Samuel Associated Tube Group to invest $29 million to build new facility in Alabama
December 13, 2019 Source: ASM International
Samuel Associated Tube Group, Birmingham, Ala., announces plans to build a new 284,000 square foot facility in Jefferson County to consolidate existing facilities and provide capacity for future growth.
Continue readingCan-Eng awarded contract for high-capacity mesh belt austemper heat treatment system
October 16, 2019 Source: ASM International
Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd., Niagara Falls, Ontario, announces that it has been awarded a contract from Oregon Products for a continuous high-capacity mesh belt austemper heat treatment system for its saw chains and other forestry cutting products.
Continue readingLinde Group signs contract with U.S. Praxair to supply a hydrogen plant in Louisiana
March 3, 2019 Source:
The Engineering Division of the Linde Group, Bridgewater, N.J., announces that it has signed a contract to design and supply hydrogen production equipment for the core components of Praxair Inc.’s hydrogen plant in Louisiana. The order includes the steam-methane reformer, designed and supplied by Linde subsidiary Selas Linde in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania; the pressure swing adsorption unit; and the balance of the core plant.
The facility will have a production capacity of over 190,000 Nm3/h (normal meters cubed per hour) of high-purity hydrogen, and will also generate steam. It will be highly modular, with world-class reliability and energy efficiency, and is scheduled to come on stream in 2021.
In the 2017 financial year, The Linde Group generated revenue of $19.5 billion, making it one of the leading gases and engineering companies in the world, with approximately 58,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business, with forward-looking products and services.
www.linde.com
The Engineering Division of the Linde Group, Bridgewater, N.J., announces that it has signed a contract to design and supply hydrogen production equipment for the core components of Praxair Inc.’s hydrogen plant in Louisiana.
Continue readingXerox acquires Vader Systems for its liquid-metal additive manufacturing technology
February 14, 2019 Source:
Xerox, Norwalk, Conn., announces that it has acquired metal additive manufacturing company Vader Systems, which will enable it to offer its customers access to low-cost metal additive manufacturing with a greater variety of metals.
“Manufacturing customers want to use 3D printing, but the current offerings only serve the prototyping market well, not broad manufacturing,†the company stated. “Xerox-developed, acquired and partnered printing, software and material technologies are expected to deliver the productivity, materials range and cost and design tools to enable part manufacturing.â€
Based in Buffalo, New York, Vader Systems is a developer of liquid metal additive manufacturing technology which primarily uses affordable metal wire feedstock. Its offerings include the Vader Polaris liquid metal AM system, the Magnet-o-Jet subsystem for hybrid manufacturing equipment integration, and the Ares microsphere production system for the production of spherical metal powders.
www.vadersystems.comXerox, Norwalk, Conn., announces that it has acquired metal additive manufacturing company Vader Systems, which will enable it to offer its customers access to low-cost metal additive manufacturing with a greater variety of metals.
Continue readingTitanium carbide nanoparticles infused into aluminum alloy 7075 enable strong welds
January 27, 2019 Source:
Engineers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering announce that they have developed a way to weld aluminum alloy AA 7075 by infusing titanium carbide nanoparticles into welding wires, which results in welded joints with a tensile strength up to 392 MPa. (By comparison, AA 6061 has a tensile strength of 186 MPa in welded joints.) According to the study, post-welding heat treatments could further increase the strength of AA 7075 joints up to 551 MPa, which is comparable to steel.
"The new technique is just a simple twist, but it could allow widespread use of this high-strength aluminum alloy in mass-produced products such as cars or bicycles, where parts are often assembled together," said Xiaochun Li, UCLA's Raytheon Professor of Manufacturing and the study's principal investigator. "Companies could use the same processes and equipment they already have to incorporate this super-strong aluminum alloy into their manufacturing processes, and their products could be lighter and more energy efficient, while still retaining their strength."
