One Minute Mentor: Time-Temperature Sensitization Curves for Austenitic Stainless Steel
June 17, 2016
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The graph shows a Time-Temperature-Sensitization diagram (TTS) for 304 austenitic stainless steel with various carbon contents. Decreasing carbon content significantly delays the formation of chromium carbides and the onset of intergranular corrosion. In low carbon grades, defined as those with carbon contents below 0.030%, an exposure of about eight hours is necessary before sensitization occurs.
Low-carbon austenitics are intermediate in tendency to precipitate chromium carbides to the stabilized and unstabilized grades. The lower carbon content in an austenitic stainless steel will slow the kinetics of carbide precipitation, which allows longer time at temperature before the onset of sensitization, as shown in the graph.
Carbon contents of 0.03% and lower allow short excursions of several hours into the sensitizing temperature range without loss of corrosion resistance. Carbon in austenite can be retained in supersaturation for extended periods of time. This is why austenitic L grades do not sensitize even though they are slightly supersaturated. Sensitization occurs at higher levels of carbon by prolonged heating at 600 to 850°C.
Volume 4D, Heat Treating of Irons and Steels ⇒ Heat Treated High-Alloy Steels ⇒ Heat Treating of Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steels ⇒ Annealing
The graph shows a Time-Temperature-Sensitization diagram (TTS) for 304 austenitic stainless steel with various carbon contents.
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Lucifer Red Devil box furnace heat treats small loads
June 15, 2016
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Lucifer Furnaces, Warrington, Pa., recently delivered a bench style RD7 Red Devil box furnace for batch heat treating small loads of low carbon steel. An all-purpose general bench unit, Lucifer's RD7 series can be purposed to various heat-treating operations such as hardening, drawing, tempering, or annealing of steel. Model RD7-KHE24, with 7 KW power, heats to 2200°F with easy-to-replace wire-wound heating elements in removable holders.
A horizontal swing door seals the 12x14x24-inch chamber. A ceramic hearth plate supports the work load and protects the floor brick. The Honeywell digital temperature controller with safety microswitch and on/off main control switch are housed in a NEMA 1 side mounted panel, and a rear-mounted Type K thermocouple senses chamber heat.
This Red Devil Series furnace is insulated with a combined 4.5 inches of lightweight hotface firebrick insulation and coldface mineral wool. Refractory is dry fit and easily replaced. Red Devil Series box furnaces can be fitted with optional accessories, including an over-temperature safety system, gas spring vertical lift door, and a base stand. Red Devil Furnaces are completely wired, assembled, test fired, and shipped ready for connection to a main power supply.
www.luciferfurnaces.com
Lucifer Furnaces, Warrington, Pa., recently delivered a bench style RD7 Red Devil box furnace for batch heat treating small loads of low-carbon steel.
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Brembo builds $100 million cast iron foundry in Michigan
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Brembo Brake Systems, Plymouth, Mich., announces that it has conducted the first pour at its new $100 million, 266,000 square-foot cast iron foundry, during which the furnaces were charged and molten iron was poured into molds for the first time. The first pour is a preliminary test that ensures all systems are functioning properly, and is the first step before production ramp-up begins.
Located in Homer, Michigan, the cast iron foundry is the fourth in Brembo's worldwide foundry network, and the first Brembo cast iron foundry in North America. The foundry is also the third manufacturing facility that Brembo has expanded or built at the Homer manufacturing site. At full capacity, it will produce an annual output of 80,000 tons of brake disk castings.
Construction began in 2015, and the foundry is expected to be fully operational in 2017. The foundry is adjacent to Brembo's 440,000 square-foot facility in which disks and drums are machined for the original equipment market. Brembo also operates a caliper and corner-module assembly facility at the same location.
"Having our own dedicated foundry in the United States allows us to have maximum control over our process and costs," says Dan Sandberg, president and chief executive officer, Brembo North America. "Our customers benefit by having a dedicated, fully integrated manufacturing process for their brake components."
Since purchasing the Homer disk plant in 2007, as part of the acquisition of Hayes Lemmerz's brake business, Brembo has continuously expanded its footprint in Michigan. Brembo built its North American headquarters and R&D Center in Plymouth in 2009. The following year, the company built the Homer caliper assembly building. Since 2009, the Homer disk plant has been expanded three times.
www.brembo.com
Brembo Brake Systems, Plymouth, Mich., announces that it has conducted the first pour at its new $100 million, 266,000 square-foot cast iron foundry, during which the furnaces were charged and molten iron was poured into molds for the first time.
