Rocketdyne selects Seco-Warwick box furnace for heat treating and brazing rocket parts

June 9, 2015
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Seco-Warwick, Meadville, Pa., reports that Aerojet Rocketdyne has updated its facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., with the turnkey installation of a Seco-Warwick custom-engineered box furnace for brazing and heat-treating rocket parts and assemblies. The various rocket engines sealed within the retort can weigh up to 5000 pounds per load, including the retort.

This unit replaces an older furnace, improving the overall operation with new technology that makes the furnace easier to control, with more economical operation and improved temperature uniformity. 

The new control system was developed with Aerojet Rocketdyne and adjusted in the field to meet not only the customer specifications, but also the operator's needs. Natural gas usage was reduced by utilizing a high-velocity burner system.  Although the original specification was to meet +/-20°F, the unit as installed is operating at +/-5°F uniformity.

www.secowarwick.com 

 

 

Rocketdyne selects Seco-Warwick box furnace for heat treating and brazing rocket parts

Seco-Warwick, Meadville, Pa., reports that Aerojet Rocketdyne has updated its facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., with the turnkey installation of a Seco-Warwick custom-engineered box furnace for brazing and heat-treating rocket parts and assemblies.

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Bodycote opens new heat treatment plant in Poland


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Bodycote, South Windsor, Conn., recently opened a new heat treatment site in Wroclaw, Poland, as part of its expansion strategy in Eastern Europe. Building on this investment, Bodycote announces its intention to open another greenfield heat treatment site in the aviation valley close to Rzeszow, Poland. The new facility will support the manufacturing supply chains in this region and is expected to be operational by the second half of 2016.

Initially, vacuum heat treatment, vacuum brazing, and nitriding will be offered. Other processes will follow as demand for heat treatment services in the region continues to grow. Additional services are likely to include HVOF and plasma coatings, vacuum oil quench, and aluminum heat treatment.

The new facility will hold international quality standards including Nadcap and AS 9100, as well as OEM approvals. First-tier suppliers to United Technologies Corporation (UTC), Rolls-Royce, and Safran, among others, will be supported.

www.bodycote.com

 

Bodycote opens new heat treatment plant in Poland

Bodycote, South Windsor, Conn., recently opened a new heat treatment site in Wroclaw, Poland, as part of its expansion strategy in Eastern Europe.

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Worthington’s TWB Company to open tailor welded blank facility in Nashville


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Worthington Industries, Cleveland, announces that its tailor welded blanking joint venture, TWB Company LLC, is opening a new facility in Nashville. It will include next-generation fiber lasers and curvilinear welding technology, expanding TWB's 2D welding capabilities and its ability to reduce weight and increase strength in more vehicle parts.

"The market for tailor welded blanks continues to grow and TWB's capabilities are growing with it," said Ivan Meltzer, president of TWB Company. "We are continually pushing the technology to allow more applications across all vehicle lines. This new Tennessee facility provides capacity to further serve automakers and Tier 1 automotive suppliers in the South."

The use of tailor welded blanks in vehicles has grown in recent years as automakers use light weighting to improve fuel economy to meet new targets set by the government. The significantly higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards take effect in 2025. Laser-welded blanks are made from welding steel blanks of various thicknesses and grades together to form a tailored blank that is then stamped into automotive body panels.

The new 120,000-square-foot facility will have approximately 45 employees, and will initially serve General Motors, Nissan, and several Tier 1 automotive suppliers. Production is expected to begin by October 2015. The new facility is TWB's 9th in North America; additional locations include Alabama, Michigan, Smyrna, Tenn., Ontario, and four in Mexico.

www.TWBCompany.com.

Worthington’s TWB Company to open tailor welded blank facility in Nashville

Worthington Industries, Cleveland, announces that its tailor welded blanking joint venture, TWB Company LLC, is opening a new facility in Nashville, Tenn.

