Wisconsin Oven Introduces the Express Batch Oven for powder coating or finishing
May 11, 2016
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Wisconsin Oven, East Troy, Wis., introduces the Express Batch Oven, a standardized batch oven that allows a lower price point and shorter lead time without compromising quality. Available in 26 sizes and either electric or gas models, the Express Batch Oven is ideal for businesses that specialize in powder coating or finishing applications. In addition, it can be used for a variety of operations such as drying, epoxy curing, bonding, metal finishing, varnish curing, baking, and adhesive curing.
The recirculation system features a combination air flow pattern that can be fully adjusted via the return and supply ducts to maximize heating rates and temperature uniformity. Other standard features include a maximum temperature rating of 500°F and roof-mounted blowers to save valuable floor space.
The Express Batch Ovens are also backed by Wisconsin Oven's five-year WOW warranty. This warranty covers all materials for all components (less wear items). The oven is available with several additional options. Customers can protect their factory floors by adding floor sheets of 12-gauge aluminum, or reduce the energy consumption by adding an insulated floor. Other popular options include a door limit that shuts down the heat when it senses that the doors are open, to minimize the spill-out of hot air; and upgrading to a controller that can be programmed with up to 25 recipes and up to 500 ramp-and-soak segments.
The Express Batch Oven is fully factory tested and adjusted prior to shipment to help reduce installation and startup times. A 150-point Quality Assurance check list is completed to ensure that the equipment meets all Wisconsin Oven quality standards and helps installation and start-up to go smoothly.
www.wisoven.com
Wisconsin Oven, East Troy, Wis., introduces the Express Batch Oven, a standardized batch oven that allows a lower price point and shorter lead time without compromising quality.
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Sinterite installs custom pusher furnace with low operating temperature
May 9, 2016
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Sinterite, a Gasbarre Furnace Group Company, St. Marys, Pa., announces the installation of a manually operated custom pusher furnace designed for continuous sintering of various material grade parts at a facility in Pennsylvania. The furnace consists of two heat-control zones and one cooling zone, with a maximum operating temperature of 1800°F.
This particular pusher furnace is unique because of its low operating temperature. Typically, these types of furnaces are designed to operate up to 3000°F. However, because of the customer's specialized sintering process and lower temperature requirements, this furnace was customized to meet those unique processing needs.
Sinterite designs, manufactures, and services custom continuous belt and batch furnaces for sintering, brazing, annealing, steam treating, drying, and heat treating applications. The installed base of equipment is in excess of 1300 units in more than 47 countries. Sinterite's quality design includes alloy and ceramic muffle systems, powder-handling equipment, custom fabrications, and the exclusively manufactured HyperCooler sinter-hardening and rapid cooling system.
www.sinterite.com
www.gasbarrefurnacegroup.com
Sinterite, a Gasbarre Furnace Group Company, St. Marys, Pa., announces the installation of a manually operated custom Pusher Furnace designed for continuous sintering of various material grade parts at a facility in Pennsylvania.
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Kobe Steel to build aluminum extrusion plant in Kentucky
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Kobe Steel Ltd., Tokyo, announces that it will build a $46.7 million integrated production facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to manufacture aluminum extrusions for the automotive sector in the United States. The new business will operate through Kobelco Aluminum Products & Extrusions Inc. (KPEX), which will make bumper materials for cars and car frame materials.
The new company will have an integrated production facility, with operations ranging from melting to fabrication. Plans call for construction of the plant to begin this summer. Fabrication will start in the latter half of 2017, and the melting to extrusion processes will begin in the latter half of 2018.
Kobe Steel has been supplying aluminum bumper materials to Japanese automakers since the 1990s. The company has over 20 years of experience in the Japanese market, and has established a strong track record. Kobe Steel's original weight-saving proposals, which cover both product development and cross-section design technology, have received high acclaim from customers.
The establishment of KPEX will enable Kobe Steel to manufacture and supply the same high-quality aluminum extrusions and fabricated products available in Japan in the North American market. Through innovative weight-saving proposals, Kobe Steel aims to gain the trust of automakers in North America. KPEX will also contribute to strengthening Kobe Steel's overall supply network, which covers Japan and the United States.
KPEX will be Kobe Steel's second manufacturing operation in Bowling Green after Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products LLC (KAAP), which began production in 2005. KAAP makes aluminum forgings for automotive suspension systems and aluminum cast rods for compressors.
www.kobelco.co.jp
Kobe Steel Ltd., Tokyo, announces that it will build a $46.7 million integrated production facility in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to manufacture aluminum extrusions for the automotive sector in the United States.
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Summer School on Suspension & Solution Thermal Spraying
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University West in Tollhattan, Sweden, announces a special "Summer School on Suspension & Solution Thermal Spraying" to be held September 14–16. Thermal spraying of liquid feedstocks in the form of a suspension or a solution has attracted considerable interest recently among the scientific and industrial community. This has been mainly in recognition of its advantages in terms of unique microstructural features that are capable of providing enhanced functional performance for varied applications.
