Constellium’s operations in Muscle Shoals and Bowling Green certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI)

October 3, 2023
Source: ASM International

Constellium’s operations in Muscle Shoals and Bowling Green certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI)

Constellium, Pairs, announced that it has received the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) Performance Standard certificate for its facilities in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and Bowling Green, Kentucky. This certification, verified by an independent third-party audit, means that the plants operate according to a strict set of governance, environmental, and social standards, including greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity and labor rights.

The Constellium Muscle Shoals plant is a major aluminium cansheet supplier for the packaging market with over 450,000 metric tons of finished aluminium coils per year. The facility also produces aluminium automotive coils, which are processed at the Bowling Green plant. Muscle Shoals’ world-class recycling center is able to recycle the equivalent of 20 billion aluminium cans per year. Constellium’s Bowling Green plant produces flat rolled aluminium Auto Body Sheet products for the automotive market, with a capacity to produce 100,000 metric tons annually.

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Nitrex and Linde renew their 13-year collaboration


Source: ASM International

Nitrex and Linde renew their 13-year collaboration

Nitrex, Quebec, and Linde are celebrating their 13-year collaboration, which today covers Europe and North America. Nitrex said that this partnership emphasizes both companies’ positioning in terms of technology, digital, and green footprints. 

The cooperation between Linde (previously Praxair) and UPC-Marathon, a Nitrex company, began in the USA in 2010, when Linde approached UPC-Marathon to build gas panels. Eventually, the company started sending some of its clients who needed technical support in UPC’s direction.

Nitrex supplies Linde with equipment and analyses to control gas atmospheres, thanks to its competence in heat treatment and electrical fields, technical solutions, support, and world-class gas panels.

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Solar Atmospheres of Michigan’s relocation charges forward


Source: ASM International

Solar Atmospheres of Michigan’s relocation charges forward

Solar Atmospheres, Chesterfield, MI, formerly known as Vac-Met Inc., has successfully reached its first milestone in the relocation phase. Solar invested over $5 million of new equipment installed with all new utilities. 

The new equipment includes two vacuum furnaces, an air tempering furnace, and a freezer. As a result, Solar was able to host their first AS9100D audit at the new facility in Chesterfield Michigan. This quality management system audit for aviation, space and defense organizations which incorporates ISO9001 standards passed with zero findings.After purchasing the company one year ago, the goal was to build a new facility with no impact on the existing customer base. 

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One Minute Mentor: Controlled Atmosphere Furnace Equipment

September 19, 2023
Source: ASM International

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

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


Source: ASM International

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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Seco/Warwick furnace to process Jet Engine components


Source: ASM International

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


Source: ASM International

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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Lindberg ships full muffle mesh belt conveyor furnace to manufacturing industry


Source: ASM International

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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OMM: Controlled Atmosphere Furnaces

September 6, 2023
Source: ASM International

OMM: Controlled Atmosphere Furnaces

In the past, atmospheric furnaces were used quite often for heat treatment of tool steels. Due to the improved furnace technology of vacuum furnaces and their increased distribution in the market, the percentage of tools heat treated in atmospheric furnaces has fallen significantly over the last 20 to 30 years.

Furthermore, most of the atmospheric furnaces show a maximum temperature of 1100 °C (2000 °F). Therefore, the application of atmospheric furnaces is limited, with the maximum hardening temperature of the tool steel at or below 1050 °C (1925 °F).

However, for atmospheric furnaces it is essential to select an atmosphere that will protect the surface of the tool steel against the addition or the depletion of carbon during heat treatment. Therefore, it is desirable to choose one that requires no adjustment of composition to suit various steels. Ammonia-based atmospheres meet this requirement due to the ammonia dissociation at high temperatures, leading to an excess of hydrogen with the advantage of a sufficient reduction of oxidation even of high-chromium steels.

For more information, click on the link below (subscription required). Then scroll to Figure 4.

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

Quintus hot isostatic press powers new UK HIP centre


Source: ASM International

Quintus hot isostatic press powers new UK HIP centre

Quintus, Västerås, Sweden, has supplied a Hot Isostatic Press (HIP) to Wallwork Group’s new HIP Centre stated to open in Bury, North Manchester, England, in September 2023. The press is the model QIH 173L M URC, equipped with Quintus’ proprietary uniform rapid cooling (URC), a feature that delivers the high material uniformity required of parts designed formission-critical applications, while enabling increased productivity with optimal temperature control.

Operating at a maximum temperature of 1250°C (2282°F) and pressure of 207 MPa (30,000 psi), the technologically advanced press has a work zone measuring 800 mm (34.6 inches) in diameter and 2550 mm (100.4 inches) high, and a capacity of over 7000 kg (15,432 lbs) per cycle.

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