The researchers already are working with a bicycle manufacturer on prototype bike frames that would use the alloy; and the new study suggests that nanoparticle-infused filler wires could also make it easier to join other hard-to-weld metals and metal alloys.
“Nanoparticle-enabled phase control for arc welding of unweldable aluminum alloy 7075,†was published in the January 9 issue of Nature Communications.
Engineers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering announce that they have developed a way to weld aluminum alloy AA 7075 by infusing titanium carbide nanoparticles into welding wires, which results in welded joints with a tensile strength up to 392 MPa.
Continue readingDesktop Metal’s single-pass jetting is four times faster than other binder jet 3D printers
Source:
Desktop Metal, Burlington, Mass., announces several major advances and expanded capabilities to its Production System, the world’s fastest metal printer, delivering the lowest cost per part with the highest capacity of any metal 3D printing system available. Low-cost MIM powder, high throughput, and simple post-processing deliver per-part costs that are competitive with traditional manufacturing processes—and up to 20x lower than today’s metal 3D printing systems.
The installation of the first Production System is scheduled for Q1 2019 to a Fortune 500 company among Desktop Metal’s early Pioneer customers. Additional customer installations at major automotive, heavy duty, and leading metal parts manufacturers will follow throughout 2019, with broad availability in 2020.
Powered by Single Pass Jetting technology, the Production System is the first and only metal 3D printing system for mass production that delivers the speed, quality, and cost-per-part needed to compete with traditional manufacturing processes. It is more than four times faster than any binder jet competitor and offers a 100 times speed improvement over any laser-based system. Since it was first introduced, advancements to the technology and capacity of the Production System have expanded to include:
â–º Accelerated printing speeds to 12,000 cm3 per hour, making it the fastest metal 3D printer in the world with the highest capacity;
► The company’s flagship configuration now features an expanded build volume of 750 x 330 x 250 mm, a 225 percent improvement, designed for higher throughput and efficiency;
â–º Two full-width print bars, advanced powder spreaders, and anti-ballistic system that work to spread powder and print in a single quick pass across the build area - making it the most sophisticated single pass inkjet print head ever installed in a binder jet system;
â–º 32,768 piezo inkjet nozzles that enables the broadest range of binder chemistries to print an array of metals - including tool steels, low alloy steels, titanium, and aluminum - at a rate of 3 billion drops per second;
â–º First and only binder jet system with an industrial inert environment, including gas recycling and solvent recovery, to safely print reactive metals in mass production; and
â–º Capability to print more than 60 kilograms of metal parts per hour.
Desktop Metal, Burlington, Mass., announces several major advances and expanded capabilities to its Production System, the world’s fastest metal printer, delivering the lowest cost per part with the highest capacity of any metal 3D printing system available.
Continue readingMettech launches NanoFeed nanopowder suspension feeders for thermal spray torches
December 31, 2018 Source:
Northwest Mettech, Vancouver, announces that its NanoFeed line of liquid and suspension feeders for the thermal spray industry has been developed to enable delivery of submicron powders to thermal spray torches. The powders are homogenously suspended in an easy-to-transport liquid medium, which is then delivered to the torch with a precisely controlled rate. Nanofeed units are available either standalone or integrated with a spray system.
Integration of Mettech's Axial III plasma system with a NanoFeed suspension delivery device resulted in new technology, Axial III Suspension Plasma Spray (SPS). Axial III SPS is capable of producing a large variety of unique nanostructured coatings with characteristics completely different from those deposited from powders of the same chemistry.
Uniqueness of Axial III SPS derives from its axial injection principle. This form of injection is the only one that allows nano-size (<1µm) particles and droplets to enter the plasma plume.
One family of coatings where Axial III SPS has proven to be a viable alternative to existing technologies are thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) for high-temperature turbine components.
