We have been asked to find a buyer for a small commercial heat treating shop in the Northern USA. This plant offers processes such as stress relieving and annealing and has sales of between $500,000 USD and $1 million USD. The company has several long time, experienced employees and is profitable. If interested please contact Jordan Montgomery [email protected] for a NDA.

Recently we had a brief note about how a component on Boeing 737Max airplanes called a “slat track” was possibly defective due to improper heat treating. We posted the story and promptly forgot all about it until a reader sent us this article. This very well written and researched article comes from a fellow by the name of Christopher Paris and his credentials are at the end of the article. Read on to see the entire tale which appears to tell us how a known (or unknown) company might have fudged heat treating data in the aerospace industry; https://www.oxebridge.com/emma/why-wont-boeing-spirit-name-manufacturer-of-defective-737-slat-tracks/

“Within the last week, Boeing announced that a number of 737MAX and 737 NG airplanes are currently in operation with potentially defective components known as “slat tracks,” which help control the forward flight surfaces on the aircrafts’ wings. The Boeing announcement was another black eye for the already beleaguered company, but it was odd in that it didn’t name the manufacturer of the product in question. Subsequent reporting then uncovered that the manufacturer was a sub-tier supplier a major Boeing component manufacturer, Spirit AeroSystems of Wichita KS. Even after that was reported, Spirit wasn’t announcing the actual manufacturer’s name, either. Stranger still, the FAA hasn’t issued any airworthiness directive or announcement naming the supplier. It’s not just an oversight, either. In a call to reporters, Boeing spokesman Bernard Choi flat-out refused to answer when asked who the supplier is, saying he “is not commenting on the supplier.”

The level of secrecy about the supplier is unusual, to say the least. This is made worse by the fact that Boeing is under the microscope right now due to the 737MAX angle of attack indicator malfunctions and hidden MCAS software features which appear to have caused the two deadly crashes in Jakarta and Ethiopia, grounding the entire MAX fleet worldwide. You would think Boeing would be opting for transparency in light of this new problem, but they are going in the opposite direction. And there’s got to be a very powerful reason for that. For now, all we can do is guess. One likelihood is that the Spirit “sub-tier supplier” is located in Asia. A prominent manufacturer of wing components for Spirit is Drewloong Precision in Taiwan, a potential culprit. Announcing that Boeing aircraft are being affected by defects originating from Taiwan could raise a number of thorny issues for the Trump administration as it engages in a trade war with China, Taiwan’s enemy. Boeing and Spirit are also keenly aware that any news of defects coming from Taiwan might trigger a tweetstorm from the Commander-in-Chief demanding that such manufacturing be done in the US, which would cripple Boeing’s already damaged stock prices.

But the source may not be from Asia at all, but instead Europe. As this news hit, French manufacturer Aubert & Duval was simultaneously stripped of all its AS9100, AS9120 and other certifications from the certification body Burea Veritas. Normally when a company loses multiple different certs from a CB it means they simply didn’t pay their bill, and the certificates will be restored within days; but Aubert & Duval also simultaneously lost their Nadcap accreditation, which is issued by PRI, not Bureau Veritas. The IAQG OASIS database shows that Aubert & Duval’s AS91xx certs were suspended on March 15th 2019, while PRI’s listings show that the company’s heat treat processes had their Nadcap withdrawn just four days later on March 19th. Clearly, the two actions are related, raising suspicions that the company may have gotten caught falsifying heat treat data. That March date would align with when Boeing allegedly discovered the slat track problem. Aubert & Duval supply metal to the Boeing/Spirit supply chain, so would be considered a “sub-tier supplier.”

If so, Boeing, Spirit and FAA may be keeping the story quiet because they don’t need a “metal data falsification” scandal to pile on top of the already suffocating host of issues Boeing is dealing with. To date, the majority of aerospace test data falsifications have come from Japan, and haven’t been tracked to installations on exact US-designed aircraft models. Whatever the reason, the companies and FAA are happy to keep the supplier quiet for now, but the identity of the supplier is unlikely to stay hidden permanently. When it does come out, it won’t be good news for the aerospace supply chain nor its quality certification schemes.”

About Christopher Paris; Christopher Paris is the founder and VP Operations of Oxebridge. He has over 30 years’ experience implementing ISO 9001 and AS9100 systems, and is a vocal advocate for the development and use of standards from the point of view of actual users. He is the author of Surviving ISO 9001:2015. He reviews wines for the irreverent wine blog, Winepisser.

