energy efficient designs. The most distinctive feature of Harper's cutting-edge design is the innovative atmospheric end seal. This seal design reduces fugitive emissions, increases the active volume of the oven, and offers reduced energy consumption over alternatives. The seals have independent adjustment of the top and bottom inside and outside slots. Each pass has an independent vent with adjustable draw control, and the exhaust plenum connects to a dedicated fan/VFD. As a result of these innovative design features, there is no vertical mixing in the seal, less air ingress, and virtually no process gas escape.
Harper's instrumentation improvements include a two-tier balancing methodology, responsive quench system and rapid cool down system, emissions monitoring, and inherently safer pressure relief system. Additionally, modular construction design enables up to a 90% reduction in labor versus similar field erection times into a full line pilot system (300mm).
Additionally, Harper's proprietary multiflow Research Oven offers parallel, cross, and down airflow directions in a single oven, which allows for true evaluation of different flow techniques. The oven's uniformity specifications meet or exceed best-in-class for each flow regime.
Although Carbon Fiber is predominantly produced from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and pitch, there is an increasing necessity for alternative, low cost and renewable precursors as the industry grows to applications such automotive. Harper has the unique ability to adapt our technology to process nontraditional precursors throughout the entire thermal process.
www.harperintl.com
Harper International Corp., Buffalo, N.Y., offers advanced carbon fiber oxidation oven technology to complement its furnaces for carbon fiber processing.
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Robot helps develop carbon composite structures
January 25, 2015
Source: ASM International
A robot named ISAAC, which features a versatile spinning head and a robust, acrobatic arm, will help NASA’s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., create and test new composite structures faster, less expensively, and with more room for experimentation than ever before.
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Wall Colmonoy announces Modern Furnace Brazing School sessions
January 20, 2015
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Wall Colmonoy, Madison Heights, Mich., offers a spring session of Modern Furnace Brazing School May 5 to 7 at the Aerobraze Engineered Technologies Brazing Engineering Center in Cincinnati. Engineers, technicians, quality managers, production managers, and others will participate in "hands-on" practical applications while learning about brazing technology from the industry's leading brazing engineers.
For over 60 years, Wall Colmonoy engineers have been gaining practical experience on actual problems in brazing plants around the world. This three-day seminar offers knowledge and practical applications on:
Brazing Design
Metallurgical Aspects / Brazing Operation
Brazing Atmosphere and Furnace Equipment
Brazing Material Selection and Applications
Quality Control
The school preserves the tradition originated by the late Robert Peaslee, a brazing pioneer who invented the first nickel-based brazing filler metal. Unlike other classroom-only seminars, Brazing School attendees will tour the facility and see the actual brazing application on the shop floor. They will also have the opportunity to apply different forms of filler metal to supplied samples, have them vacuum brazed and discuss the outcomes. Wall Colmonoy's Leading Brazing Engineers have the technical know-how and practical experience to guide attendees through the brazing process from beginning to end production.
For seminar details and registration information, contact Jim Nicoll, Marketing Associate, at [email protected] or 248.585.6400, ext. 233.
www.wallcolmonoy.com
Wall Colmonoy, Madison Heights, Mich., offers a spring session of Modern Furnace Brazing School on May 5-7 at the Aerobraze Engineered Technologies Brazing Engineering Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Hi-Tek Manufacturing receives Nadcap accreditation for heat treating and more
January 14, 2015
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Hi-Tek Manufacturing, Mason, Ohio, which serves the gas turbine industry, announces that it has received Nadcap accreditation for heat treating and for brazing, hardness testing for heat treating, and pyrometry capabilities. "This completes our major investment to provide full service to our OEM Turbine Engine customers," stated Barry Nehls, Sales and Marketing Manager. "Process timing is critical for our customers, and the addition of in-house heat treating greatly enhances our ability to produce made complete components. The timing and logistics cost reductions represent a huge savings to our customers."
"Companies such as Hi-Tek Manufacturing work hard to obtain this status and they should be justifiably proud of it," said Joe Pinto, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Performance Review Institute. "PRI is proud to support continual improvement in the aerospace industry by helping companies such as Hi-Tek be successful and we look forward to continuing to assist the industry moving forward."
www.hitekmfg.com
Hi-Tek Manufacturing, Mason, Ohio, which serves the gas turbine industry, announces that it has received Nadcap accreditation for heat treating and for brazing, hardness testing for heat treating, and pyrometry capabilities.
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Solar Atmospheres heat treats titanium manifold for Orion spacecraft
January 7, 2015
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Solar Atmospheres of Western Pennsylvania, Hermitage, Pa., announces that it vacuum heat-treated the titanium manifold in the Launch Abort System of the NASA Orion spacecraft launched in December. The large manifold housing, made of Ti6AI4V, is designed to rapidly propel astronauts away from the main rocket in case of a catastrophic explosion or any other unexpected event. Once fired, the LAS will accelerate the astronauts away from the main rocket at forces up to 10 to 15 g's.
