Can-Eng Furnaces International, Ltd. (CAN-ENG) has recently been awarded a contract to design and manufacture Two (2) 50,000 lb/hr. Car Bottom Furnaces for one of the Largest Metals and Mining companies in the World. These custom engineered furnaces will support the manufacturing critical metal hot rolling machine components used in the production rolling of high value-added automotive steel sheet and plate.
During the bidding process, Can-Eng was able to identify areas of improvement within the customers existing heat treatment system which allowed Can-Eng to develop a concept that better suited the customers needs while providing faster heat up and improved part uniformity. This in turn will increase efficiency, enhance part quality, and reduce operating costs.
The two systems, although located side by side will utilize completely independent control systems allowing for the ultimate in flexibility for schedule and maintenance. Both furnaces will be interconnected to the larger plant wide system for data acquisition and trending capabilities with Can-Eng’s Support.
Can-Eng Furnaces International is a global provider and leader of state-of-the-art thermal processing systems. Headquartered in Niagara Falls, ON, Canada, Can-Eng is an ISO 9001:2015 certified company. For further information please contact Can-Eng at [email protected] or fur
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To this very interesting press release from furnace builder SECO/WARWICK we can add these comments. voestalpine (formerly Bohler Uddeholm) maintains facilities around the world, most of which include heat treatment departments. “The Monty Heat Treat News” team has been fortunate enough to see a number of their locations and in each we have seen “state of the art” heat treatment systems. As an example these photos show a voestalpine location in Canada and one in South Africa.
“A leader in the “Tool & Dies” segment — voestalpine High Performance Metals Polska, placed an order for a retort tempering furnace with vacuum purging. The SECO/WARWICK furnace will be used for tempering tool steel after the gas quenching process. This is the first sign of cooperation between the companies after the global-pandemic-caused crisis. The new contract is the result of long-term cooperation between SECO/WARWICK and voestalpine High Performance Metals Polska Sp. z o.o. (formerly Bohler Uddeholm Polska). A retort tempering furnace with vacuum purging will complete the production line installed in Łomianki near Warsaw. The facility is currently operating the equipment delivered previously, including a hardening furnace and a tempering furnace. Another SECO/WARWICK furnace will significantly increase the capacity of the hardening plant.
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Solar Atmospheres – Souderton, Pa announces that it has been awarded Nadcap 24-month merit status for heat treating, brazing and carburizing. We are extremely pleased PRI has recognized our corporate commitment to quality. The adherence to strict specification requirements, flawless process execution, and a daily commitment to quality processing is evident among all employees at Solar Atmospheres.
The Solar Atmospheres Souderton, Pa facility has held Nadcap accreditation since 1995. Having demonstrated their ongoing commitment to quality by satisfying customer requirements and industry specifications, the Nadcap Task Group has determined that Solar Atmospheres – Souderton, Pa, has earned this special recognition. Instead of having their next Nadcap audit in 18 months, Solar has been granted an accreditation that lasts until August 31, 2023.
“I am pleased to announce that Solar Atmospheres in Souderton, Pa has been awarded 24 month merit status. This is the goal that all Nadcap suppliers strive for, and is not an easy task,” states Jamie Jones, President of the Solar Atmospheres Souderton, Pa facility. “It truly is a team effort from the employees handling our customers’ products while conducting the thermal processes and testing, to the post process compliance and review. Everything must be in order and completed without issue. Our team in Souderton, as well as all our other locations, are committed to top tier heat treating services. This 24-month Nadcap accreditation award is evidence of our unwavering commitment.”
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Our weekly “Heat Treat Podcast” this week features the “great” Jason Orosz, President of Nitrex, Global Heat Treating Services (HTS). Jason can be considered a “hard core” heat treater in that like many of us he was born into the industry and it has been his life since his early teen years. In this episode our host, Mr. Carlos Torres talks with Jason about the “Digitization of Heat Treat”.
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In Germany we find Mr. Achim Scheider who for his entire working life has been selling heat treat equipment into the European heat treatment market. Over the course of his career he has sold cast and fabricated furnace components and also enjoyed a spell selling new furnaces for Aichelin of Austria. Very recently Achim switched direction slightly and he is now an independent sales representative selling for several companies providing products to the heat treatment industry. These include Wuxi Cast GmbH, Burgdorf GmbH and furnace builder ROHDE Schutzgasofen GmbH. The name of his new company is IndVAS Industrievertretung https://indvas.de/ and Achim can be reached at [email protected]
“The Monty Heat Treat News” Team had the opportunity to travel with Achim several years ago and one of the many captive heat treatment facilities we visited was the SEW Eurodrive location in Bruchsal, Germany which can be seen in this photo. SEW Eurodrive. If you’re in the heat treating business you probably also know SEW because their plants around the world generally include substantial heat treating departments.
The batch IQ furnaces were chosen for the same reason that many manufacturers select them-they are versatile and easily adapt to fluctuating volumes. Even a cursory glance at this picture will show you that this is a meticulously maintained heat treat which is very much in line with the whole plant. While this installation is fairly typical of the heat treat department of a major gear manufacturer we will also say that this is a finer example than many. In this picture you see Mr. Achim Stassen who is in charge of this department (center) along with Achim Schneider and Gord Montgomery.
