Welcome to the first episode of “The Heat Treat Podcast” with our host Carlos Torres talking to Jim “Jimmy” Oakes about the basics of CQI-9 and Nadcap, what is unique about them and their similarities and differences. Our host, Carlos Torres is President of furnace builder Mattsa and Jimmy Oakes is President of controls company SSi and was recently nominated to the “The Monty Heat Treat News” list of the 25 Most Influential in the North American Heat Treat Industry. We confidently expect that this will be the first of many where we put together some of the most influential people in the industry to talk about heat treating.

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

It is rather interesting the stated reasons for this manufacturer bringing their heat treating requirements in house-shorter lead times and improved process controls. We at “The Monty” have always said that costs have little to do with manufacturers bringing heat treating in house, the number one reason is always shorter lead times.

“G-M Enterprises, a Nitrex company, delivered a horizontal front-loading vacuum furnace with 6 Bar quench capability to a medical device company in the USA for vacuum heat treating of dies as well as critical medical parts. This investment represents the company’s first vacuum furnace, which aligns with their new production strategy to bring heat treating capabilities in-house to achieve shorter lead times and improved process controls.

“After due diligence by the customer, G-M Enterprises’ vacuum furnace came through as a clear winner among other competitors in the market for its advanced equipment design, superior efficiency, and a high return on investment. Also, our aftermarket services and support provided are second to none. We are proud of continually maintaining G-M Enterprises’ long-standing relationship with the medical industry, providing solutions that aid in improving the affordability and accessibility of high-quality healthcare,” said Michel Frison, VP Global Sales, Nitrex and G-M Enterprises.

G-M Enterprises completed the installation at the company’s newly expanded greenfield facility. The turnkey solution features a horizontal front loading vacuum furnace G-M model HVF 101-(I)XB with 6-Bar internal quench capabilities and a work area of 18″ Wide x 18″ High x 24″ Long (457 x 457 x 610 mm), with an all-metal furnace construction. The system is part of the company’s metal injection molding operations and is intended for heat-treating of steel dies used in the manufacturing of medical components.”

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

Back in 2019 it was announced that Merit Gear in Antigo, Wisconsin, USA would be closing in the first quarter of 2020 (the original announcement is below). This prediction did indeed come to pass and the entire gear facility was closed in March of last year. This closing makes our news section today because the company had (has) a very large, fairly modern heat treat facility and “The Monty” has learned that all of the furnaces will be going to auction although no details are available yet-this makes for another “Monty” exclusive. The furnaces available are a number of large, fairly new pit carburizing furnace built by Surface Combustion less than 15 years ago. Hard to say how much attention the equipment will garner as there is never a strong demand for big pit carburizers. By the way this closing was yet another example of how the expected potential for wind energy in North America never materialized, we can think of at least half dozen big, captive heat treats built for wind energy which ended up being shut down. 

“May 20. 2019. Antigo Mayor Bill Brandt says the city was informed Friday Merit Gear would close by March 2020. Merit Gear manufactures gearing and specialized gearboxes, which mainly serve the oil and gas industry. Brandt said the shutdown will be conducted in phases resulting in 80 people losing their jobs. “I was told this was a decision made in Milwaukee and there was no chance of reversing it.. We were as surprised as the Merit Gear employees,” Brandt explained to NewsChannel 7 Monday in an email. Rep. Felzkowski (R-Irma) and Senator Tom Tiffany (R-Minocqua) issued a joint-statement Monday.

“We are disappointed in Rexnord’s decision to close Merit Gear, which has been a staple of the Antigo business community since 1952. Our thoughts are with the hard-working employees who now find themselves in an extremely difficult situation. This uncertainty is stressful for these families, and we must come together to take care of our neighbors.” “Our priority will be in assisting our constituents during their job transition period in any way we can. We have sent a letter to Governor Evers and the Department of Workforce Development requesting that all resources within the administration are deployed to impacted employees and the community. Milwaukee-based Rexnord Corp. purchased Merit Gear in 2013. Merit Gear and Machine Company was formed in Antigo in 1952.” 

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

It always brings joy to our hearts when we see captive and commercial heat treaters alike adding additional heat treating capacity. Such is the case with a firm in Upstate New York, USA who are finding business good enough to add to their already significant heat treating capacity. In this particular case the company has committed to two surplus, gas fired Surface Combustion, Integral quench furnaces with working dimensions of 36″ X 48″ which will be installed the first quarter of 2021. Upstate New York is a region which has seen it’s manufacturing base and consequently their heat treating capacity shrinking over the years primarily because it is such a high cost area to do business. Large captive heat treaters such as American Axle, Magna Powertrain, Remington and Emerson Bearings have all left the area in recent years or plan to, however the companies that remain are seeing at least stable business conditions and in some cases increased business. This photo shows one of the furnaces which will be installed.

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

Starting January 21/2021 “The Branford Group” will be auctioning off equipment at the GE Aviation facility in Delaware, USA. Regular readers of “The Monty” will know that we announce upcoming auctions featuring surplus heat treating equipment and provide our opinion about how saleable the equipment is. In this case the 4 heat treat related items available (listed below) will sell guaranteed and sell for top notch prices. All of these items come from some of the best known builders in the industry and each is in excellent shape and quite new.

VACUUM FURNACES & AUTOCLAVES

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

Our understanding is that this box furnace is destined for the new Pratt & Whitney facility in Asheville, NC,  a location which will feature a brand new heat treating center. This project was announced back in 2020 and the plant is scheduled to open in early 2022.