Safety in heat Treatment touches each and every one who works in either a captive or a commercial heat treatment shop. We all have a responsibility to each other to minimize the risk of accidents and injuries (no matter how minimal or extensive that injury might be). The two area’s that this presentation will address are shown below;

Housekeeping

Housekeeping is a relatively easy subject to address and attend to. It is suggested that you consider a daily routine for floor cleaning. The following could then be considered;

Painting of demarcation lines around the furnace equipment plus demarcation lines for stacking area’s for baskets, trays and load preparation and unload areas.
Demarcation lines around process enrichment gas bottles.
Demarcation lines around external bulk gas storage area’s for easy access for bulk gas delivery vehicles.
Defining the receiving area as dispatch/pickup area.
If you are operating salt baths, ensure that the salt storage area is a very secure area and under lock and key.
Quenching medium should also be stored in a secure area and (if quench oil) well away from any heat source.
No entry and emergency exits should be clearly identified as well as notices to follow to the nearest emergency exit.

Equipment

Quite a large number of both captive and commercial plants have as their processing equipment, the integral quench furnace. That are used for atmosphere heat treatment procedures such as Carburizing, Carbonitriding, and neutral hardening procedures. The furnaces are more often than not, filled with combustible atmospheres as well an internal quench tank of specialty quench oil.

Shown below is an integral quench furnace. Once the furnace is gassed up, it can be likened to a ‘fire breathing dragon’ once the furnace is gassed up. The atmosphere concern and consideration apply also to continuous furnace systems, shaker hearth furnaces, 2 to 4 row pusher furnaces

Fig 1 An integral quench furnace filled with the process gas.

Fig 2. The fire breathing Dragon!!

The safety rules are really quite simple; however, one should follow (implicitly) the furnace builder’s safety and handling of atmosphere introduction into the furnace. This will be found in the Manufacturers Operational and Maintenance manual.

DO NOT INTRODUCE THE COMBUSTIBLE ATMOSPHERE INTO THE FURNACE BELOW 1400°F!!!
Never stand directly in front of the furnace door once the furnace is gassed up with a combustible gas. If an explosion should occur there is the potential for the explosion to blow off the furnace door.
The integral quench furnace will have an internal oil quench built into the unit. Ensure that the set point oil quench medium temperature is maintained. In other words, ensure that the oil quench agitators are functional and most importantly, that the quench oil heat exchanger is functional and operating within the quench medium temperature set point.
Ensure that the oil quench filters (usually on the external side of the furnace). This is because when the quenching procedure is in operation, fine particles resulting from microscopic debris quenching from both the work load and atmosphere are recirculating through the filters. It is recommended that a weekly filter clean is part of the weekly maintenance routine.
Check monthly the functionality of the explosion caps.
Ensure that all pilot light sensors are lightly brushed to remove any soot build up that will have deposited onto the sensors. (This applies to the main flame curtain as well as explosion caps).
Ensure that Operating and Maintenance manuals are kept. It is suggested that a master copy be held in a secure location, and that one is kept in maintenance department and the final one on the shop floor in a safe and secure location.

If operating an atmosphere generator, ensure that the air to gas is correct and not to forget to consider potential variances in atmosphere moisture content, (Particularly during both humid and rainy weather).

Protective clothing

Wear eye protection (goggle or full-face mask) If operating a salt bath wear the face mask with complete head protection against salt splashes.
Wear a full heat resisting jacket with long sleeves for arm protection.
Wear also long-sleeved heat resistant gloves.
Wear appropriate foot protection with safety boots or shoes.
Wear appropriate ear protection against excessive noise.
Develop a personnel list of specialized heat treaters who can monitor the safety aspects of the department.

First aid

Develop a first aid team or individual who has at least been trained in FIRST AID. The first aider should at least be able to deal with burns that may occur in the department.
Develop a good first aid kit. Ask the local Dr for assistance in developing a first aid kit.
Know the local first responders’ access telephone numbers. (Including hospital, ambulance, fire department)
Do not use water to extinguish an oil fire. It can make the fire spread even further. If possible, starve the fire of oxygen by covering with a heat resistant blanket.
Have CO₂ and gas detectors at strategic locations within the heat treatment shop.
DO NOT enter a CONFINEDSPACE WITHOUT CONDUCTING A CONFINED SPACE ENTRY MEETING SO THAT ALL PARTY’S FULLY UNDERSTAND THEIR FUNCTION.
Confined space entry by a single individual with out back is a recipe for a serious potential accident.