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Alcoa 6013 aerospace aluminum chosen by Samsung for Galaxy S6 smartphone


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Alcoa, Pittsburgh, is supplying a high-strength aerospace-grade aluminum to Samsung for its latest smartphones — the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. The 6013 Alcoa Power Plate is 70% stronger than standard aluminum, enabling a thinner, lighter, sleeker design. Developed by Alcoa Technical Center metallurgists, the alloy combines high strength and corrosion resistance for products that require superior durability. Smartphones with metal frames are expected to grow almost 250% by 2016 from 2014, creating stronger demand for aluminum to protect mobile devices.

"Alcoa's Power Plate has been battle tested across aerospace, automotive, and military applications, proving it can withstand the heavy use and tough treatment endured by mobile devices," said Ray Kilmer, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Alcoa. Other Alcoa consumer electronics solutions include ProStrength, a proprietary surface-finishing technology for aerospace-grade aluminum.

www.alcoa.com

 

Alcoa 6013 aerospace aluminum chosen by Samsung for Galaxy S6 smartphone

Alcoa, Pittsburgh, is supplying a high-strength, aerospace-grade aluminum to Samsung for its latest smartphones — the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge.

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Solar Atmospheres Southeast opens in South Carolina

June 4, 2015
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Solar Atmospheres, Souderton, Pa., announces that its new plant in Greenville, S.C., has officially opened its doors for business, bringing the first furnace online the first week of May.  Known as Solar Atmospheres Southeast, other furnaces will continue to be delivered and brought online over the summer months, and the company will notify customers as capacity increases at its newest facility.  

At full production, the plant will be capable of everything from small lots to 24-foot long products in a vacuum atmosphere. The plant will also provide services ranging from vacuum hardening and annealing, to low-pressure carburizing and furnace brazing.

www.solaratm.com

 

Solar Atmospheres Southeast opens in South Carolina

Solar Atmospheres, Souderton, Pa., announces that its new plant in Greenville, S.C., has officially opened its doors for business, bringing the first furnace online the first week of May.

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Lei Zhang wins 2015 HTS/Bodycote Best Paper in Heat Treating Award


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Lei Zhang, a Ph.D. student in materials science engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is the winner of the 2015 HTS/Bodycote Best Paper in Heat Treating Award. The paper is entitled "Enhancement of Carbonitride Tool — Retained Austenite and Microhardness Prediction." He received assistance from his advisor Dr. Richard D. Sisson Jr., FASM, and post-doctoral fellow Liang He. Mr. Zhang's research focus is the nondestructive testing of surface hardness and case depth for steel after carburizing.

The award will be presented at the HTS General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, October 21, at the ASM Heat Treating Society Conference and Exposition in Detroit.

The ASM Heat Treating Society established the Best Paper in Heat Treating Award in 1997 to recognize a paper that represents advancement in heat treating technology, promotes heat treating in a substantial way, or represents a clear advancement in managing the business of heat treating. The award includes a plaque and $2500 cash prize endowed by Bodycote Thermal Process-North America.

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Lei Zhang wins 2015 HTS/Bodycote Best Paper in Heat Treating Award

Lei Zhang, a Ph.D. student in materials science engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is the winner of the 2015 HTS/Bodycote Best Paper in Heat Treating Award.

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Roger Jones receives 2015 George Bodeen Heat Treating Achievement Award


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Roger A. Jones, corporate president of Solar Atmospheres Inc., Souderton, Pa., has been chosen as the recipient of the 2015 George H. Bodeen Heat Treating Achievement Award.

Established in 1996, this award recognizes distinguished and significant contributions to the field of heat treating through leadership, management, or engineering development of substantial commercial impact. Mr. Jones is recognized "For advancing the thermal processing industry through technological developments in fixturing materials, methods, and the application of partial pressure atmospheres in vacuum furnaces for ferrous, stainless steel, and brass alloys."

After graduating from Hocking Technical College, Roger joined ABAR Corp. in 1975. In 1978, he joined Vacuum Furnace Systems Corp., founded by his father William R. Jones, FASM. In 1983, he helped found Solar Atmospheres Inc., serving as vice president, became president in 1993, and became corporate president in 2001. He has been a member of the Metal Treating Institute since 1983, serving on the Board of Trustees (1998–2004, and 2009–present), and as president (2004–2005).

