Wisconsin Oven ships heavy duty walk-in ovens to Chinese auto parts maker
October 11, 2017
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Wisconsin Oven Corp., East Troy, Wis., has shipped two natural-gas direct-fired heavy-duty walk-in series ovens to a manufacturer of automotive parts in China. The industrial ovens will be used to bake out phenolic resin from automotive brake components. These ovens are a duplicate of a previous order from this customer.
The work chambers are 6 x 13 x 8.5 feet, and the maximum temperature rating is 500°F. Both batch ovens have temperature uniformity of ±9°F at 450°F, which was proven by a fifteen point test.
The oven bodies are constructed with tongue and groove panel assemblies featuring patented high-efficiency panel seams, enabling 25% better insulating efficiency. The ovens feature combination airflow, which provides both horizontal and vertical upward airflow, thus maximizing heating rates and temperature uniformity.
"We ship equipment around the world, so we created a unique split-line design that allows us to break down fully assembled equipment into sections that are easily reassembled on site," says Jim Lucas, Senior Sales Engineer. "These ovens were being shipped in sea containers, so we utilized both vertical and horizontal split lines."-
The ovens were fully factory tested and adjusted prior to shipment. All safety interlocks were checked for proper operation and the equipment was operated at the normal and maximum operating temperatures. An extensive quality assurance check list was completed to ensure the equipment met all Wisconsin Oven quality standards.
www.wisoven.com
Wisconsin Oven Corp., East Troy, Wis., has shipped two natural-gas direct-fired heavy-duty walk-in series ovens to a manufacturer of automotive parts in China.
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Sciaky receives President’s Award for its electron beam additive manufacturing systems
October 6, 2017
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Sciaky Inc., Chicago, announces that it has received the President's "E" Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the export of its industry-leading electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) systems to countries around the world.
The President's "E" Award was created by Executive Order of the President in 1961. Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce presents the award to recognize companies that contribute significantly in the effort to increase United States exports, with a focus on innovation, sustainability, and work of broad impact.
The President's "E" Award Ceremony took place during the U.S. Manufacturers to Europe & Beyond conference on September 19 in Cleveland, Ohio.
"Sciaky is honored to receive this prestigious award from the U.S. Department of Commerce," said Bob Phillips, Vice President of Sciaky. "We are proud to be an American company that exports innovative technology all across the world."
As the most widely scalable, metal additive manufacturing solution in the industry (in terms of work envelope), Sciaky's EBAM systems can produce parts ranging from eight inches to 19 feet in length. EBAM is also the fastest deposition process in the metal additive manufacturing market, with gross deposition rates ranging from seven to 20 pounds of metal per hour.
EBAM brings quality and control together with IRISS – the Interlayer Real-time Imaging and Sensing System, which is the only real-time monitoring and control system in the metal 3D printing market that can sense and digitally self-adjust metal deposition with precision and repeatability. This innovative closed-loop control is the primary reason that Sciaky's EBAM 3D printing process delivers consistent part geometry, mechanical properties, microstructure, and metal chemistry, from the first part to the last.
www.sciaky.com
Sciaky Inc., Chicago, announces that it has received the President’s “E” Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the export of its industry-leading electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM) systems to countries around the world.
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High-impact research to be revealed at Heat Treat 2017
October 4, 2017
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View the Technical Program!
More than 125 presentations of original, unpublished work will be delivered when the ASM Heat Treating Society convenes for its 29th conference and exhibition in Columbus, Ohio, October 24-26. The information exchanged in these sessions – as researchers and practitioners share their latest discoveries, theories, and advancements – will have a significant impact on design and manufacturing innovation as well as the fortunes of industry.
One example of the cutting-edge work that will be unveiled is an investigation on the effect of heat treating on additively manufactured medical implants. Additive techniques offer unprecedented design flexibility for dental and orthopedic implants, but the intense heating and cooling spikes associated with direct metal laser sintering can leave the microstructure of titanium – a good bio-material but a poor thermal conductor – in a less than optimum state. To quantify the potential for improvement, researchers evaluated several heat treat processes and measured changes in hardness, residual stress, and corrosion. The promising findings will be shared in a Thursday morning session.
Caption: Optical metallography reveals microstructural differences between the build and deposition planes as well as pores near the surface of an as-printed titanium test sample. Structural mismatch is a source of residual stress, while pores can lead to fatigue fracture and corrosion.
Caption: X-ray diffraction results indicate that heat treating as-printed titanium parts (blue trace) reduces the ratio of α to β phase precipitates as seen in the narrowing of α peaks and the development of β peaks (green, orange, and red traces). This seems to correlate with measured improvements in corrosion resistance because micro-galvanic reactions stemming from phase differences cause pitting in α precipitates, a likely pathway for corrosion.
