Cummins and Oak Ridge develop thermal spray method to repair truck engines
September 11, 2017
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Diesel engine maker Cummins Inc., Columbus, Ind., is working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a material to repair heavy-duty vehicle engines damaged by a million miles of extreme conditions under the hood. Rather than replacing an engine's cylinder head, the research team "scooped out" the worn section and used additive manufacturing to deposit a high-performance alloy with properties better than the original casting.
The goal of the process, developed at DOE's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL, is to save energy while extending the life of the engine and making it stronger.
"We're decreasing the engine's thermal conductivity, which holds heat in longer, and turning it into increased efficiency," said Nikhil Doiphode, Cummins R&D engineer. "While these are not brand-new engines, we're striving to make them better than new."
www.ornl.gov
Diesel engine maker Cummins Inc., Columbus, Ind., is working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a material to repair heavy-duty vehicle engines damaged by a million miles of extreme conditions under the hood.
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Green laser enables additive manufacturing of copper by selective laser melting
September 10, 2017
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The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Germany, has developed a new approach that incorporates a green laser for selective laser melting of copper materials. The new process should offer users the first cost-effective AM method for components made of pure and highly conductive copper.
As part of a research project funded by AiF German Federation of Industrial Research Associations, the Fraunhofer ILT researchers are looking to develop the SLM process to make it more suitable for the additive manufacturing of components made of copper alloys and pure copper. Pure copper in particular is an attractive option for end users, as it is more electrically and thermally conductive than copper alloys.
"Depending on surface properties, pure copper reflects most of the laser radiation in conventionally used wavelengths of one micron," says Daniel Heussen, Research Fellow in the Rapid Manufacturing group. "As a result, only a small portion of the laser energy is deposited in the material and, thus, is available for the melting process. The reflected radiation can also damage the components of the system. In addition, the absorptivity of the material for the infrared light rises rapidly as the material transitions from a solid to liquid state, thus triggering an unstable and intermittent remelting process."
Green laser light with a wavelength of 515 nm makes the absorptivity of pure copper much higher. This means that less laser power output is needed for a stable process. Furthermore, the laser beam can be focused more precisely, allowing it to manufacture far more delicate components. A specially developed laser beam source, which operates with green rather than infrared light, will be designed at the Fraunhofer ILT by the end of 2017.
According to Dr. Heussen, "We are hoping for more homogeneous melt pool dynamics so that we can build components with high material density and achieve other positive effects, such as higher detail resolution."
https://www.ilt.fraunhofer.de/en/press.html
The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, Germany, has developed a new approach that incorporates a green laser for selective laser melting of copper materials.
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EOS develops precipitation-hardened stainless steel for additive manufacturing
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EOS, Germany, introduces StainlessSteel 17-4PH IndustryLine, an iron-based metal alloy powder made by a technology that includes a specially developed process parameter for additive manufacturing on the EOS M 290 metal system. It is a high-strength, easily curable, highly corrosion-resistant and acid-resistant alloy that is ideal for manufacturing surgical and orthopedic instruments. Parts can be further processed, micro-blasted, and polished directly after the additive manufacturing process, or after heat treatment.
EOS StainlessSteel 17-4PH IndustryLine meets the essential requirements of serial production via additive manufacturing, as it guarantees reproducible part quality through the highest degree of data reliability for material properties of the end product. The technology enables users to save time and cut costs considerably in the areas of downstream quality assurance and part qualification.
Compared to conventional production processes, industrial 3D printing material properties, such as elongation at break, tensile strength, or hardness of a finished part, were previously determined based on only a small statistical population. This sometimes made it necessary to carry out elaborate tests and qualification processes.
"Planning security and reliability are top priorities for customers who are engaged in serial manufacturing," says Chief Technical Officer Dr. Tobias Abeln. "For its StainlessSteel 17-4PH IndustryLine, EOS provides reliable and statistically proven data for the most important material properties of finished parts.
"This significantly raises quality standards in additive manufacturing. The customer can use the data 1:1 to qualify the technology for large-scale production and therefore minimize the time required as well as cut the cost of in-house material and process qualification."
Development and production processes for the large-scale Additive Manufacturing of components are therefore more efficient and time-to-market processes can be accelerated at the same time.
Photo shows a medical instrument additively manufactured by Exactech of EOS StainlessSteel 17-4PH IndustryLine.
www.eos.info
EOS, Germany, introduces StainlessSteel 17-4PH IndustryLine, an iron-based metal alloy powder made by a technology that includes a specially developed process parameter for additive manufacturing on the EOS M 290 metal system.