Roger has been a member of ASM Philadelphia Liberty Bell Chapter since 1983, and chapter president (1993–1994). He was chair of the ASM Heat Treating Society (HTS) Immediate Needs Committee and the HTS Education Committee, served on the Nominating Committee for two separate terms, and is a member of the HTS Technology & Programming Committee. He was elected to the HTS Board in 2005, served as Vice President (2001-2013) and is the current President of HTS. He received the chapter's William Hunt Eisenman Award, (2001) and Distinguished Service Award (2004). In addition, under his leadership, Solar Atmospheres received the chapter's "Outstanding Company Support Award" in 1996 and 2006.

The Bodeen award will be presented at the HTS General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, October 21, at the ASM Heat Treating Society Conference and Exposition in Detroit.

www.solaratm.com 

 

Roger Jones receives 2015 George Bodeen Heat Treating Achievement Award

Roger A. Jones, corporate president of Solar Atmospheres Inc., Souderton, Pa., is the recipient of the 2015 George H. Bodeen Heat Treating Achievement Award.

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Outokumpu now categorizes its stainless steels by properties instead of chemistry


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Outokumpu Oy, Finland, has developed a new way to categorize its wide range of stainless steel products by arranging them according to strength, hardness, machinability, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance. The new approach will help customers to identify and compare different product options and so find the best product for their specific performance and cost needs.

The new portfolio structure features nine product ranges, which highlight the key properties of their respective products.  In the Classic product family, the three ranges – Core, Moda, and Supra – represent the basic, all-round grades.

The Pro product family includes six ranges: Forta for Duplex and other high-strength needs, Ultra for extremely corrosive environments, Dura for high hardness, Therma for high heat-resistance, Prodec for improved machinability, and Deco for special surfaces.

To further facilitate exploration of the portfolio, Outokumpu has introduced a new interactive on-line tool.

Outokumpu has also launched three new alloys: Supra 316plus, which has better strength, corrosion resistance, and formability than austenitic Supra 316L/4404; Core 4622, a ferritic containing no nickel; and high-strength lightweight Forta H-series, for the automotive industry.

www.outokumpu.com

 

Outokumpu now categorizes its stainless steels by properties instead of chemistry

Outokumpu Oy, Finland, has developed a way to categorize its wide range of stainless steel products by arranging them according to strength, hardness, machinability, heat resistance, and corrosion resistance.

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NASA awards Boeing first commercial human spaceflight mission


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NASA, Houston, has issued a task order as part of Boeing's $4.2 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract to include the company's first-ever service flight to the International Space Station. The award marks the first time in human spaceflight history that NASA has contracted with a commercial company for a human mission.

"This occasion will go in the books of Boeing's nearly 100 years of aerospace and more than 50 years of space flight history," said John Elbon, vice president and general manager of Boeing's Space Exploration division. "We look forward to ushering in a new era in human space exploration."

Boeing was selected in September 2014 to build and fly the United States' next passenger spacecraft, the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100. The Commercial Crew Transportation System (CCTS) is being developed in partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program which aims to resume U.S.-based flights to space by 2017.

As part of the contract, Boeing is guaranteed at least two and potentially six service flights after completing human certification. The company has successfully demonstrated to NASA that the Commercial Crew Transportation System has reached design maturity appropriate to proceed to assembly, integration and test activities.

"We're on track to fly in 2017, and this critical milestone moves us another step closer in fully maturing the CST-100 design," said John Mulholland, vice president of Commercial Programs. "Our integrated and measured approach to spacecraft design ensures quality performance, technical excellence and early risk mitigation."

The CST-100 can transport up to seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit destinations such as the International Space Station (ISS) and the Bigelow planned station.

www.boeing.com/cst100

 

NASA awards Boeing first commercial human spaceflight mission

NASA, Houston, has issued a task order as part of Boeing’s $4.2 billion Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract to include the company’s first-ever service flight to the International Space Station.

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