Another significant accomplishment that will be reported is a new method to predict the quenched and tempered hardness of complex steels based on chemistry data. Two researchers, building on prior attempts to calculate hardness as a function of chemistry, have developed a hybrid model that works for mixed microstructure alloys containing less than 0.5wt%Cr. As Cr levels increase, however, other alloying elements such as Mo and V become more influential, compounding the complexity of the problem. The researchers will describe the new method and its limitations on Tuesday morning.
Caption: A corrective variation on an earlier method for calculating tempered hardness in complex steels based on chemistry shows considerable improvement when measured and calculated data plots are compared side by side.
Caption: Hardness profiles for a 95 mm bar of SAE 4142 steel quenched in water and tempered at 1100°F as calculated from chemistry data using a recently developed method.
The results of several cross-sector efforts will also be presented, including a paper submitted by a group examining the role of vanadium in induction hardened shafts. Vanadium microalloying is common in carbon steel shafts because it increases load capacity. Induction hardening offers additional benefits, but the presence of vanadium adds uncertainty to the process. Seeking clarity, researchers have obtained evidence that, under certain conditions, vanadium carbonitride precipitates formed during induction reduce austenite in the case/core region but not the case. Retained austenite, characterized by compositional gradients and undissolved carbides, is believed to limit case depth and hardenability.
Caption: Cross-sectional images of 1045 steel shafts in various induction hardened conditions reveal distinct differences in case, core, and case/core regions that correspond with the presence of vanadium and its effect on microstructure formation.
Caption: A high volume fraction of martensite (M) revealed by SEM imaging is believed to be the result of a large amount of austenite formed with the help of vanadium during induction hardening of 1045 steel.
More than 125 presentations of original, unpublished work will be delivered when the ASM Heat Treating Society convenes for its 29th conference and exhibition in Columbus, Ohio, October 24-26. The information exchanged in these sessions – as researchers and practitioners share their latest discoveries, theories, and advancements – will have a significant impact on design and manufacturing innovation as well as the fortunes of industry.
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GKN develops case hardening steel powder for 3D printing high-strength parts
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GKN plc, Auburn Hills, Mich., has introduced 20MnCr5, a new case hardening steel powder optimized for metal additive manufacturing applications. According to the company, the new powder offers high strength and ductility as well as excellent wear resistance.
Extensive testing and development has been carried out to optimize AM process parameters for maximum density and productivity with minimum surface roughness. Supported by microstructural analysis and mechanical testing, GKN's researchers state that they have achieved a density of 99.9% in finished parts made from 20MnCr5.
While high residual stress can be a challenge, the company says that this has been successfully reduced through process parameter optimization. The case hardening process for 20MnCr5 was developed with a focus on standard requirements for surface hardness and case-depth profile.
Thanks to its increased core strength and wear resistance, GKN believes that the availability of 20MnCr5 for additive manufacturing will benefit a range of components, including gears, camshafts, universal joints, and link applications. Following completion of the first small batch of one hundred gear wheels for a leading gear box supplier, the company reports that it has received a number of inquiries regarding the material's AM capabilities, and now has several collaborative projects in development.
A primary application for 20MnCr5 will be aftermarket parts for the automotive industry. The material is highly suitable for the manufacture of spare parts on demand, and GKN will also offer hybrid production, combining AM with different manufacturing techniques to achieve optimum results. A key advantage of 20MnCr5 is its ability to be combined with all weldable materials, making it possible to offer spare parts in low volumes at reduced costs.
GKN Sinter Metals will continue working with GKN Driveline on applications for aftermarket sales, while expanding its AM capabilities with this new material.
www.gkn.com
GKN plc, Auburn Hills, Mich., has introduced 20MnCr5, a new case hardening steel powder optimized for metal additive manufacturing applications.
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NanoAl Superalloys to present six papers about its aluminum alloys at MS&T 2017
October 1, 2017
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NanoAl Superalloys, Skokie, Ill., announces that its engineers will present six papers about its high-strength aluminum alloys at MS&T 2017 in Pittsburgh in October, some in conjunction with engineers from universities and other companies.
The presentations are:
A New Strategy to Achieve High Strength at Elevated Temperatures in Aluminum Alloys. Nhon Vo; Evander Ramos; Davaadorj Bayansan; Amirreza Sanaty-Zadeh; David Dunand; David Seidman; NanoAl LLC; Northwestern University.