High end TBCs are generally produced by slow and very expensive vacuum process called electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD). Low end TBCs are thermally sprayed in atmosphere in the process called Atmospheric Plasma Spraying (APS). Axial III SPS produces TBCs with equivalent properties to that of EB-PVD coatings, but at much lower operating and capital costs, whereas Axial III APS can economically do the low end ones. Other areas of interest that can benefit from Axial III SPS are nano-ceramics and nano-cermets for power generation, fuel cells, and electronics.
Northwest Mettech, Vancouver, announces that its NanoFeed line of liquid and suspension feeders for the thermal spray industry has been developed to enable delivery of submicron powders to thermal spray torches.
Continue readingSteel Dynamics to invest $1.6 billion in new electric-arc furnace flat roll steel mill
November 28, 2018 Source:
Steel Dynamics Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind., announces that its Board of Directors has authorized the company to construct a new state-of-the-art, electric-arc-furnace (EAF) flat roll steel mill with annual production capacity of approximately 3.0 million tons, including the capability to produce the latest generation of Advanced High Strength Steel products.
The project will include value-added finishing lines, including a galvanizing line with an annual capacity of 450,000 tons, and a paint line with an annual coating capacity of 250,000 tons. The product offering is anticipated to include various flat roll steel products, including hot roll, cold roll, galvanized, Galvalume and painted steel, primarily serving the energy, automotive, construction, and appliance sectors. The current estimated investment is $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, with anticipated direct job creation of approximately 600 well-paying positions, and numerous opportunities for indirect job growth from other support service providers.
The company currently expects to locate the facility in the southwestern United States, to cost effectively serve not only the southern United States, but also the underserved Mexican flat roll steel market. Determination of the final site location is subject to state and local government infrastructure and incentive support. Upon final site selection and the receipt of required environmental and operating permits, the company would expect to begin construction in 2020, followed by the commencement of operations in the second half of 2021.
"We plan to utilize new technologies that will further reduce the gap between existing EAF and integrated steel mill production capabilities,†says Mark. D. Millett, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited to announce this investment, which is a culmination of our intentional focus to cost effectively further serve the customers in this growing flat roll steel consuming region, while increasing our steelmaking capacity and value-added product capability.â€
Steel Dynamics Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind., announces that its Board of Directors has authorized the company to construct a new state-of-the-art, electric-arc-furnace (EAF) flat roll steel mill with annual production capacity of approximately 3.0 million tons, including the capability to produce the latest generation of Advanced High Strength Steel products.
Continue readingWisconsin Oven annealing furnace heat treats parts for firearms manufacturer
September 30, 2018 Source:
Wisconsin Oven Corp., East Troy, Wis., has shipped an electrically heated annealing furnace to a firearms manufacturer for annealing an assortment of brass and bronze firearm caps. The annealing furnace has a maximum temperature rating of 1400°F and a normal operating temperature of 572 to 1202°F. The work chamber dimensions are 3 x 9 x 0.5 feet. The conveyor furnace, when preheated, has the sufficient capacity to heat 225 kg of product per hour from 23° C to 650° C.
The recirculation system was designed with bottom-up airflow. The continuous conveyor system utilizes a pintle chain driven wire mesh belt and variable frequency drive for adjustable conveyor speeds. High-temperature profile curtains with external vestibules on both ends of the conveyor reduce heat spill-out and improve temperature uniformity. A guaranteed temperature uniformity of ±18° F at 572° and 1202° F for a minimum of 33 minutes has been documented.
“This conveyor furnace was designed with features to maximize temperature uniformity throughout the work chamber to ensure optimal results for the customer,†says Tom Trueman, Senior Application Engineer.
Wisconsin Oven Corp., East Troy, Wis., has shipped an electrically heated annealing furnace to a firearms manufacturer for annealing an assortment of brass and bronze firearm caps.
Continue readingMakers of construction materials invest in Seco Warwick fire-resistance test furnaces
July 6, 2018 Source: ASM International
Seco Warwick, Meadville, Pa., reports that manufacturers of construction materials have recently invested in fire-resistance test furnaces to guarantee compliance with the strictest standards and regulations.
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