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In a very unusual listing for “The Monty” we have available a brand new shaker hearth furnace line and an automated salt line. Both were designed for heat treatment of titanium fasteners and both have never been used which is unusual to say the least. More details can be found at https://themonty.com/project/item-c378-automated-electric-salt-bath-rinse-bath-system/ and https://themonty.com/project/item-c379-titanium-solution-shaker-furnace/.
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Wallwork director, Simeon Collins, explained, “This is a further £650K investment by the group, this time in our Cambridge plasma nitriding centre, increasing the existing capacity to six operational plasma nitriders, providing 24/7 processing. We are also adding a new dedicated area for inspection of case depth, structure and other quality aspects of the nitriding process.”
The Rübig furnace range chosen is the Micropuls Everest. This plasma nitrider offers several advantages, including three heating and cooling zones with the temperature measured directly at the component. A blast chiller shortens process times, while optimised filling and increased energy efficiency reduce running costs.
Nitriding is a metal heat treatment process that improves the endurance of wear parts such as gears, camshafts and followers, valve parts, aero-engine and airframe components, dies, extruder screws and injectors. In the Rübig nitrider, molecular nitrogen is cracked in plasma to obtain active nitrogen which then penetrates the component’s surface. The process meets differing needs because the depth and properties of the case hardened layer can be finely controlled. Wallwork also design and manufacture the physical masking needed to ensure only the specified surfaces are exposed and hardened.
“The process has the major advantage of being relatively cool compared with other heat treatment methods. Importantly, this means the dimensions and characteristics of the base metal are not compromised. Also, it is ideally suited for low temperature plasma nitriding of stainless steels as it minimises potential loss of corrosion resistance in the metal, which could compromise its use in harsh environments,” Simeon added.
There are no chemical residues and so the process can be followed by physical vapour deposition (PVD) coating to impart even better wear resistance for use in high-load applications. Cambridge, also being Wallwork’s centre for advanced PVD coating technology, gives customers access to both plasma nitriding and coatings under one roof. Combined with the Group’s dedicated transport fleet for pick-up and delivery anywhere in the UK, this ensures an efficient and quick turn-around customer service.
Wallwork holds extensive approvals from company, national and international accreditation bodies. With well-equipped laboratories to test and evaluate existing plasma nitriding methods and develop new single or duplex processes, the company has a wealth of real-world problem solving experience.”
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It is with great regret that we mention the very recent passing of Mr. Keith Grier of ProTech Thermal Services at the age of 78. Keith’s entire life revolved around the heat treating industry, both from his time as a founder of GM Enterprises, a vacuum furnace manufacturer which is now part of Nitrex and with ProTech Thermal Services which also offers new vacuum furnaces and solutions for thermal processing companies. Both companies are located in California and Keith was still involved with Protech in Sales and Customer Service. Keith was a good man who will be missed. When more details are available we will share them.
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A small subset of vacuum heat treaters have long found helium for quenching to provide some very substantial benefits, benefits which are best summed up by gas supplier Air Products;
“Vacuum furnace gas quenching using helium can result in higher production rates, improved metallurgical properties, and can reduce overall process costs. Lower heat-transfer properties of argon and nitrogen can require expensive furnace modifications, higher quench pressure and increased blower speeds to achieve the same cooling rates achieved using helium.
Helium’s heat transfer coefficient is 60% greater than that of nitrogen at the same pressure. Also, helium is less dense than nitrogen or argon, which makes it easier to move in the furnace. Furnace fans need less power to circulate helium, therefore, increasing fan speed or pressure becomes a cost-effective practice in accelerating cooling. Additional benefits of helium gas quenching include:
- Like argon, helium is inert and will not react with components being treated. Nitrogen is considered inert in most cases, but can form nitrides in certain materials.
- Parts clean up is minimal compared with oil quenching.
- Helium quenching can open new markets for heat-treating processes that may be limited by conventional gas quenching. For example, heavier loads or parts with thicker cross sections can be quenched at a faster rate.”
The one very definite drawback to helium is the high (and rapidly increasing) price of the gas itself which is why most users of helium utilize helium recovery systems. The reasons for the dramatic price increases include both supply and demand;
“Helium plays a critical role in a number of high-tech applications, from barcode readers to semiconductors to liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines can’t work without it. Google, Netflix and Amazon have been buying massive quantities of it for their data centers.
Helium is an important but finite resource that must be extracted from the ground. In fact, it’s exclusively a byproduct of natural gas mining.
As a result, supply is getting tight. Helium is notoriously difficult and expensive to store, for the very good reason that it escapes every known container over time. Ever wondered why balloons lose their helium so fast? It’s because the gas’s atomic radius is so small, it can literally diffuse through any solid. Much of it floats up into the upper atmosphere and eventually gets torn away by the solar wind. Helium is the second-most abundant element in the universe, and yet the day is fast approaching when it may no longer exist on Earth.”
All of these factors have combined to triple the price of helium over the past 3 years with more price increases in the works. The end result of these price increases is that many if not all vacuum heat treaters are very aggressively looking at alternatives to helium gas quenching in vacuum furnaces.
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