This growing interest has led to rapid developments in the field in the past few years, and this progress is the reason for this special course. The summer school will include lectures from experts in academia as well as industry, and will cover all major aspects of liquid feedstock spraying, from fundamentals and process diagnostics to characterization and applications. The program will also include a demonstration of the state-of-the-art suspension plasma spraying equipment available at University West.
For reasons of logistics as well as to enable close interaction among participants, the School is being limited to about 35 participants. If the theme is of interest to you, your colleagues, or students, we encourage early registration to confirm participation.
Topics include:
— Fundamentals of suspension Plasma Spraying (SPS)
— Coating formation by Solution Precursor Plasma Spraying (SPPS)
— Plasma-droplet interactions
— Feedstock manufacture
— Solution & suspension characterization
— Spray equipment design
— Process parameter impact
— Process diagnostics
— Suspension HVOF/HVAF
— Safety & enviroment
— Applications (Advanced TBCs, SOFCs, Bioceramics, Wear
— Economics & commercialization
— SPS Demonstration
Please reserve your place by July 30.
For complete details including the list of organizers and speakers, please visit www.hv.se/summerschool .
University West in Tollhattan, Sweden, announces a special “Summer School on Suspension & Solution Thermal Spraying” to be held September 14 – 16.
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One Minute Mentor: Tempering Corrosion-Resistant Tool Steels
May 6, 2016
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The graph shows the tempering behavior of two corrosion-resistant tool steels: AISI 420 and the nitrogen-alloyed M333 (AISI 420 Mod). During tempering, the combination of properties such as hardness, toughness, and corrosion resistance, as well as residual stresses, can be adjusted within a wide range. Very low tempering temperatures (<300°F) are uncommon, as they result in very low impact toughness and high internal stresses.
With increased tempering temperatures, toughness properties can be improved significantly with only limited loss in hardness, as shown in the graph.
The precise behavior strongly depends on the uniformity of the microstructure and on chemical composition, with advantages shown by nitrogen-alloyed lower-carbon grades. Typical tempering temperatures for small and simple-shaped tools vary between 390 and 750°F. In the case of large and complex dies, such tempering temperatures can still lead to very high internal stresses, resulting in early tool failure despite good impact toughness.
Volume 4D, Heat Treating of Irons and Steels ⇒ Tool Steels ⇒ Heat Treating of Mold Steels and Corrosion-Resistant Tool Steels ⇒ Recommended Heat Treating Practices
During tempering, the combination of properties such as hardness, toughness, and corrosion resistance, as well as residual stresses, can be adjusted within a wide range
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Highlights of the 2016 ASM/IFHTSE Congress
May 4, 2016
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Sponsored by Houghton International and Linde Gas, the International Federation for Heat Treating and Surface Engineering Congress was held April 18 - 21 in Savannah, Georgia.
The conference was well attended, with 171 heat treaters and 20 exhibitors from 20 countries and every continent. The keynote speakers were industry leaders who covered topics of great importance to advancing heat treating technology and expanding applications.
The first keynote presenter was HKDH Bhadeshia, Tata Steel Professor of Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. The recipient of the IFHTSE Medal, he presented an excellent talk on "Very Short and Very Long Heat Treatments in the Processing of Steel." His thought-provoking and humorous talk showed a real connection with the audience, and demonstrated some fundamental concepts in a unique manner.
The second keynote was by Tobias Steiner, of Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart, the 2014 winner of the Linde Tom Bell Young Author Award in Munich. His enlightening discussion of "Alloying Element Nitride Development in Ferritic Fe-Based Materials upon Nitriding," demonstrated fully why he was chosen for the Tom Bell Award.
The final keynote was by Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Rolf Zenker of Zenker Consult in Mittweida, on "Surface Treatment by Electron Beams in Combination with Other Heat Treatment Technologies." His presentation demonstrated the value of understanding technologies in addition to heat treating to improve surface properties.
Other presentations covered quenching, modeling, nitriding, and other advanced thermal processing technologies. One interesting paper was "Life Extension of Furnace and Fixture Alloys by Surface Engineering in Carburizing Atmospheres," by Mr. Anbo Wang of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Student of Prof. Rick Sisson). This paper examined the practical benefits of prolonging the life of expensive high-nickel alloy fixtures.
The winner of the Linde Tom Bell Young Author Award for this Congress was Dr. Matteo Villa, Technical University of Denmark, for "The Sub-Zero Celsius Treatment of Stainless Steels: Experiments and Perspective."
A special symposium on Residual Stress Prediction, Control, and Measurement was held in conjunction with the IFHTSE Congress. This symposium brought together many experts from the aerospace industry, including the USAF Materials Laboratory, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing, as well as experts from IWT Bremen, including Prof. Hans-Werner Zoch, and others from the automotive industry. It was a very exciting symposium with a excellent exchange of ideas between very different industries. A great deal of networking was accomplished.
A special thanks to the Domestic and International Organizing Committees; ASM Staff (Jeanelle Harden and Lindy Good); and sponsors Houghton International and Linde Gas, for an event that was well attended, well organized, and very informative.