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Bruker’s new XRD system combines its Turbo X-ray source with Atlas goniometer
September 6, 2017
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Bruker AXS, Billerica, Mass., introduces the D8 Discover Plus X-ray diffraction system, which combines the high power of its TXS-HE high-efficiency Turbo X-ray source, with the reliability and accuracy of its high-endurance Atlas goniometer.
"The instrument is designed to deliver top-class results for structure analysis of all kinds of materials, from powders in the pharmaceutical industry to crystalline structures in semiconductor devices, and is a further step to strengthen Bruker's position as the provider of the most powerful and user-friendly XRD solutions on the market," says Dr. Lutz Bruegemann, General Manager XRD, Vice President, Bruker AXS
The TXS-HE is optimized to deliver an extremely high-intensity X-ray beam without compromising flexibility, to meet the most demanding analytical needs in today's research, development, and process control. The TXS-HE significantly reduces data collection time compared to conventional X-ray sources, and delivers better data quality, giving new insights into structural properties of materials. Further, the additional speed of the TXS-HE enables the studies of dynamic processes, including time-dependent phase transitions and kinetics in materials better than ever before.
The advanced design of the new Atlas goniometer delivers an even higher level of angular positioning accuracy, thus increasing the reliability of measured data for all applications. It is extremely robust, ensuring that this level of performance is maintained for all configurations, from classic powder diffraction to epitaxial thin-film characterization. As a result, the D8 Discover Plus with Atlas goniometer even tops Bruker's unique total system alignment guarantee, setting the new standard for XRD laboratory systems.
By combining the high X-ray flux of the TXS-HE, the outstanding accuracy of the Atlas goniometer, and the large detection area and dynamic range of the new Eiger2 R 500K multi-mode Hybrid Photon Counting detector, the D8 DiscoverPlus offers unmatched capabilities for the analytical tasks in materials research and analysis.
The instrument is designed to deliver top-class results for structure analysis of all kinds of materials, from powders in the pharmaceutical industry to crystalline structures in semiconductor devices, and is a further step to strengthen Bruker's position as the provider of the most powerful and user-friendly XRD solutions on the market," says Dr. Lutz Bruegemann, General Manager XRD, Vice President, Bruker AXS
www.bruker.com
Bruker AXS, Billerica, Mass., introduces the D8 Discover Plus X-ray diffraction system, which combines the high power of its TXS-HE high-efficiency Turbo X-ray source, with the reliability and accuracy of its high-endurance Atlas goniometer.
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Outokumpu U.S. stainless steel bar operations receive LCS approval for aerospace
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Outokumpu Oy, Finland, has received Pratt & Whitney's LCS (laboratory control at source) approval for its stainless steel bar products manufactured at its Richburg mill in South Carolina. LCS is the system that validates the testing and control of specified materials and processes for Pratt & Whitney's aerospace products.
"We are very pleased that our bar products have been validated by Pratt & Whitney, which demonstrates the quality of both our material and its production processes. This approval opens doors for Outokumpu as a supplier of high-performance stainless steel bar in the demanding and growing aerospace market," says Bob Beatty, head of Outokumpu bar operations in Richburg.
Outokumpu serves the North American market through its key service center partners. The company has a strong reputation in the market as a premium producer of high-performance bars with unique knowhow in stainless steel applications and material performance.
Outokumpu has over a century of experience in creating efficient, long-lasting, and recyclable stainless steels. Its global offerings include quality-critical long products for equipment, buildings, and infrastructure projects. Long Products sites are located in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. They are known for their high quality products, flexibility, and world-class delivery performance.
www.outokumpu.com/longproducts.
Outokumpu Oy, Finland, has received Pratt & Whitney’s LCS (laboratory control at source) approval for its stainless steel bar products manufactured at its Richburg mill in South Carolina.
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Ames Lab hot-shot pour tube produces titanium powder ten times more efficiently
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The U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, Iowa, announces that one of its research teams has won an award for the development of a "hot-shot pour tube" technology that can produce titanium powder approximately ten times more efficiently than traditional methods. ASM Fellow Iver Anderson, Senior Metallurgist, and his team have been named winners of a 2017 Excellence in Technology Transfer Award from the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Mid-Continent Region.