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Nucor and JFE Steel to build $270 million sheet steel plant in Mexico
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Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C., announces a 50-50 joint venture with JFE Steel Corp. of Japan to build and operate a plant that will produce 400,000 tons per year of galvanized sheet steel in central Mexico. The plant is expected to have a cost of $270 million, and will supply the Mexican automotive market.
"JFE Steel is a natural partner for us. They are a premier supplier of high-quality products to the automotive industry and share our focus on long-term growth," says John Ferriola, Chairman, CEO, and President of Nucor. "This joint venture builds on our efforts to increase our production of differentiated and value-added products. Continued growth in Mexico's automotive production presents an opportunity for Nucor to increase our sales to this important market."
Automotive production in Mexico is projected to increase from 3.4 million vehicles to 5.3 million by 2020. The joint venture positions Nucor with improved geographic reach and expanded product offering to address this roughly 50% growth. Nucor and JFE will each supply an equal amount of substrate to be further processed at the new facility.
The companies are currently working to secure required conditions to move to completion, including but not limited to regulatory approvals. Operations are expected to begin in the second half of 2019.
www.nucor.com
Nucor Corp., Charlotte, N.C., announces a 50-50 joint venture with JFE Steel Corp. of Japan to build and operate a plant that will produce 400,000 tons per year of galvanized sheet steel in central Mexico.
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Walk-in batch oven designed for aging and annealing aluminum
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Wisconsin Oven Corp., East Troy, has shipped two industrial ovens to United Tool & Die Company in West Hartford, Conn., for aging and annealing aluminum parts in a restricted space. An electrically heated draw batch oven with a pitted manual quench tank will be used for solution heat treatment, and an electrically heated enhanced-duty walk-in batch oven will be used for aging and annealing.
Bob Roberts and Rich Paquette of United Tool & Die were instrumental in laying out the equipment with the goal of making it as efficient as possible for the operators. They modified the quench tank by adding rails and a rolling load cart to create an efficient loading process. When the quenching process is complete, an overhead hoist lifts the product back onto the rolling load cart.
The standard draw batch oven has a maximum temperature rating of 1250°F and a work chamber of 3 x 3 x 7 feet. A guaranteed temperature uniformity of +/-10°F at 500°F, 750°F, 900°F, and 1000°F (per AMS 2750E Class 2/Instrumentation Type C) was verified through a nine-point profile test conducted in an empty oven chamber under static operating conditions.
The enhanced duty walk-in batch oven has a maximum temperature rating of 800°F and work chamber dimensions of 6 x 8 x 5 feet. A guaranteed temperature uniformity of +/-10° F at 300°F, 550°F, and 800°F(per AMS 2750E Class 2/Instrumentation Type C) was verified through a15-point profile test conducted in an empty oven chamber under static operating conditions.
Both industrial ovens utilize Eurotherm 3504 programmers, process high limits, and main line disconnects. They were fully factory tested and adjusted prior to shipment to help reduce installation and start-up times. A 150-point Quality Assurance check list was completed to ensure that the equipment met all Wisconsin Oven quality standards. The industrial batch ovens are backed by Wisconsin Oven's three-Year WOW warranty. This warranty covers all materials for all components (less wear items).
www.wisoven.com
Wisconsin Oven Corp., East Troy, has shipped two industrial ovens to United Tool & Die Company in West Hartford, Conn., for aging and annealing aluminum parts in a restricted space.
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Ipsen experts to teach one-day heat treating seminars in Los Angeles and Dallas
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Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., announces that its experts will be traveling to the Los Angeles (July 12) and Dallas (July 14) areas to teach a one-day seminar, "Taking Control: Maintenance and Aerospace Compliance Strategies for Heat Treatment."
In these seminars, you will learn how to master the nuances of maintenance and aerospace compliance. You will also be able to take part in an open-forum discussion on your specific maintenance challenges in both the morning and afternoon.
Specific topics covered during the seminar include Vacuum and Atmosphere Maintenance Best Practices; Optimizing Operations with Predictive Maintenance; and Achieving and Maintaining Aerospace Compliance.
Ipsen has been providing training to the heat treatment industry for 30+ years, both on-site at Ipsen U, and at customer facilities. These local seminars carry on the traditions of these seminars, teaching you best practices for regaining control of your equipment, and offering expert insight into specific issues you might be experiencing on a daily basis.
