“Following an extensive, nearly yearlong full facility remodel, AFC￾Holcroft held a formal Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony at their World Headquarters building in Wixom, Michigan. In addition to the celebration by the company’s employees, representatives of Berndorf AG were on hand, as were CEO Christian Grosspointner, and CFO Martin Rode from the AICHELIN Group arriving from Austria. Locally, representatives from the City of Wixom, Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and other invited guests also took the opportunity to join the event. Prior to the actual ceremonial cutting of the ribbon, AFC-Holcroft CEO Bill Disler escorted the guests on a tour of the renovated facility, highlighting the some of the innovative features and environmental improvements incorporated into design.

A main focus of the renovation was to make the building more environmentally friendly, specifically with regard to heating and cooling. The walls of the entire production area were replaced with insulated wall panels, and numerous windows were added to provide more natural light. The roof system was renewed and insulated, and the overhead warehouse doors were also modernized to contribute to the new high efficiency ventilation/heating systems. These measures improve the comfort and general working environment of the building while improving energy efficiency by around 35%. At the same time, investments in IT infrastructure were also made. In the conference rooms throughout the building, new technology was added to support the latest in video conferencing, to improve the security of IT infrastructures, and to create a more seamless work environment. A dedicated testing and development area specific for process control equipment was created, allowing a virtual environment where furnace process control functions can be developed, simulated and tested prior to being deployed in the field.

Individual workstations were redesigned for improved ergonomics and outfitted with motorized desktops to create an option for standing desks. The reception area features an inviting glass encased lobby, and the entire office interior ceiling height was raised to 10 foot. All new décor and creative storage furnishings were purchased, with new cubicle walls topped with glass to give the space a more open look and feel. The interior lighting was replaced by Smart LED lighting, and noise cancelling technology is utilized throughout the offices.

“From the very beginning, every employee had a chance to offer ideas and input into features and details of the facility, and all suggestions and feedback were given thorough consideration,” said Disler. “The positive collaboration between our internal teams, our builder and our interior designer helped us achieve all the objectives in a very short time.” In addition to improving the comfort and energy consumption in the manufacturing areas, the entire production floor and shipping/receiving area were analyzed for improved workflow, and consideration given to improving utilization of stored manufacturing supplies and inventory. Two units of a state-of-the art vertical storage system were ordered to free up additional manufacturing space while improving the storage and ergonomic retrieval of a variety of items.

Even beyond the facility, other areas received attention. In addition to reconfigured parking areas, the property was re-landscaped, and an outside patio was added to offer more opportunity to enjoy nature. The land itself now features a popular bicycle/walking path which integrates into the community’s Metropark system, easily accessed from the front of the property. “Even without the added complications of supply chain disruptions and other issues, it takes a lot of effort to complete a project like this on-time or on-budget, but our teams did both,” Disler said. “As a solid company with over 100 years of forward-thinking history, this investment was about much more than obtaining more space – it also creates a fresh, collaborative and energy-efficient environment both for the current generation and the next to come.”

Disler concluded, “We are very appreciative of the Berndorf and Aichelin Groups for providing the support for these significant updates, and I am very proud of everyone that worked so hard through the many day to-day interruptions in order to make it such a success. It is no surprise that we are very proud of our new facilities”.

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Laser heat treating is an unknown technology to most individuals in the heat treating industry. In this article Aravind Jonnalagadda CTO and Co-Founder of Synergy Additive Manufacturing LLC tells us how the technology is applied to automotive dies for electric vehicles.

Aravind Jonnalagadda (AJ), CTO and Co-Founder, Synergy Additive Manufacturing LLC

“The Electric Vehicle (EV) initiative and the efforts of automakers to overhaul their current vehicle lineups with electric offerings has many automakers and technology corporations rethinking automotive engineering to the most minute detail of manufacturing. The modern automotive industry not only effects automakers, but consumers, who will also transition into a diverse new market of emerging technologies. Deloitte Insight estimates that by 2030, EVs will account for 31 percent of total market share for new car sales. Currently EVs account for 2.5 % total new car sales. As per the report, the worldwide market for new EVs is expected to swell from 2.5 million in 2020, to 11.2 million in 2025, to 31.1 million by 2030. 