Titanium powder produced by the hot-shot pour tube technology is said to have enabled a dramatic shift in manufacturing away from traditional titanium casting/forging methods, to net-shape forming. The technology was the basis for the formation of a multi-award-winning start-up company, Iowa Powder Atomization Technologies, which was purchased in 2014 by Praxair Surface Technologies. In 2015, Praxair began international sales of spherical titanium powder for additive manufacturing and metal injection molding for aerospace, medical, and industrial parts.
In addition to Dr. Anderson, the award is shared by ASM member Dr. Andy Heidloff and Dr. Joel Reiken, formerly of Ames Laboratory and now of Praxair; and Dr. David Byrd, Dr. Ross Anderson, and ASM member Dr. Emma White of Ames Laboratory.
"Our team is very proud to accept this FLC award," declares Dr. Anderson. "It helps us keep pushing Ames Laboratory's processing science forward to these ultimate technology transitions involving our people."
In a letter of support for Ames Lab in the FLC competition, Praxair Vice President Dean Hackett wrote, "Ames Laboratory is uniquely equipped and staffed with talented researchers who work as a team to develop breakthrough technologies in the production of atomized powders. Praxair has chosen to commercialize the titanium atomization technology from Ames, and also to hire two of the three investigators (Dr. Heidloff and Dr. Reiken) who were responsible for this unique titanium atomization process."
In congratulating Dr. Anderson and his team, Ames Lab Director Adam Schwartz said the award demonstrates Ames Lab's commitment to the Department of Energy's mission of transferring technologies to the marketplace for the benefit of the American taxpayer. "We are very proud to join Iver and his team in celebrating this technological success," he added, "and we look forward to many anticipated future successes."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXNqNdrO44A
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, Iowa, announces that one of its research teams has won an award for the development of a “hot-shot pour tube” technology that can produce titanium powder approximately ten times more efficiently than traditional methods.
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One Minute Mentor: Nitrocarburizing in a Carrier Gas
August 31, 2017
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The graph shows (a) Micrograph of low-temperature nitrocarburized austenitic stainless steel AISI 316 in an atmosphere of (partly) decomposed urea (in situ activation). The sample was heated to 490°C (910 °F) in 45 minutes and thereafter immediately cooled.
(b) Glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES) concentration-depth profiles of low-temperature nitrocarburized stainless steel AISI 316 in an atmosphere of (partly) decomposed urea; see microstructure in (a).
Nitrocarburizing in a carrier gas to which (initially solid) urea was added led to a fast growth of the expanded austenite zone. The gaseous decomposition products of urea that develop in the furnace are highly activating, which means that activation and nitrocarburizing are achieved simultaneously. The hardness measured directly at the surface (not in a cross section) is higher than 1300 HV. It is obvious that the expanded austenite zone consists of a nitrogen-rich and a carbon-rich part.
The near-surface zone consists of nitrogen-expanded austenite, and the carbon-expanded austenite is located underneath. The sum of the two interstitial profiles yields a gradual transition from the surface into the substrate in terms of total interstitial content.
Volume 4D, Heat Treating of Irons and Steels ⇒ Heat Treated High-Alloy Steels ⇒ Low-Temperature Surface Hardening of Stainless Steel ⇒ Gaseous Low-Temperature Surface Hardening of Austenitic Stainless Steel
Nitrocarburizing in a carrier gas to which (initially solid) urea was added led to a fast growth of the expanded austenite zone. The gaseous decomposition products of urea that develop in the furnace are highly activating, which means that activation and nitrocarburizing are achieved simultaneously.
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Alumina-forming high temperature steels offering new opportunities in heat treatment
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Two novel alumina-forming steels, Kanthal APMT and Nikrothal PM 58, are discussed in this presentation at Heat Treat 2017. In both alloys, corrosion resistance is based on the formation of an adherent alumina layer. This, along with high creep resistance, is caused by a dispersion-strengthened microstructure from the powder metallurgical processing route.
This unique combination of properties enables application temperatures ranging from 1470 to 2282°F, and new possibilities to design high-temperature components. One such application is furnace rollers with reduced or eliminated water cooling. Mechanical and corrosion properties for the two steels at high temperatures will be discussed and compared with other commercial materials during the presentation.
Dr. Dilip Chandrasekaran, Sandvik, Hallstahammar, Sweden
Dr. Thomas Helander , Sandvik, Hallstahammar, Sweden
Mrs. Johanna Nockert Olovsjö , Sandvik, Hallstahammar, Sweden
Tuesday, October 24, 2017: 11:00 AM, A213-215 (Greater Columbus Convention Center)
https://asm.confex.com/asm/ht2017/webprogram/Paper43491.html
Two novel alumina-forming steels, Kanthal APMT and Nikrothal PM 58, have corrosion resistance based on the formation of an adherent alumina layer.
