Metal Expert, Poland/Nitrex
“Metal Expert Sp. z o.o. started production last year with the new Nitrex system for nitriding stainless steel turbine components. The addition of the Nitrex system to the company’s heat treating operations allows Metal Expert to improve process reliability and meet exacting standards for complex turbine applications that require dimensional control and tight tolerances.
Located in Elblag, a city in northern Poland, Metal Expert has over the past 15 years steadily increased its range of gas and steam turbine components developed for mechanical and electrical power generation. To keep up with their production expectations, Metal Expert chose the NX pit-type 615 furnace with a capacity to nitride a 2200 lb. (1000 kg) load. The turnkey system also features the Nitreg®-S technology with proven, tested recipes for nitriding acid-resistant stainless steels and other types of stainless steels with incredibly precise, repeatable results. Complex components such as blades, shafts, steering discs, stems, and other machined components are nitrided to exact customer specifications for strength, wear and corrosion, as well as dimensional stability within acceptable limits. Since these critical components operate under high temperature and high stress conditions in gas and steam turbines, Nitreg®-S technology improves their structural durability and reliability, prolonging the service life of these components. Moreover, given the relatively high cost of materials used in the manufacturing of turbine parts and the long processing times, the Nitreg®-S process is fully optimized, allowing for more predictable properties and avoiding unnecessary scrap and rework.
NITREG®-S TECHNOLOGY IS VITAL TO THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS, IMPROVES PRODUCT VALUE
“Over the decade, our investments in research have enabled the technological development of nitriding stainless steels and boosted the adoption of Nitreg®-S for a number of applications in a variety of industries. Today, our advances have made it possible to insure the homogeneous formation of the nitride layer in stainless steels. For Metal Expert and all Nitrex customers, we guarantee the homogeneity of nitriding and the degree of dissociation as per the requirements of the AMS 2759/10 and AMS 2759/6 specifications,” said Marcin Stokłosa, Project Manager at Nitrex Poland.
“Investments in new technological capabilities have allowed Metal Expert to specialize in power generation projects built to the highest standards of performance,” said Andrzej Strankowski, Head of Technical Department at Metal Expert. “Technological innovations such as Nitreg®-S nitriding that are vital to the manufacturing process and which help improve product value have earned the company industry accreditations and the trust of many prestigious companies in the energy and machinery industry like Alstom Power, Siemens Turbochargers, and many others. The Nitrex system with Nitreg®-S technology provides Metal Expert with repeatability and reproducibility of the process from load to load, uniformity of temperatures according to the AMS 2750E specification as well as nitriding results, which was not possible with the previous furnace.”