"The welded component needed to be homogenously treated to ensure peak performance in the event the LAS would be needed," says Michael Johnson, Sales Manager. "Precise temperature monitoring of the part and uniformity of the furnace was the easy part. The challenging part was avoiding a eutectic reaction with the furnace tooling, while minimizing distortion. At the end of the day, both Solar and its customer had a process that proved to be successful on the prototype and the three additional manifolds that followed."
www.solaratm.com
Solar Atmospheres of Western Pennsylvania, Hermitage, Pa., announces that it vacuum heat-treated the titanium manifold in the Launch Abort System of the NASA Orion spacecraft launched in December.
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Vac Aero high-pressure quench vacuum furnace has high heating rates, tight uniformity
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Vac Aero, Burlington, Ontario, has sold a VAH4848 HV-6 high-pressure quench vacuum furnace to a manufacturer and integrator of high performance aerospace systems and components. The furnace is designed to have rapid heating rates while maintaining tight uniformity at high vacuum levels, and is equipped with a gas-quench system capable of quench pressures up to six bar. An external recirculating inert gas quenching system distributes quench gas through circumferentially located internal nozzles for rapid, uniform cooling of the work load.
The furnace features a 36 x 30 x 48-inch carbon hot zone, with a heavy duty hearth designed to support a uniformly distributed load of 2500 lb. Bottom-loading or front-loading vacuum brazing and heat treating furnaces are designed to have rapid heating rates to very uniform temperatures at high vacuum levels. They are equipped with a gas quench system capable of quickly cooling the workload from processing temperatures, at quench pressures from 1.5, 2, 6, to 10 bar, depending on the specifications of each individual furnace.
Furnaces are designed for operating between 1000°F and 2400°F, depending on the specifications of each individual furnace. Hot zone heating Elements are made of curved graphite, lanthanated molybdenum (MoLa) strip, or molybdenum strip, depending on the specifications of each individual furnace.
Hot zones feature unitized construction for easy removal and maintenance. The lightweight design's low thermal mass enables faster quenching and longer life. The heat shield package consists of one layer of 0.020-in. thick lanthanated molybdenum sheet backed by one layer of 0.010-in. thick molybdenum sheet, and three layers of 0.014-in. stainless steel sheet. The heat shield package is supported by a 14 gauge stainless steel assembly that uniformly distributes the quenching gas to the workload.
www.vacaero.com
Vac Aero, Burlington, Ontario, has sold a VAH4848 HV-6 high-pressure quench vacuum furnace to a manufacturer and integrator of high performance aerospace systems and components.
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Solar Atmospheres wins Bell Helicopter “approved supplier” status
December 21, 2014
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Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA), Hermitage, Pa., announces that it has attained an approved supplier status for Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. SAWPA has received approval for the heat treatment of steel and titanium alloy components used in the production of Bell Helicopters. Solar's extensive and flexible capabilities include over 40 furnaces for vacuum heat treating services, including the country's largest commercial vacuum furnace (36 feet long, 150,000 pound capacity), shown in the photo.
Through precise temperature and atmosphere controls, customer specifications can be met with minimal distortion and bright, scale-free results.
"Solar Atmospheres of Western PA is extremely honored to provide precise, thermally vacuum processed parts for the world's premier provider of vertical lift aircraft – Bell Helicopter," says Bob Hill, president of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA. "This rotary-wing approval complements the multiple fixed-wing approvals that currently exist."
www.solaratm.com
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA), Hermitage, Pa., announces that it has attained an approved supplier status for Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
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Aircelle to produce titanium exhaust systems for Boeing 777X
December 16, 2014
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Aircelle (Safran), Le Havre, France, will produce titanium exhaust systems for the new Boeing 777X commercial jetliner, marking the nacelle manufacturer's first major supplier win with Boeing. These exhaust systems will equip the 777X's two GE9X turbofan engines from GE Aviation, providing the benefits of lower weight, along with increased resistance to heat with the use of Aircelle processes for titanium high-temperature applications. The exhaust system includes acoustically treated areas for reduced noise level.
Based on its experience and proprietary database, Aircelle has optimized the design and manufacturing processes of metallics for nacelle applications, and developed methods of predicting titanium's performance in commercial exhaust systems. Through its selection by Boeing, Aircelle has become an active member of the 777X design team, and the company engineers already are working closely with the aircraft manufacturer to meet the next program milestone.
www.aircelle.com
Aircelle (Safran), Le Havre, France, will produce titanium exhaust systems for the new Boeing 777X commercial jetliner, marking the nacelle manufacturer’s first major supplier win with Boeing.
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