Several months ago “The Monty Heat Treat News” speculated on the future plans of Eric & Jason Jossart of “Atmosphere Engineering” fame. Subsequent to that we posted that the two brothers had formed a new organization “Obsidian Technical Group“. It would appear according to this press release that one of their first partnerships is with Abbott Furnace Group of PA, USA. The photo below was taken at the recent Furnace North America Show in Indianapolis, IN, USA which was held October 2022.

“St. Mary’s, PA, December 19, 2022:  Abbott Furnace Company is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Obsidian Technical Group for Sales and Service support across much of the eastern United States. Obsidian is a privately held company founded by brothers Eric and Jason Jossart, who previously owned Atmosphere Engineering, a product and systems manufacturer in the heat-treating industry.  They are now leveraging their extensive knowledge and their relationships to support manufacturers and customers in the industry.

Abbott purchased their first Atmosphere Engineering product in 2007; although there were some problems, Eric and Jason stood by their product and promptly addressed any issues that arose.  That was the beginning of a great relationship.  Eric and Jason sold Atmosphere Engineering in 2017. Obsidian launched in 2022 to help heat treaters stay up-to-date and operational by providing a wide range of services, including product introduction, training, technical support, installation, and equipment upgrade services. Dustin Yetzer, Technical Sales Manager said, “Eric and Jason have always supported Abbott wherever they were. They have participated in our annual symposiums, sold us our first endothermic gas generator flow control system, and helped us with several projects over the years. We are grateful to continue the partnership with them and the Obsidian team.”

Eric and Jason bring unmatched technical depth to support our current customers and develop new customers with their team. We are confident this will be a successful journey, and we look forward to a long partnership with Obsidian Technical Group. “We always enjoyed working with Abbott in the Atmosphere Engineering days.  The technical team at Abbott was regularly looking for new solutions to improve their designs continuously. As an innovative product manufacturer, it was great to help develop those solutions with Abbott.” Says Jason Jossart, VP of Technical Services at Obsidian.  “We are excited about working together with everyone at Abbott and look forward to supporting their customers in the industry.”

For more information about Abbott Furnace Company, visit abbottfurnace.com or contact Dustin Yetzer at [email protected] or call 814-781-6355. To learn more about Obsidian Technical Group, visit obsidiantechnicalgroup.com or call 414-331-4264.”

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From Austrian Furnace Builder Aichelin we have this report of a new installation for the company at auto parts supplier “Hirschvogel Group“. As a special bonus feature which compliments this press release our second news item for today is a summary about the firms heat treating capabilities. This second report appeared after a visit by “The Monty Heat Treat News” in 2018.

“Hirschvogel Group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of solid-formed and further refined components made of steel and aluminum, recently commissioned a new heat treatment plant from AICHELIN at its main plant in Denklingen/Upper Bavaria. This fully automatic chamber furnace line is a special beacon in Hirschvogel’s decarbonization strategy, as the heating is CO2-neutral.

Hirschvogel Group has not only set its sights on a CO2-neutral future but has already translated it into concrete action. For the expansion of the hardening facility at Hirschvogel Umformtechnik GmbH, for example, the company opted for a heat treatment facility with electric heating that is operated exclusively with green electricity. The system was supplied by AICHELIN, one of the world’s leading manufacturers in  the heat treatment industry. The fully automatic double continuous chamber furnace line ensures high output with maximum flexibility and is impressive in many respects.

The size alone of around 900 m² of installation area is considerable. This includes pre- and post-cleaning systems, a preheating furnace, two high-temperature furnaces and two tempering furnaces, as well as two endothermic gas generators, including all the necessary tables and tracks.