Conclusion

Regular furnace maintenance must be mandatory in any heat treatment shop. Without the furnace, and its control systems need to be regularly maintained. Without the furnace and its associated equipment, nothing is treated!!Your furnace equipment are your assets! People are also your assets. Ensure that employee safety is mandatory. The writer suggests a regular meeting of a formed safety committee within your organization to address with management to discuss potential safety issues. Have all of the appropriate and emergency telephone contact number available and located in a Manual of Corporate Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).

There would appear to be lots happening at Poland based furnace manufacturer SECO/WARWICK and we are looking forward to telling you about some of it, both today and in the near future. We can share that the company will soon have a new CEO as Pawel Wyrzykowski is no longer with the company as of last week. We actually interviewed Pawel a few years back and his interview can still be found at https://themonty.com/interviews/pawel-wyrzykowski-seco-warwick/ August1st of this year we will have an interview with the new CEO which we are sure you will find interesting. However prior to that we will be meeting with the SECO team during their press day which will be held during the upcoming Thermprocess exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany in a couple of weeks. In the meantime we leave you with this press release just sent out by their Retech Systems subsidiary.

“Retech Systems, a subsidiary of SECO/WARWICK Group, supplied two vacuum induction melting (VIM) systems to Siemens Power and Gas division. The VIM systems will play a key role in the casting of components such as turbine blades and vanes for the power-generation industry. One VIM directional solidification/single crystal/equiax pitless (VIM DS/SC/EQ) combination casting furnace and one VIM directional solidification/single crystal (DS/SC) casting furnace were installed. To meet market demand, Siemens is planning for more furnaces (pitless VIM DS/SC casting furnace systems) to be installed soon.”

We are going to start off in Canada for a couple of news items about commercial heat treating. In the first we see that Exactatherm in Mississauga will be celebrating their 40^th anniversary with a barbeque this coming Friday. Exactatherm was founded by Dr. Peter Lidster and the company is NADCAP approved and offers vacuum heat treating, Plasma nitriding and several other processes. In this picture we see the good Doctor alongside Jordan Montgomery of “The Monty”. We will be in attendance at the party and will give you an update.

In Quebec Thermetco has now completed their transition from their original plant to a brand new location. In these photos you can see the old, now empty facility and the new location.

As we often say nitriding is a growing business both gas and vacuum purged which means more and more players are getting into the market. Gasbarre who entered the gas nitriding field a little while back is scheduled to ship a system to Contour Hardening in Indianapolis who is now entering the vacuum nitriding field as you can see in the picture below. (Gasbarre’s ad can be found on this page by the way)

Bodycote, Greenville, South Carolina, USA is justifiably proud of recent approvals at their facility in South Carolina as you can see in this press release; “Bodycote, Greenville, South Carolina, is now Pratt & Whitney and GE Aviation approved for heat treat and brazing. We are excited to serve the rapidly growing additive and aero-engine markets. This location is ideal for supporting your Southeast manufacturing plant.” We recently listed this item on behalf of a company by the name of Qualtech in Denver, Colorado, USA. “Unitherm Industries Pit Carburizing furnace with working dimensions of 36″ diameter X 72″ deep. Model GP3672. Installed in 2015 and in operation until December 2018 when the plant was closed down. Maximum operating temperature of 1850F, maximum load 2,000 pounds. Gas-Fired with Eclipse Thermjet TJSR55.” The furnace was in excellent shape and not that old, however Qualtech (a manufacturing company) had made the decision to exit heat treating and this furnace along with a number of others became surplus. Bottom line is that the furnace sold to a commercial heat treater and all of the furnaces at this plant are now gone.

In China we see that a furnace manufacture by the name of JGEP is bragging about a recent installation they made at a commercial heat treat in Chonqing, China; “JGEF Furnace installed a series of nitrocarburizing furnaces at a commercial heat-treatment company’s recently opened 53,820-square-foot facility in Chongqing, China. The furnaces are designed to maintain temperature uniformity of ±3°C. The series of pit nitrocarburizing furnaces use software that controls the nitriding potential and maximizes the efficiency of the process. The systems are capable of maintaining the preset values of Kn, and the process requires no manual adjustments from start to finish.” The world’s largest heat treat show“Thermprocess” will be held June 24 to 28^Th in Dusseldorf, Germany. This event is held every 4 years and we will be in attendance and also taking the opportunity to visit a few heat treaters and equipment manufacturers in Germany at the same time. One company which comes to mind is Halex one of the largest heat treatment groups in Europe and we will be seeing two of their locations. The photo below is from the 2015 event and features the “Solo” (furnace manufacturing) booth.

We mentioned Bodycote, Greenville, SC already but this plant comes up a second time today. Mark Haran a long-time heat treater who has worked at companies such as Braddock Metallurgical and Bodycote for quite some time was recently promoted to Production Manager in Greenville-good for Mark.

