SSI vacuum controller enables complete process traceability for Spectrum furnace
February 28, 2017 Source: ASM International
Spectrum Thermal Processing, Cranston, R.I., recently retrofitted a Super Systems (SSI) Series 9220 Vacuum Controller onto a CI Hayes vacuum oil quench furnace.
Continue readingTeam Penske and Stratasys partner for 3D printing of tooling and parts
February 23, 2017 Source:
Stratasys, Minneapolis, announces that it will partner with Team Penske to provide state-of-the-art 3D printing solutions to create manufacturing tooling and car parts as well as to rapidly generate engineering prototypes. Under the new technical alliance, Stratasys will also provide technical support to Team Penske for customized motorsports applications and materials engineering.
"Our strategic partnership with Stratasys should keep our manufacturing and engineering processes at the front of the pack," said Team Penske President Tim Cindric. "Stratasys is on the cutting edge of additive manufacturing technology for automotive applications. Utilizing their equipment and technical support will provide us with another means to put our ideas on the race track first."
Stratasys plans to highlight its new partnership with Team Penske by engaging with its customers through tours of the team's facility, technical talks and product demonstrations designed to showcase the company's unique solutions and offerings.
"We are proud to be a part of Team Penske and look forward to working with them over the coming years to drive their NASCAR and IndyCar teams to victory," said Rich Garrity, President Americas at Stratasys. "Stratasys additive manufacturing solutions are being increasingly adopted by the world's top motorsports teams and manufacturers. The engineering-grade quality, high throughput and wide choice of materials our 3D printing solutions provide are a perfect fit for the customized tools and innovative part designs our automotive customers demand."
Stratasys, Minneapolis, announces that it will partner with Team Penske to provide state-of-the-art 3D printing solutions to create manufacturing tooling and car parts as well as to rapidly generate engineering prototypes.
Continue readingCan-Eng to build continuous T-7 heat treatment system for aluminum castings
January 29, 2017 Source:
Can-Eng Furnaces Intl. Ltd., Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been contracted to design, manufacture, and commission an automated T7 Heat Treatment System for the processing of high-integrity aluminum automotive structural castings for a company in the European Union. The Can-Eng design was chosen for this new facility because it offers inherent part handling features that reduce floor space requirements and energy consumption, while providing predictable mechanical properties and dimensional stability of the castings.
The high-volume continuous line includes integrated handling systems connected to up/down stream processes. The T-7 system integrates a robotic handling solution furnace with Precision Air Quench (PAQ) technology, an artificial aging system, and controls integrating Level II SCADA system. The PAQ system integrates a unique combination of features that have been developed through continuous system improvements and modeling carried out in over twenty similar systems commissioned in recent years.
The PAQ system uniformly delivers controlled quenching processes that provide repeatable and uniform mechanical properties and accurate dimensional results. The system is scheduled to be delivered and commissioned to the EU in the third quarter of 2017.
Can-Eng Furnaces Intl. Ltd., Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been contracted to design, manufacture, and commission an automated T7 Heat Treatment System for the processing of high-integrity aluminum automotive structural castings for a company in the European Union.
Continue readingRolls Royce approves Wallwork Group for vacuum brazing of aerospace structures
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Wallwork Group, U.K., announces that the scope of Rolls Royce approvals for the Bury (Manchester) site of metal thermal processing specialists Wallwork Group, has been extended to include the company's new vacuum brazing facility. Wallwork already undertakes aerospace work for Rolls Royce and it is hoped the new vacuum brazing unit with attract even more high-value contracts.
"Bury is the largest of our three UK sites and already has extensive approvals for metal heat treatment processes," explains sales manager Howard Maher. "Vacuum brazing is a relatively new addition to the services at this location and is a natural addition to the other high vacuum processes that we operate. Achieving Rolls Royce approval so soon after commissioning the new vacuum brazing development laboratory and assembly area is another feather in our cap." Bury is the lead aerospace processing site in the Wallwork group and already has extensive approvals for mainstream heat treatments such as case hardening, carburizing, hardening and tempering, nitriding, and many other common processes. In addition to further Rolls Royce approval, the company also carries approvals from other aerospace primes, such as BAe Systems, Airbus, Safran, Bombardier, Moog and many others, for specific heat treatment processes.
Wallwork Group, U.K., announces that the scope of Rolls Royce approvals for the Bury (Manchester) site of metal thermal processing specialists Wallwork Group, has been extended to include the company’s new vacuum brazing facility.
Continue readingForgings supplier buys AFC Holcroft heat treatment furnace line
January 26, 2017 Source:
AFC-Holcroft, Wixom, Mich., reports that a European-based multi-national supplier of forgings for the automotive industry has brought their heat treatment process in-house by investing in an AFC-Holcroft automated non-atmosphere batch heat treatment line to be delivered to an American facility located in the Midwest. The equipment will be used to process raw forgings that will undergo normalizing, tempering, stress relieving and a quench and temper process.