The technical design of the plant is the foundation for meeting the challenging requirements of CQI-9. The maximum batch size with a mass of up to 2,200 kg should also be emphasized. The entire plant is controlled fully automatically and can thus be operated with minimum staff. In addition, AICHELIN’s FOCOS 4.0 process control system contributes to optimal operation by assisting in the creation of heat treatment programs. FOCOS 4.0 then communicates these to the process controllers and issues a tamper-proof heat treatment certificate.

“A supplier’s technical expertise has utmost priority for us in the decision-making process. AICHELIN easily met the requirements and was reliably available to our project team almost around the clock. Also, with regard to our Green Lean Smart strategy, AICHELIN’s technical solutions align with our goals,” explains Stefan Lube, Head of the Semi-Hot Forming Profit Center at Hirschvogel. Another criterion was intelligent networking, which AICHELIN covers with the digital assistant #jakob. “With this predictive maintenance solution, which is unique on the market, we benefit from high plant availability. As a result, we also provide the corresponding supply reliability for our customers,” concludes Lube.

The complete coverage of the heating power requirement by electrical heating presented a particular challenge due to the limited space available. AICHELIN took on this challenge and implemented the task perfectly together with its sister company NOXMAT. Specially developed band heating elements with up to 22.2 kW power per element are used to transmit the required 340 kW heating power per system. The design of the components achieves a surface load of just 1,89 W/cm², which has a positive effect on the plant’s lifetime. All this underlines Hirschvogel’s ‘green’ ambitions. The reduction of CO2 is an important focus in the sustainability management of the family-owned business. Since the beginning of the year 2022, electricity for the German sites has been sourced exclusively from renewable sources. What’s more is the coverage of electricity needs with energy from regional, renewable sources.

“We are very proud to be able to implement this prestigious project together with Hirschvogel. The decarbonization ambitions of our companies complement each other well and we are already working together on further promising developments in this area,” Michael Reisner, Managing Director of AICHELIN Ges.m.b.H., is pleased to report.”

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Our other news item today for “The Monty Heat Treat News” concerned a recent sealed quench furnace installation at auto parts supplier “Hirschvogel Automotive Group” in Denklingen, Germany. As it happens Gord Montgomery of “The Monty Heat Treat News” toured this facility in 2018 and we have this summary and photos about “Hirschvogel’s” heat treat department;

“MAY 2018 DENKLINGEN, GERMANY;  Based in Germany Hirschvogel Automotive Group is a worldwide supplier of automotive components. The location we visited last week in Denklingen, Germany has 3,000 employees making forged automotive components and as you have probably already guessed has a very large in house heat treating department. With the largest rotary hearth furnace we have ever seen, multiple pusher furnaces, cast link belt furnaces and a number of pit annealing furnaces we really do feel we are not exaggerating when we say “large heat treat department”.

To add to this impressive list of equipment the company is two weeks away from starting up a 2,000 kg/hour gas fired pusher line which will be completely automated. The photos below show a small portion of the heat treat department which features 8 pit annealing furnaces.  Incidentally all the fixturing for the pit furnaces which you see in these photos is investment cast. It turns out the company has been using fabricated fixtures for many years however they recently switched over to investment cast on the basis that while it is more expensive up front in the long run it is cheaper because of the life.”

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“The Monty Heat Treat News” published this article earlier this year but in 2023 we will be publishing a new series of articles related to CO2 emissions in conjunction with the “Aichelin Group“. 

In conjunction with the “Aichelin Group”, “The Monty Heat Treat News” has an ongoing series about CO2 emissions and the heat treatment industry. In this summary we look at how much CO2 is generated to produce both a large mass part and a small mass part. You will note that this comparison looks at the emissions generated in France, USA, Germany, China and Poland and comes to the conclusion that due to the fact that most energy in Poland and China comes from coal, these two countries have far and away the highest emissions.