Rapid Alloy Screening: Tailoring Aluminum Alloy Composition for Additive Manufacturing. Joe Croteau; Davaadorj Bayansan; Nhon Vo; David Dunand; David Seidman; NanoAl LLC;
The Microstructure and Mechanical Performance of an Additively Manufactured Aluminum Alloy. Joe Croteau; Davaadorj Bayansan; Seth Griffiths; Christian Leinenbach; Nhon Vo; David Dunand; David Seidman; NanoAl LLC; EMPA Materials Science and Technology;
Replacing Scandium by Heavy Rare-earth Metals in High-performance Aluminum Alloys. Nhon Vo; Davaadorj Bayansan; David Dunand; David Seidman; NanoAl LLC; Northwestern University;
Investigation of Al-Sc Alloy for Lightweight Armor. Eric Klier; Nhon Vo; Denver Gallardy; Kevin Doherty; David Seidman; David Dunand; Matthew Burkins; Army Research Laboratory; NanoAl. LLC; U. S. Army Research Laboratory; Northwestern University.
Supply Chain Requirements for New Ocean Resource. John Halkyard; Nhon Vo; Troy Tack; Jack Lifton; Ocean Minerals, LLC; NanoAL, LLC; Tactical Alloys; Technology Metals Research LLC.
www.nanoal.com
NanoAl Superalloys, Skokie, Ill., announces that its engineers will present six papers about its high-strength aluminum alloys at MS&T 2017 in Pittsburgh in October, some in conjunction with engineers from universities and other companies.
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Department of Energy awards $4 million for projects to extract rare earths from coal
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The Department of Energy, Washington, has announced nine projects that will receive approximately $4 million in cost-shared federal funding to improve the technical, environmental, and economic performance of new and existing technologies that extract, separate, and recover rare earth elements from domestic U.S. coal and coal byproducts.
The development of an economically competitive supply of REEs will help to maintain the nation's economic growth and national security. Vast domestic coal resources in the United States contain quantities of REEs that offer the potential to reduce dependence on others for these critical materials, and create new industries in regions where coal plays an important economic role.
The new projects will be managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory and are supported through the funding opportunity announcement, Development of Transformational Separation and Extraction Processes for Production of Rare Earth Element (REE) Materials from Domestic U.S. Coal and Coal By-Products.
Selected projects fall under three Areas of Interest.
Area of Interest 1—Advanced, Novel Technology Development for Initial REE Extraction, Concentrating to ≥2 Weight Percent
Area of Interest 2—Optimization of Current State-of-the-Art Separation Technologies for Initial REE Extraction, Concentrating to ≥2‒10 Weight Percent
Area of Interest 3—Technology Advancements for High Purity REE Extractions, Concentrating to 90.0–99.99 Weight Percent
The nine projects:
Concentrating Rare Earth Elements in Acid Mine Drainage using Coal Combustion By-Products— The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)
Low-Cost Rare Earth Element (REE) Recovery from Acid Mine Drainage Sludge— Research Triangle Institute (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina)
Low-Temperature Plasma Treatment for Enhanced Recovery of Highly Valued Critical REEs from Coal— University of Kentucky Research Foundation (Lexington, Kentucky)
Economic Extraction and Recovery of REEs and Production of Clean Value-Added Products from Low-Rank Coal Fly Ash— The University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, North Dakota)
Development of a Cost-Effective Extraction Process for the Recovery of Heavy and Critical Rare Earth Elements from the Clays and Shales Associated with Coal— Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Virginia)
Economic Extraction, Recovery, and Upgrading of Rare Earth Elements from Coal-Based Resources— The University of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Coupled Hydrothermal Extraction and Ligand-Associated Organosilica Media Recovery of REEs from Coal Fly Ash— Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan)
Recovery of High Purity Rare Earth Elements (REEs) from Coal Ash via a Novel Electrowinning Process— Battelle Memorial Institute (Columbus, Ohio)
At-source Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Mine Drainage— West Virginia University Research Corporation (Morgantown, West Virginia)
www.DOE.gov
The Department of Energy, Washington, has announced nine projects that will receive approximately $4 million in cost-shared federal funding to improve the technical, environmental, and economic performance of new and existing technologies that extract, separate, and recover rare earth elements from domestic U.S. coal and coal byproducts.
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United States Steel, Kobe Steel to invest $400 million to galvanize high strength steels
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United States Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, and Kobe Steel Ltd., Japan, announce that they will begin construction of a new continuous galvanizing line at their subsidiaries' joint venture, Pro-Tec Coating Company in Leipsic, Ohio.
The new line, an investment of approximately $400 million, will utilize a proprietary process, and will have a yearly capacity of 500,000 tons. It will be capable of coating advanced high-strength steel that will help automakers manufacture economically lightweight vehicles while maintaining exceptionally high safety standards. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2017, and the line is expected to commence startup in 2019.
U.S. Steel is the exclusive manufacturer of its cold-rolled Generation 3 steels, which provide superior formability and high-strength properties because of their low-alloy chemistries, which also enable robust weldability. The new galvanizing line will allow Pro-Tec to produce these Generation 3 steels with a hot-dipped zinc coating. Automakers can utilize these steels with their existing stamping and assembly methods to produce safe, strong, and cost-effective structural components for vehicle bodies.