And to round things out we have this recent photo of Mr. Marco Marchetti who up until a couple of years ago was a very well known individual in the European heat treating industry. Mr. Marco Marchetti was the Chairman, CEO and majority shareholder of Swiss company Accu Holdingswhich amongst it’s different divisions included Italian furnace builder CIEFFE. Due to some legal issues Marco parted ways with the industry and while we don’t know what he is up to these days we have this recent photo of him. Marco is on the left in this picture.

It is seldom you hear about a commercial heat treat just closing their door but that is exactly what has happened to this South Carolina company. Automated Heat Treating, Inc in Woodruff, SC has closed their doors. Apparently the owner Frank Jones has decided to retire at the young age of 84 and close up shop. Established in 1985, Frank along with us daughter have ran it since day one with a couple of employees. https://www.automatedheattreat.com/

Captive heat treater Strong Forge & Fabrication in Batavia, NY (Buffalo area) suffered a small fire recently which originated in the ducting from one of their batch IQ furnaces-amazing how often fires start in furnace ducting. We have this report from a local newspaper; “At Strong Forge & Fabrication, 20 Liberty St., Batavia, NY a fire occurred in the roof above one of their heat-treating furnaces. Strong Forge makes machine forgings, weldments and fabricated parts, according to the company website. The call came in at 1:10 p.m. “The fire was caused by a combination of super-heated air and a flammable media in the exhaust pipe of the heat-treated unit, which in turn caused the roof material to combust,” the fire chief said. “The fire was brought under control within 30 minutes. There were no injuries or evaluations on scene.” “It was an industrial fire. It’s not suspicious,” he said. “It’s (the facility) operational. They’re putting protective covers over the roof and I imagine they’ll start immediate repairs. “Initially, we requested assistance from the town of Batavia, but canceled them before they responded. It was for a second ladder truck. We canceled them once we had control of the fire.”

This Friday, June 7th marks Dan McCurdy’s last day at commercial heat treat giant Bodycote which means the start of his retirement. Our association with Dan goes back many, many years to when he started with furnace controls company Marathon Monitors in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Through a number of twists and turns Dan became President, Bodycote Automotive and General Industrial Heat Treatment, North America and Asia a position which he has held for the past number of years. We’re not going to dwell on his work history except to say that we have always had a tremendous amount of respect for his knowledge, professionalism and calmness (although others might disagree on this last statement). It is a trite saying but the heat treating industry will certainly be poorer without him. By the way an upcoming interview with the CEO of Bodycote, Mr. Stephen Harris will tell us who will be replacing Dan as President. To go with this item we have two photos, the first shows from the left Jim Oakes and Bob Fincken of SSI and Jordan and Gord Montgomery having a toast to our good friend Dan. The second shows Dan at the FNA show in Nashville back in 2016. Flanking him are Gord Montgomery and Tom Gibbons, President of Bodycote ADE, North America.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently installed a brand new, 14-foot long car bottom air furnace. The furnace was surveyed in accordance with AMS2750 Rev E and is uniform within ±10°F (Class 2). With a working zone measuring 60” wide x 54” high x 168” long, the furnace will be capable of handling workloads up to 30,000 pounds. A maximum operating temperature of 1400°F allows this furnace to accommodate the tempering of large tool steel components, as well as the age hardening processes of nickel-based alloys and precipitation hardenable stainless steels.

Bob Hill, President of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, states, “This new air tempering furnace will be a good complement its larger counterpart, a recently installed 20 foot long car bottom furnace. Expanding our large air furnace capability will enhance the turnaround for our ’raw material’ customers, and is more cost-effective than processing in a vacuum environment.”

For additional information, contact Mike Johnson at 724-982-0660 x2223 or [email protected], and visit us at www.solaratm.com.

Engine components manufacturer Pankl Racing Systems is justifiably very proud of the heat treating department at their location in Kapfenberg, Austria the centrepiece of which is this fairly new ALD vacuum carburizing system. Lets see what the company has to say about it;

“Pankl Racing Systems has one of the most innovative heat treatment facilities available on the market. Our modular vacuum heat treatment system is fully automated and multifunctional, with three treatment chambers that are supported by a preheating furnace. All thermal and/or thermochemical heat treatment processes may be performed simultaneously, at temperatures of up to 1200°C. Using quench gases such as nitrogen, high pressure and high flow speeds, components are hardened evenly and with a high level of process reliability. The unit allows for a wide range of heat treatment processes, all of them customised to suit the component and material in question.”