Each seminar coast $60 per registration, including meals and handouts. Additional locations will also be available soon.
www.IpsenUSA.com/Seminar-Registration-Form
Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., announces that its experts will be traveling to the Los Angeles (July 12) and Dallas (July 14) areas to teach a one-day seminar, “Taking Control: Maintenance and Aerospace Compliance Strategies for Heat Treatment.”
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One Minute Mentor: Enlarging the Austenite Loop
June 10, 2016
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The metallurgy of austenitic stainless steels is based on alloying that enlarges the austenite loop, as shown in graphs (a) and (b). Additions of carbon expand the austenite loop, as shown in (a).
Other elements that expand the loop include nickel, manganese, and nitrogen. However, silicon, molybdenum, and titanium have an opposite effect. The actions of these elements are shown in (b). They form the basis for the microstructure of stainless steels.
Volume 4D, Heat Treating of Irons and Steels ⇒ Heat Treated High-Alloy Steels ⇒ Heat Treating of Austenitic and Duplex Stainless Steels ⇒ Metallurgy
The metallurgy of austenitic stainless steels is based on alloying that enlarges the austenite loop.
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Women in engineering profile: Lesley D. Frame
June 9, 2016
Source: ASM International
This new profile series introduces leading materials scientists from around the world who happen to be females. Here we speak with Lesley D. Frame, Director of Product Development for Thermatool Corp.
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Bodycote sponsors Periodic Table of Fictional Metals
June 8, 2016
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Bodycote, Macclesfield, England, has produced the Periodic Table of Fictional Metals, elements that have appeared in classical myths, books, films, comic books, and computer games for many years, as creative people invented metals with mythical or magical qualities.
Bodycote has a long history of working with real metals to increase their performance and meet customer requirements. Sometimes, though, in the myriad worlds of fiction, real metals just don't do what the author needs.
Popular culture has given us an extensive list of metals and alloys with fantastical qualities. In addition to Marvel Comics, whose ‘vibranium' and ‘adamantium' are probably some of the best known due to recent cinematic releases, fictional metals have appeared in popular science fiction movies such Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who; TV shows such as Game of Thrones and the X Files; literature such as The Lord of The Rings; and video games such as the popular Minecraft franchise.
For example, the Bodycote table reveals that Greek mythology introduced adamantine (Adt), a strong hard metal that made a "sickle or sword used by the hero Perseus to decapitate the Gorgon Medusa while she slept."
Rearden Metal (Rem) was invented by Hank Rearden, the protagonist in Atlas Shrugged. "This greenish-blue metal is lighter and stronger than steel. The first product made from the metal was a bracelet, then railway tracks for the Rio Norte Line."
Explore all these fascinating materials and many more in the interactive Periodic Table of Fictional Metals.
http://www.bodycote.com/fictional-metals
Bodycote, Macclesfield, England, has produced the Periodic Table of Fictional Metals, elements that have appeared in classical myths, books, films, comic books, and computer games for many years, as creative people invented metals with mythical or magical qualities.
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Nitrex announces Nitriding Symposium for November
June 7, 2016
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Nitrex Metal Inc., Quebec, Canada, announces its fourth Nitriding Symposium, dedicated exclusively to controlled nitriding and nitrocarburizing presentations by academic researchers and industry professionals. Held at the MGM Grand hotel n Las Vegas, November 17-18, the symposium is sponsored by United Process Controls, West Chester, Ohio.
The Nitriding Symposium is a triennial event for metallurgists, engineers, plant supervisors, and manufacturing managers who deal with nitriding/nitrocarburizing in their manufacturing environment. It provides a bridge between academics, researchers, and the industry.
We invite key academics, providers, and end-users of nitriding and nitrocarburizing from all over the world to present new developments and different technologies that are available, or that are being explored, along with the topics below:
• Nitriding/Nitrocarburizing technologies & new advances
• Applications & case studies
• Nitriding stainless steels
• Wear, fatigue and corrosion resistance
• Distortion control
• Equipment developments
• Process controls
• Atmosphere sensors
• Plant integration and automation
• Simulation software
The call for abstract is now open, and will be until August 26. Participants are invited to submit an abstract online at http://www.nitriding.info/register-now/speaker/.
More event details are available at www.nitriding.info.
Nitrex Metal Inc., Quebec, Canada, announces its fourth Nitriding Symposium, dedicated exclusively to controlled nitriding and nitrocarburizing presentations by academic researchers and industry professionals.
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