— D. Scott MacKenzie, Houghton International Inc.
The conference was well attended, with 171 heat treaters and 20 exhibitors from 20 countries and every continent, while the keynote speakers were industry leaders who covered topics of great importance to advancing heat treating technology and expanding applications.
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Olympus videoscope provides resilient insertion tube and ultrabright illumination
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Olympus Corp., Tokyo, has launched its new Iplex NX videoscope, featuring excellent image quality, maneuverability, and intuitive operation to streamline the location, identification, and measurement of previously undetectable flaws.
It combines a high-pixel CCD chip, an ultra-bright laser diode light system, and the Olympus PulsarPic processor, to reduce signal noise and deliver clear, bright images. Operators can identify and measure flaws from twice as far from the specimen as possible with conventional videoscopes.
The image quality and ultrabright illumination make it easy to inspect a large area for small, subtle flaws. The videoscope can capture crisp images even in hard-to-access spaces, such as the interior of gas turbines, where external lighting cannot reach. Furthermore, by illuminating a wide area, the Iplex NX improves an inspector's efficiency and productivity.
The resilient TaperedFlex fine tungsten mesh insertion tube combines superb scope maneuverability with optimized rigidity and flexibility, making it easy to navigate in tight spaces while maintaining outstanding abrasion resistance. The distal end of the insertion tube is highly flexible and capable of making complex bends to arrive at hard-to-reach areas.
TrueFeel electric articulation is enhanced with reduced mechanical lag and greater sensitivity, giving the NX ultra-responsive articulation and an increased range of articulation in four directions. The TrueFeel design maximizes the use of buttons and a joystick, so that the device is comfortable and easy to use, even for long periods of time.
www.olympus-ims.com
Olympus Corp., Tokyo, has launched its new Iplex NX videoscope, featuring excellent image quality, maneuverability, and intuitive operation to streamline the location, identification, and measurement of previously undetectable flaws.
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ASM forms strategic alliance with SVC
Source: ASM International
The new strategic alliance brings the complementary strengths of both organizations together to better serve their global members and the community at large.
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Commercial Metals to build steel micromill in Oklahoma for long products
May 3, 2016
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Commercial Metals Co., Irving, Texas, announces that it has begun construction of an electric-arc-furnace steel micromill in Durant, Okla., to produce long products by its continuous-continuous manufacturing process in which steel is melted, cast, and rolled from a single uninterrupted strand. The technology produces higher yields and consumes less energy than the traditional minimill process.
The company says that the new mill will produce low-cost, high-quality long steel products that will complement CMC's recycling and fabrication plants, and will enable it to better serve markets in Texas, Oklahoma, and surrounding states.
The Oklahoma micro mill is to be commissioned in the fall of 2017, and is expected to create approximately 300 jobs in the Durant area.
Commercial Metals Company and its subsidiaries manufacture, recycle, and market steel and metal products, related materials, and services through a network of steel minimills, steel fabrication and processing plants, construction-related product warehouses, metal recycling facilities, and marketing and distribution offices in the United States and in strategic international markets.
http://www.cmc.com
Commercial Metals Co., Irving, Texas, announces that it has begun construction of an electric-arc-furnace steel micromill in Durant, Okla., to produce long products by its continuous-continuous manufacturing process in which steel is melted, cast, and rolled from a single uninterrupted strand.
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Ipsen Argos low-pressure carburizing plus 20-bar nitrogen quenching increases hardness
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Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., announces that its Global Development Team in Kleve, Germany, recently celebrated the first build and testing of the Argos heat treating system, in which low-pressure carburizing combined with 20-bar nitrogen quenching reportedly provides metallurgical properties never before seen in gas quenching systems. One industry visitor who witnessed the test run commented, "The Argos is likely the fastest inert-gas quench furnace in the world."
This initial test was carried out on one of the most difficult to quench vacuum carburized components: layshafts for large gears. Until now, helium gas, which is both expensive and declining in availability, was required to fully transform parts with very high cross-sectional thicknesses.
Test outcomes showed that the shafts processed in the Argos system with 20-bar nitrogen quenching achieved higher surface hardness and core hardness values than shafts processed in the existing vacuum heat-treating furnaces with 20-bar helium quenching.
The Argos system offers several additional benefits:
Flexible installation with a selectable number of carburizing, nitriding, subzero, and high-vacuum process chambers with a nitrogen gas and/or oil quench module;
Excellent temperature uniformity during heating and cooling;
Minimal and controllable distortion due to temperature homogeneity throughout the entire load, and the reversible gas flow during cooling;
Extremely high gas velocity and volume due to Ipsen's unique cooling system design.
Overall, the Argos furnace line represents a significant milestone in the growing trend to operate low-pressure carburizing (LPC) lines in combination with inert gas quenching.
www.ipsen.de/en/argos
Ipsen, Cherry Valley, Ill., announces that its Global Development Team in Kleve, Germany, recently celebrated the first build and testing of the Argos heat treating system, in which low-pressure carburizing combined with 20-bar nitrogen quenching reportedly provides metallurgical properties never before seen in gas quenching systems.
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