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Auto parts manufacturer orders Lucifer ceramic-fiber-lined box furnace
August 30, 2017
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Lucifer Furnaces Inc., Warrington, Pa., has received an order for an electric, ceramic-fiber-lined box furnace from a leading U.S. manufacturer of stamped automotive products. Model LI7-M18, with a chamber size of 12x18x18 inches, quickly heats to a uniform temperature of 2200°F. A hotface of two-inch-thick ceramic fiber insulation with three inches of coldface mineral wool block insulation around the entire chamber, maximizes heating efficiency with low power input.
Ceramic Fiber insulation, with low heat storage and low thermal conductivity, combined with high thermal shock resistance, allows faster heat-up/cool-down cycles, reducing wait times between loads and resulting in higher production.
Heavy gauge coil wound Kanthal A1 iron-chromium-aluminum wire heating elements are supported on ceramic rods, providing rapid heat-up. Elements mounted on both side walls can be easily replaced individually, reducing cost. A one-inch-thick hearth plate protects the floor insulation and supports up to 40 pounds per square foot of hearth area.
Temperature is monitored by a rear-mounted Type K thermocouple, and is regulated by a Honeywell DC2500 microprocessor-based digital time proportioning temperature controller. An insulated horizontal swing door with a tight seal comes standard with safety switch.
Ceramic fiber lined furnaces are general purpose box furnaces for batch heat treating in an air atmosphere.
www.luciferfurnaces.com
Lucifer Furnaces Inc., Warrington, Pa., has received an order for an electric, ceramic-fiber-lined box furnace from a leading U.S. manufacturer of stamped automotive products.
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Ipsen’s strategic organizational changes designed to strengthen leadership for growth
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Ipsen USA, Cherry Valley, Ill., announces that several strategic changes will be made in the company's organizational structure to strengthen its position as the leading global provider of integrated heat treatment solutions.
Ipsen USA is pleased to announce that Patrick McKenna (shown in photo) is promoted to Ipsen USA President & CEO, responsible for all entity functions including Sales, Engineering, Operations, Service, Finance, and Human Resources. "My focus from day one will be on delivering the highest quality products and services to our customers and ensuring that the established Ipsen performance culture continues far into the future," says Mr. McKenna.
He has both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, and has served on the Metal Treating Institute Board of Directors for ten years (in 2016 as President). He worked at Ipsen as a Mechanical Engineer for four years before leaving to co-found a successful commercial heat treating and brazing company. He divested his interest in that company in 2015 and returned to Ipsen as Vice President of Sales.
According to Geoffrey Somary, USA CEO and Ipsen Group COO, "We are in an exciting period of growth for Ipsen, which has been built on both innovation and exceeding customer expectations. The Ipsen Group focus ensures that we continue to strengthen Ipsen performance in all global markets, delivering the same quality and performance everywhere in the world."
As part of this growth, Mr. Somary will leave his USA position and focus fully on his Group responsibilities, with CEOs at all entities (Europe, USA, China, Japan and India) continuing to report directly to him. Mr. Somary started at Ipsen in 2005, and for the past four years, has held the dual responsibilities of Ipsen.
Jake Hamid, who has been with Ipsen since 2007, will also leave his position as Ipsen USA COO, and move into the position of Ipsen Group Director of Global Product Development and Manufacturing.
Other promotions include Pete Kerbel to Ipsen USA Vice President of Sales. He takes on the responsibility for sales of new equipment, retrofits, and parts. Mr. Kerbel started at Ipsen in 2008, and most recently was the Director of Aftermarket Sales. When combined with service, this totals nearly 50% of annual sales for Ipsen USA.
With 2017 expected to be the eighth straight year of growth, a new generation of experienced leaders has earned promotions (in addition to those listed above). The expertise and commitment of these individuals, and the entire Ipsen Team, will allow them to continue guiding Ipsen forward down a winning path – a path that always focuses on innovation and ensuring one satisfied customer at a time.
www.IpsenUSA.com
Ipsen USA, Cherry Valley, Ill., announces that several strategic changes will be made in the company’s organizational structure to strengthen its position as the leading global provider of integrated heat treatment solutions.
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