Large Mass Part;

• The heat treatment required to produce 2.2 pounds of larger steel parts (about 1 kg) requires about 1 – 2 kg of CO2 (depending on the use of recycled steel)
• If the part is forged this would add about 0.1 – 0.2 kg of CO2
• The machining process would result in a loss of material of about 5-20%
• The really interesting part is how much CO2 the final heat treatment process adds to the entire process whether it is Carburizing, hardening or annealing. Typically this would be about 0.05 – 0.5 kg of CO2. Obviously heat treatment is adding a relatively small amount of CO2 emissions as compared to producing the part, this ranges from 5 to 50% depending upon the process.

Small Mass Part;

• The heat treatment required to produce 2.2 pounds (1kg) of smaller steel parts during the product life cycle creates from 1.7 to 2kg of CO2.
• Machining & Stamping processes would cause a loss of about 5-20%
• The most interesting thing is what final heat treatment would add assuming this is one on a mesh belt furnace. This has been broken down by European country depending upon where their energy comes from. Heat Treatment (typical on mesh belts):
• In France approximately 0.05 – 0.1 kg CO2 would be added, a very small amount due to the fact that most electricity in France is generated through nuclear power.
• In the USA and Germany typically 0.1 – 0.2 kg of CO2 would be added
• Poland & China (assuming electric heat) 0.25 – 0,35 kg of CO2 would be added which reflects the fact that much of their power is generated through coal.

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USA based Osmundson Manufacturing Co. has carved a global niche in the equipment business by forming ground-engaging tillage parts from raw steel in its Perry, Iowa, facility. While the Osmundson name isn’t as well-known as John Deere, Great Plains, Landoll or Kinze, it’s not uncommon for their products to be in the booths of all those companies (and more) at the major farm shows. Currently the firm has approximately 100 employees in a 142,000 square plant in Perry, Iowa, however business is good enough that the company will invest in a new facility in Mayfield, Kentucky, USA.

Current plans have the company buying 35 acres in the Mayfield area and constructing a 150,000 square foot facility which will house two hot production lines and support cold workstations that will produce 20″ diameter and larger discs for both the agriculture and constructions industries. Plans include a brand new heat treatment department. Construction on the building is scheduled to begin in 2023 and is expected to be completed by 2025.

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Hot work tool steels can be hardened partially or completely by traditional heat-treating operations [1]. Their hardness stays in the range of 55 HRc even if the tempering temperature reaches 600° C (about 1100° F) which allows the use of these steels for components or tools working at elevated temperatures. This is especially important when making parts or tools for machines forming molten aluminum or other low-melting temperature metals and plastics. They are subjected to wear by friction, erosion at elevated temperatures as well as thermal fatigue. For the longevity of the machines and tools, both the core properties and the surface properties of the steel are important.

Thermochemical surface engineering, such as nitriding, further increases properties of friction, erosion and thermal fatigue [2-5]. This is possible since alloying elements in these steels, such as especially chromium, form very hard and thermally stable nitrides such as CrN.

Kinetics of Nitriding and Properties of the Nitrided Layer

Nitriding is a time-consuming process but properties of the nitrided layer overcome problems which can be encountered when only general heat treating, such as carburizing, carbonitriding and quench and temper, is used. The rate of nitriding is proportional to the square root of processing time but it is also exponentially increased by the temperature, see Fig. 1.

Nitriding Temperatures for H-13 Steel

Processing temperatures for H-13 steel can typically be set comparatively high, > 1000° F since the hardness of this steel is at its maximum if tempering temperature is close to 1100° F. This allows for an expedited nitriding process. Nevertheless, nitrided layers generally don’t exceed 0.008” thickness in an effort to control costs.

Hardness of the nitrided layer formed in H-13 steel stays very high, above 70 HRc equivalent even for soft-core components, see Fig. 2.

Nitrided H-13 Surface Hardness

Surface hardness HR15N is high and typically, depending on the case depth, is above 92.5. It should be mentioned that aluminum extrusion dies may benefit from a deep nitrided case since a majority of them fail because the stream of liquid aluminum at about 780°C washes out the surface. and This causes chemical dissolution of the steel and soldering Al to it [2-5]. The same requirement for deep case applies to some plastic tools especially those used for forming composites.