U. S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt said, "This line will be the first of its kind and utilizes proprietary technology capable of producing the high-quality, cutting-edge advanced high-strength steels that will meet our automotive customers' needs and solve some of their most pressing challenges."
Pro-Tec Coating Company was the 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner. It is an innovative leader in technologically advanced steel, which it supplies in coil form, primarily to the automotive market. The product helps to improve vehicle crashworthiness as well as fuel economy through weight reduction.
Pro-Tec is a 50/50 joint venture partnership of subsidiaries of United States Steel and Kobe Steel Ltd. The company is privately held.
www.proteccoating.com
www.ussteel.com
United States Steel Corp., Pittsburgh, and Kobe Steel Ltd., Japan, will begin construction of a new continuous galvanizing line at their subsidiaries’ joint venture, Pro-Tec Coating Company in Leipsic, Ohio.
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One Minute Mentor: Effects of Nitrocarburizing on Stainless Steel
September 29, 2017
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Electrochemical measurements show that transpassivity (which is necessary for the onset of pitting) of expanded austenite occurs at appreciably higher applied voltages than for austenite with the same metallic composition but without nitrogen. A potential disadvantage of the presence of pitting-resistant expanded austenite at the surface of a stainless steel that is not itself pitting-resistant, is that on the introduction of damage to the expanded austenite zone, accelerated corrosion of the underlying stainless steel may occur.
The graph shows polarization curves for AISI 316 in as-delivered and in the low-temperature nitrocarburized state. Measurement was carried out in an aqueous 3.5% NaCl solution at room temperature. For the nitrocarburized sample repassivation occurs in the transpassive region, an indication that the material is pitting resistant.
Volume 4D, Heat Treating of Irons and Steels ⇒ Heat Treated High-Alloy Steels ⇒ Low-Temperature Surface Hardening of Stainless Steel ⇒ Low-Temperature Nitriding and Nitrocarburizing of Other Stainless Steels
Electrochemical measurements show that transpassivity (which is necessary for the onset of pitting) of expanded austenite occurs at appreciably higher applied voltages than for austenite with the same metallic composition but without nitrogen.
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United Process Controls acquires Atmosphere Engineering to grow product portfolio
September 27, 2017
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United Process Controls, West Chester, Ohio, announces the acquisition of Atmosphere Engineering Company, Milwaukee, Wis., for its industrial flow control products, furnace control products, and data acquisition software, as well as its strong presence in North America, South America, and Europe.
Atmosphere Engineering will bolster UPC's product offering and technical competencies, adding brands such as the FurnaceMeter and VersaMeter flow meters; the Endoinjector, Exoinjector and EndoFlex gas generators; and the dissociated ammonia generator DAGen. While the acquisition expands the company's customer base, it also provides a platform to expand into new markets, extend market penetration in the flow controls market, and capitalize on cross-sell opportunities.
Additionally, UPC has enhanced its organizational structure to align with the future direction of the company and its foundation for continued growth. As part of the new structure, Atmosphere Engineering's Jason Jossart will serve as the company's Vice President of Operations and report directly to UPC's President, Paul Oleszkiewicz. Atmosphere Engineering's Eric Jossart will join as Director of Heat Treat Sales, and will report directly to UPC's Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Patrick Torok.
www.atmoseng.com
www.group-upc.com
United Process Controls, West Chester, Ohio, announces the acquisition of Atmosphere Engineering Company, Milwaukee, Wis., for its industrial flow control products, furnace control products, and data acquisition software, as well as its strong presence in North America, South America, and Europe.
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Ipsen to present four papers at ASM Heat Treat/Gear Expo in Columbus
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Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., is to present four papers at the ASM Heat Treat/Gear Expo 2017, Oct. 24-26, in Columbus. Whether you are interested in vacuum furnace maintenance and the newest developments with augmented reality, or the key considerations for upgrading existing equipment, you should not miss the following educational sessions:
Key Considerations When Planning to Upgrade Existing Vacuum Furnaces
Maintenance Tips for Maximizing Your Furnace's Life Span
The Predictive Maintenance Experience: PdMetrics® with Augmented Reality
Achieving Production Flexibility with Automated Multicell Systems
In addition to presenting the sessions listed above, Ipsen experts will be available to discuss any questions you have at Booth #1801.
The heat-treating industry is advancing at an accelerated pace. Make the most of ASM Heat Treat/Gear Expo 2017 by taking the time to visit the many booths, attend technical sessions, and learn from your peers.
www.ipsenusa.com
Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., is to present four papers at the ASM Heat Treat/Gear Expo 2017, Oct. 24-26, in Columbus.
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