“L&L Special Furnace Co. has shipped a highly uniform box furnace to a major aerospace manufacturer located in the southeastern United States. The state-of-the-art-facility will be opening soon and be a central part of a new heat-treating center for aerospace and military components. The Model FB666 is a front-loading box furnace with a pneumatic vertical door. Its working dimensions are 60” wide by 60” high by 60” deep. There are a series of castable piers and an alloy grid that supply a very stable work platform for various part sizes and configurations.

The furnace has a high-convection, air-cooled fan for air circulation and excellent uniformity at low temperatures. It was surveyed for performance prior to shipping and obtained certified temperature uniformity of ±10°F from 500°F to 2,000°F. There is also a venturi cooling system to aid in the cooling of the furnace interior along with an external modulating case cooling blower that provides fresh air intake to keep the furnace case temperature low during operation. A manual 2,000lb. loader with rails and incorporated stops allows for the furnace to be easily loaded and unloaded. The loader moves on two low-profile rails and is indexed to the furnace front. Positive stops keep the furnace loader in line and prevent accidental impact with the rear or sides of the furnace.

The furnace is controlled by a Eurotherm program control with overtemperature protection. A 12-channel video recorder and jack panel are included to record all required furnace thermal data. The resistance elements are driven by SSR power controls with biasing for balancing of temperature gradients. There is a stack light that is an audible and visual indicator of current furnace status. The control panel is a modular floor-standing NEMA12 panel with fused disconnect.

Built in accordance with strict customer guidelines for safety, the furnace includes a light shield for operator and furnace interface safety, as well as an access ladder with multiple roof tie-off points for safety latches. It has a secondary shell with a heat shield to ensure very low case temperatures at operating temperatures. The electrical system is completely isolated, with hazardous voltage contained in an enclosure that has a preventive lock for unauthorized access.

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

Josh Hunter recently became Assistant Plant Manager at commercial heat treater Braddock Metallurgical at the firms Atlanta, Georgia facility. Josh is a long time heat treater having worked at companies such as Bodycote;

“Braddock Metallurgical is proud to announce the addition of a new Assistant Plant Manager at our Atlanta facility. Josh is a U.S. Navy Veteran and has many years of experience in heat treating, manufacturing, and management. We are excited to have Josh join our team. He will be an integral part in our ongoing pursuit to provide the best quality and service for our customers.”

Jacob Kreger recently earned the title “Commissioning Engineer” at furnace builder Surface Combustion of Ohio.  We have always felt a great deal of respect for this position-long days travelling and being away from home.

Way back, November 30th to be exact we started our nomination process for our semi-annual list of the 25 Most Influential People in the North American Heat Treating Industry and since that time we have received hundreds of very interesting suggestions. Well we are almost ready to put together our final list but before we do here are a few more interesting suggestions which might or might not make our final list.

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

Tom Gibbons, Bodycote. President, Aerospace, Defense & Energy, Heat Treat and Surface Technology at Bodycote. Tom is based in Texas and has responsibility for 65 operational sites making him a very influential individual indeed.

Paul Oleszkiewicz, VP at Nitrex Metal Inc., Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Paul has been with Nitrex since almost the beginning and is a very active part of the management team guiding multiple initiatives  at Nitrex. In this photo Paul is on the left.

Dennis Beauchesne, ECM. Dennis has been a part of the North American Heat Treat industry for over 20 years. Currently the General Manager of ECM USA, Inc., Dennis has worked with many companies within the heat treat industry. Not only has he been a pioneer for the Low Pressure Vacuum Carburizing sector – Dennis is a true collaborator within this community on many facets.

Chris Otten, Schaeffler Bearings. A few people suggested Mr. Chris Otten, a suggestion which we are rather embarrassed to say did not occur to us immediately as we have known Chris for over 25 years. Chris’s official title is “Regional Technician Heat Treat” and as such he is responsible for making heat treat decisions for a number of Schaeffler facilities in Canada, the US and Mexico.

“​Solar Manufacturing recently shipped an external quench vacuum furnace to a West Coast aerospace manufacturer. The Model HFL-7472–2EQ features an all-metal hot zone, a load weight capacity up to 10,000 lbs., a maximum operating temperature of 2400° F, and a 2-bar quench system optimized for argon with a 150 HP quench motor and a variable frequency drive. The furnace working zone measures 48”W x 48”H x 72”D, includes the SolarVac® Polaris control system, and is AMS2750F compliant.

The furnace will be primarily used for vacuum heat treating investment castings for the aerospace industry. Solar Manufacturing designs and manufactures a wide variety of vacuum heat treating, sintering, and brazing furnaces and offers replacement hot zones, spare parts, and professional service.” 

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.

In Ajax, Ontario, Canada we find a growing commercial heat treat by the name of Atlantic Heat Treat. The company has a long history which goes back several decades and was acquired by the current owner Mr. Jon Mathews almost 20 years ago, since that time Jon has made some major investments. These include vacuum furnaces, a black oxide line and a nitriding system. We can now say that the firm is making a major investment in more batch IQ capacity, capacity which will more than triple what the company now has. The photo below was taken just yesterday by Jordan Montgomery of “The Monty” and it shows part of the Atlantic team including the owner, Jon Mathews who is on the right. By the way we expect to be hearing quite a bit more about the company in the near future, unfortunately as of today we have to leave it at that.

Heat Treating – Black Oxide – Nitriding – Same Day Delivery – Atlantic Heat Treating

Did you like this article? Click here to subscribe to The Monty.