To secure the order, AFC-Holcroft needed to prove to the customer the return on investment. This was accomplished through meetings in the United States and abroad, calculations of costs, visits to customer sites, analysis of production schedules, testing of parts, etc.
"Our customer was very thorough in its consideration of new heat treatment equipment," says Ron Graham, Sales Engineer for AFC-Holcroft. "They were then outsourcing their heat treatment and needed to ensure that the new equipment met all of the requirements for their various processes. AFC-Holcroft's Sales, Applications, and Engineering groups all engaged in the process to validate that we were providing the optimal solution to meet their needs."
The equipment consists of five direct-fired, non-atmosphere batch heat treating furnaces, with automation provided by a SCADA system for a fully automated process.
AFC-Holcroft, Wixom, Mich., reports that a European-based multi-national supplier of forgings for the automotive industry has brought their heat treatment process in-house by investing in an AFC-Holcroft automated non-atmosphere batch heat treatment line to be delivered to an American facility located in the Midwest.
Continue readingSeco Warwick heat treating furnace combines vacuum furnace with integral quench
January 20, 2017 Source:
Seco Warwick, Meadville, Pa., reports that its CaseMaster Evolution heat treating furnace is a hybrid solution which, thanks to a newer carburizing process, increases strength, hardness, and wear resistance, while ensuring uniformity and improved mechanical properties for demanding industries. It is a multi-chamber vacuum furnace with integral sealed oil or gas quench.
This advanced technology that uses high-temperature and low-pressure carburizing has replaced conventional sealed quench furnaces by achieving shorter cycle times and higher production rates. The company says it is a perfect solution for manufacturers of precision gears, ensuring high-speed and economical process performance.
Due to its reliability, Seco Warwick systems attract worldwide manufacturers, especially those of automotive parts, who are facing multiple challenges as today's auto industry is going through a dramatic change. There are more competitors, demand for mobility is rising, and the vehicles of the future need to be built from high-quality components to be able to deliver safe and sustainable experiences.
The company says that in 2016, various leading companies that needed superior mechanical properties compared with conventional case hardening methods, increased their production capacities with CaseMaster Evolution. One such company is a manufacturer of the complete range of high tensile ‘standard' and ‘special' fasteners in the main Asian markets. The company has a global manufacturing presence and sells its products also to United Kingdom, Malaysia, and Germany.
Seco Warwick, Meadville, Pa., reports that its CaseMaster Evolution heat treating furnace is a hybrid solution which, thanks to a newer carburizing process, increases strength, hardness, and wear resistance, while ensuring uniformity and improved mechanical properties for demanding industries.
Continue readingMeridian partners with U.K. university for new magnesium manufacturing methods
January 17, 2017 Source:
Meridian Lightweight Technologies, Plymouth, Mich., announces that Birmingham City University, England, has signed an exclusive partnership with Meridian, the world's largest producer of magnesium components, to showcase magnesium as a viable alternative for luxury car makers and the aerospace industry. The two organizations will work together in the education, research, and development of magnesium automotive applications.
Meridian's Nottinghamshire plant produces around 5000 net metric tons of die-cast products annually, serving automotive clients such as Jaguar, Land Rover, BMW, Ford, Honda, and Volvo.
However, being able to offer custom magnesium components for low-volume manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Bentley and Rolls-Royce, can prove costly with current manufacturing methods.
As part of the new partnership with Meridian, academics from Birmingham City University's Faculty of Computing, Engineering and The Built Environment, and personnel from the company will be investigating new ways to offer more sustainable goods for low-volume manufacturers, while making production financially viable for Meridian and its potential clients.
"The strategic partnership we have signed with Birmingham City University is very much a first for us," says Meridian's Randy Chalmers. "As one the world's leading suppliers of innovative, lightweight cast metal solutions for the transportation industry, it is imperative that we remain at the forefront of the machining and casting capabilities of magnesium. Our partnership with Birmingham City University will certainly catalyze this, allowing us to benefit from its leading-edge research in the field, and ensuring that the next generation of engineers continues to experiment with new ways to utilize the metal."
For more information: Matt Height [email protected]
Meridian Lightweight Technologies, Plymouth, Mich., announces that Birmingham City University, England, has signed an exclusive partnership with Meridian, the world’s largest producer of magnesium components, to showcase magnesium as a viable alternative for luxury car makers and the aerospace industry.
Continue readingUltralight auto door made of aluminum, polymers, and electronic latch system
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Magna International Inc., Troy, Mich., in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy and partners FCA US and Grupo Antolin, announces that the team has developed an ultralight door that achieves the project objective of 42.5% mass savings over an average current production door. This was developed in less than ten months, while keeping the cost within accepted industry parameters and providing a solution that applies to approximately 70% of the light vehicle market.