Nevertheless, thermal fatigue, often present in many of the higher temperature applications, can be better controlled when a very thin nitrided layer is formed. Attempting thick nitrided layers in those applications may have a negative effect on the performance and longevity of the tools. Also, the thickness of the compound zone (CZ or white layer) compared to the total thickness of the layer has to be limited as much as possible. The best thermal fatigue performance of the nitrided layer is when CZ of ɣ’-type is present at the surface. This guarantees that the surface stress is compressive.

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It is with regret that we mention the passing of Scott Hoensheid well known in the North American commercial heat treat industry as the former President of Commercial Steel Treating of Madison Heights, Michigan. Back in 2018 “The Monty Heat Treat News” came to the conclusion that Commercial Steel Treating is the oldest commercial heat treater in North America.

“Scott M. Hoensheid of Highland, passed away December 8, 2022 at 63 years of age. Beloved husband of Anne. Loving father of Allison (John) VanHaverbeke, Katherine Hoensheid and the late Joseph Hoensheid. Loving grandfather of Liam Joseph and Layla Jennifer. Loving brother of Ralph (Doris), Gary (Jana), Mark (Linda), Kurt (Gina) and Craig (Julie) Hoensheid. Scott retired as President of Commercial Steel Treating Corporation in Madison Heights. After retirement, he and his wife Anne started Oakland Business Center in Highland. In his spare time he enjoyed duck hunting, collecting both vintage signs and tonka trucks. He enjoyed spending time at his cottage in Hillman, however; his greatest joy was the time he spent with his children and grandchildren. He will be very much missed by all. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am on Thursday, December 15, 2022 at Church of the Holy Spirit, 3700 Harvey Lake Road in Highland. The family will receive friends on Thursday, December 15, 2022 from 9:00am until the time of the mass at 11:00am. Interment will immediately follow at All Saints Cemetery in Waterford. Memorial contributions in memory of Scott Hoensheid suggested to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to aid in the research of Mantel Cell Lymphoma.”

“NOVEMBER 2018; Oldest Commercial Heat Treater in North America; November 20th 2018 we speculated on this page that Bennett Heat Treat headquartered in NJ, USA and founded in 1923 might be the oldest commercial heat treater in North America at 95 years. A few readers chimed in suggesting Robert Wooler Company which was also founded in 1923 and Metlab which was founded in 1928. However to date the oldest that we have run across is Commercial Steel Treating Company in Michigan started in 1916 by Anthony and Ralph Hoensheid. Scott Hoensheid sent us this timeline.

• Hoensheid Steel Treating formed in 1916 by Anthony and Ralph Hoensheid (Father and Son). Both were Metallurgists at Detroit Twist Drill as well.

• Commercial Steel Treating Incorporated in 1927 by Ralph Hoensheid. Ralph was instrumental in the heater’s club and was the second President of MTI.

• Ralph’s son’s Merle and Warren Hoensheid took over upon his passing in 1950.

• Commercial Steel continued its growth through the war and Plant 2 began in 1954 in Madison Heights Michigan.”

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“The Monty Heat Treat News” is very pleased to mention a new hire by furnace builder Can Eng mainly because we have known the individual involved for many years and have always had a high opinion of him, but first some background. Based in Niagara Falls, Canada, Can Eng is a very well known name in the heat treatment industry mainly for their mesh belt furnace equipment and aluminum processing systems. Monday marked the very first day for their new Field Service Engineer, Mr. Daniel Breitkreuz. If you don’t recognize the name, Daniel worked for H & S Heat Treating in Port Robinson, Ontario for many years, the past few as Maintenance Manager. As such the paths of Daniel and “The Monty Heat Treat News” have been crossing for years which is where we came to admire his knowledge of furnaces.

Incidentally Field Service Engineers are very difficult to find as the job requires an individual with a great deal of knowledge as well as somebody that enjoys spending his life travelling. Read more about this and other positions in the industry at https://themonty.com/project/oems-furnace-and-oven-manufacturers-salary-guide/

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