Solar Atmospheres’ Roger Jones to semi-retire after 45 years in heat treating industry

January 23, 2019
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Solar Atmospheres, Souderton, Pa., recently awarded the title of CEO Emeritus to Roger A. Jones, a Fellow of ASM International. The honorary title was conferred by the company, which also announces his semi-retirement as Solar Atmospheres’ CEO, the culmination of 45 years of leadership and service to the vacuum heat treating industry.

A 1974 graduate of Hocking Technical College (Nelsonville, Ohio), Mr. Jones began his professional career in the heat treating industry at Abar Corporation. He left Abar in 1978 to join the newly formed Vacuum Furnace Systems Corporation (VFS), working with his father and VFS founder, William R. Jones FASM.

In 1983, Roger assisted in the founding of Solar Atmospheres Inc., serving as Vice President until 1993. He was promoted to President in 2001, and eventually to CEO in June 2017, overseeing operations of all four heat treating facilities.

As a member of several professional societies, Mr. Jones has provided leadership and has received numerous industry awards, primarily from the American Society for Metals (now ASM International) and the Metal Treating Institute (MTI). He has been recognized many times for his outstanding commitment and service to the vacuum heat treating industry.

www.solaratm.com

Boston Metal raises $20M to scale up molten oxide electrolysis production of ferroalloys

January 17, 2019
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Boston Metal announces that it has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate the first industrial-scale deployments of its molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) technology for the production of ferroalloys. The new funding also supports the continued scale-up of MOE for the production of emissions-free steel.

Molten oxide electrolysis is a process in which electricity transforms metal from its raw oxide form into molten metal products. The MOE process was invented on the lab-scale at MIT, and Boston Metal has since scaled up the technology by a factor of over 1000.

At the heart of the MOE cell is a soup of molten oxides tailored for each specific feedstock and product. Electrons act to melt this soup and selectively reduce the targeted oxide. The resulting metal gathers in pools at the bottom of the cell and is tapped by drilling into the cell in a process adapted from the blast furnace. The tap hole is then plugged and the process continues. The inherent modularity of these MOE cells provides the metal industry with a capital-efficient means of adding production capacity.

“Molten oxide electrolysis is a platform technology that can produce a wide array of metals and alloys,” says Tadeu Carneiro, CEO of Boston Metal, “but our first industrial deployments will target the ferroalloys on the path to our ultimate goal of steel. Boston Metal’s MOE technology will offer the steel industry a modular, low-cost, and zero-emissions solution for the production of high-tonnage steel.”

Boston Metal operates a fleet of semi-industrial MOE systems at its headquarters outside of Boston, and will be commissioning its first industrial systems at this same facility. Boston Metal works closely with customers and partners to tailor the MOE platform for pecific feedstocks and products.

www.bostonmetal.com 

One-Minute Mentor: Processing sequence for austempered ductile iron

January 10, 2019
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The figure shows an isothermal transformation (IT) diagram for a ductile cast iron, together with a processing sequence depicting the production of ADI. In this process, austenitizing is followed by rapid quenching (usually in molten salt) to an intermediate temperature range for a time that allows the unique metastable carbon-rich (~2% C) austenitic matrix (γ_H) to evolve simultaneously with nucleation and growth of a platelike ferrite (α) or of ferrite plus carbide, depending on the austempering temperature and time at temperature.

This austempering reaction progresses to a point at which the entire matrix has been transformed to the metastable product (stage I in the figure). Then that product is “frozen in” by cooling to room temperature before the true bainitic ferrite plus carbide phases can appear (stage II).

 In ductile cast irons the presence of 2 to 3 wt% Si prevents the rapid formation of iron carbide (Fe₃C). Hence the carbon rejected during ferrite formation in the first stage of the reaction (stage I) enters the matrix austenite, enriching it and stabilizing it thermally to prevent martensite formation upon subsequent cooling.

Thus the processing sequence shows that the austempering reaction is terminated before stage II begins, and illustrates the decrease in the martensite start (M_s) and martensite finish (M_f) temperatures as γ_H forms in stage I. The kinetics of stages I and II have been described in detail in the literature.

Typical austempering times range from 1 to 4 hours. If the part is austempered too long, undesirable bainite will form. Unlike steel, bainite in cast iron microstructures exhibits lower toughness and ductility.

Volume 4D, Heat Treating of Irons and Steels -> Heat Treatiment of Cast Irons -> -> Heat Treating and Properties of Ductile Iron -> General Characteristics

ASM member Julien Noel named Vice President/General Manager of Buehler

January 8, 2019
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ITW Test and Measurement Group President Yahya Gharagozlou has named ASM member Julien Noel Vice President/General Manager of its Buehler worldwide division. Buehler, Lake Bluff, Ill., is an ITW company and a premier manufacturer of scientific equipment and consumables for materials analysis.

Julien Noel has been at Buehler since 2015, where he most recently served as the Americas Commercial Director in addition to Global Director of Strategy and Innovation.  Noel came to ITW during the acquisition of North Star Imaging in 2010. There he held several leadership roles including General Manager of Europe, Product Management and Business Development.  Prior to that, he was Business Manager for Digisens and Professor at the Grenoble School of Management in France. He replaces Meredith Platt, who has been transferred to ITW's Automotive segment and is taking up the role of Vice President/General Manager for a global automotive division -- Seats, Safety, and Motion.

 â€œI am excited to take on this crucial leadership role for Buehler,” says Mr. Noel. "During the last few years we developed successful new products, streamlined online shopping, and improved our customer care/service offerings. I look forward to leading the charge and continuing on the path to create superior products.”

www.buehler.com