Magna built on its know-how from the development of the Multi-Material Lightweight Vehicle (MMLV) with the DOE and Ford in 2014, and took it a step further in creating a solution for this advanced ultralight door project.
A key innovation includes integration of Magna's SmartLatch electronic latch system. This eliminated the need for mechanical hardware and enabled the development of a unique carrier module with integrated glass guides and lift capability of a lightweight hybrid glass laminate, an industry first.
The door-in-white assembly makes extensive use of aluminum, which achieves approximately half of the total mass reduction of the door assembly. Overall, the project makes use of materials readily available today that can easily be made using existing manufacturing processes, without a significant increase in production costs or changes in body-shop infrastructure.
Grupo Antolin contributed its know-how in the design and manufacture of interior trim components to contribute to the significant mass reduction. The application of advanced molding technologies and polymers contributed approximately 7% to the total mass reduction.
The ultralight door development included intensive simulation efforts, passing all safety and durability testing in the process. The next steps include manufacturing full-scale prototype door assemblies, performance tests and safety tests to validate the design, with the goal of being available for use in production vehicles by the fall of 2020.
Magna International Inc., Troy, Mich., in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy and partners FCA US and Grupo Antolin, announces that the team has developed an ultralight auto door that achieves the project objective of 42.5% mass savings over an average current production door.
Continue readingCVD Equipment acquires chemical vapor deposition technology from Tantaline
December 23, 2016 Source:
CVD Equipment Corp., Central Islip, N.Y., has purchased certain tantalum chemical vapor deposition technology formerly owned by Tantaline A/S, Nordborg, Denmark, and now owned by a CVD subsidiary operating under the name Tantaline CVD A/S. The innovative tantalum chemical vapor technology, called Tantaline treatment, is used to create a tantalum surface alloy on parts such as valves, fittings, autoclaves, process chambers, flow reactors, fasteners, mixers, flowmeters, and medical devices, as well as other parts that are susceptible to corrosion in harsh environments.
These parts are used across a broad range of industries including chemical processing, oil & gas, mining, pharmaceutical, and medical. In hot corrosive acidic environments (>150°C) such as sulfuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids, Tantaline treated parts outperform most high priced specialty alloys and function nearly at the level of solid tantalum parts. Tantaline treatment thereby provides solid tantalum-like superior corrosion resistance at a lower part cost.
With this strategic acquisition, CVD Equipment gains access to new markets and applications," says Leonard Rosenbaum, President and CEO. " Additionally, sales and manufacturing operations in Denmark expand our geographic footprint. Plans are also under consideration for additional coating facilities in the United States and elsewhere. This is part of our strategic plan to leverage our equipment know-how and proven ability to scale up deposition processes into offering high value-added materials, products, and services. This is the first step in our combined organic and acquisition growth initiative for 2017."
CVD Equipment Corp. designs, develops, and manufactures a broad range of chemical vapor deposition, gas control, and other state-of-the-art equipment and process solutions to develop and manufacture materials and coatings for research and industrial applications.
www.tantaline.com
www.cvdequipment.com
CVD Equipment Corp., Central Islip, N.Y., has purchased certain tantalum chemical vapor deposition technology formerly owned by Tantaline A/S, Nordborg, Denmark, and now owned by a CVD subsidiary operating under the name Tantaline CVD A/S.
Continue readingLindberg MPH melting/holding furnace prepares aluminum for die casting
December 2, 2016 Source:
Lindberg MPH, Riverside, Mich., has shipped a gas-fired aluminum stack melting and holding furnace to a manufacturer of recreational vehicles. The equipment provides efficient melting and holding of aluminum for a new die casting machine installation as part of a fully automated cell.
The melt zone consists of a sloped charging stack that helps to minimize impact damage from ingot. The gondola system weighs each ingot load and automatically lifts and dumps material down the stack for melting. The two doors on adjacent sides of the furnace allow for easy access to the melting chamber for cleaning. A laser charge stack level control monitors the material level in the stack for maximum efficiency. The advanced process controller provides temperature control, charging control, data logging, and alarm history.
"This melting and holding furnace was designed with features that improved efficiency in the customer's die casting operation," says Andrew Paul, Sales Engineer. "From the automated gondola system to the advanced controls system, this unit provides the customer with efficient and easy operation."
Unique features of this Lindberg/MPH furnace::
Rugged steel plate furnace construction
Impact-resistant castable lining
Two side access cleaning doors
Integrated programmable logic process controller
Laser charge stack level control
Pneumatically actuated cover
Lindberg MPH, Riverside, Mich., has shipped a gas-fired aluminum stack melting and holding furnace to a manufacturer of recreational vehicles.
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