Top Heat Treatment News Stories November 11/2024

Every week “The Monty” looks back on the previous week to see which Heat Treatment News Items excited our readers the most-this is based upon social media views, visits to “The Monty Heat Treat News” and readers thoughts and comments. For the week starting November 11, 2024 these were our top stories;
 
November 11/2024; “The Monty” Rumor Proves Correct! From time to time “The Monty Heat Treat News” publishes rumors about the heat treatment industry-not to “blow our own horn” but generally these rumors prove to be correct, this one is no exception.
 
Earlier this year we spoke about “HIPPING” (hot isostatic pressing), how it was a growing technology in the global heat treatment industry and in particular about a rumor that a commercial heat treater in Western Europe was investing in a very large system.
 
Well surprise, surprise the rumor is true and the company is none other than the second largest commercial heat treater in Europe, Aalberts Surface Technologies. Our understanding is that the new system will be going into a facility in the Netherlands, more details to follow.
 
MARCH 2024; New Hot Isostatic Press Order? For many years Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) occupied a fairly small but stable portion of the heat treatment market-when we think of the process, we think of castings for the aerospace industry. “Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) is a proven process for heat treatment, consolidation of powder, densification of products – such as castings, sintered materials, and ceramic parts – or for diffusion bonding applications. While HIP has been around for decades, we are seeing new applications in high-performance parts.”  A more detailed description can be found at Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_isostatic_pressing
 
While the market for HIP remained relatively unchanged for many years, this slowly starting changing a few years back and it now represents a very fast growing segment of the heat treat market with a number of very large installations over the past 5 years-this brings us to today’s “rumor” about a new large installation.
 
Our understanding is that a Western European commercial heat treater will be investing in a system from Quintus, a Swedish company and one of the larger players in this highly specialized arena. The rumor we are hearing is that the system will be a QIH 286 model, one of the larger presses that Quintus offers and that it is an investment of well over $20 million USD. The photo attached shows a typical Quintus QIH 286 press.”
 
EVOLUTION & FUTURE OF FURNACE CONTROLS; Bob Fincken Talks About The Evolution & Future Of Furnace Controls; Today we have Bob Fincken, Vice President of Sales for Super Systems Inc. (SSi) and Carlos Torres discussing furnace control technology. Discover insights into how furnace control technology has evolved and what the future holds for this essential field.
 
USA Commercial Heat Treater Expands; Expanite Inc. is relocating to a new and larger facility in Twinsburg, Ohio and bringing in new furnaces to meet the growing demand for advanced surface hardening and heat treatment solutions across a wide range of industries. The new advanced furnaces – with chamber sizes up to 24x24x36” – are supplied and installed by Seco/Warwick. The new equipment will allow Expanite to process larger and more complex components while maintaining the unique hardening quality, widely accepted for improving product performance on stainless steel. The increased capacity and capabilities will further enhance the lead times and flexibility that Expanite is known for. This strategic expansion not only boosts Expanite’s ability to serve a growing number of industries such as pumps, valves, food & beverage processing equipment, medical devices and automotive, but also aligns with the company’s commitment to sustainability by offering greener alternatives to traditional technologies.
 
“Our investment is all about meeting the growing demands from our North American customers,” says Thomas Sandholdt, CEO of Expanite. “We’re now able to handle much larger volumes while maintaining the fast lead times and flexibility that our customers expect from Expanite.” Expanite is bringing Patented Technology for Hardening of Titanium to North America Expanite Inc. is now not only offering its well-known SuperExpanite processes for stainless steel but also its patented ExpaniteHard-Ti process — an advanced surface hardening solution designed for hardening of titanium parts.
 
Previously ExpaniteHard-Ti was only available from Expanite’s headquarters in Denmark. The ExpaniteHard-Ti process significantly improves wear and galling resistance, extending life and expanding the possible applications of titanium components. “Our expanded capabilities mean we can now offer our full range of Expanite technologies, including the processes for titanium, right here in the U.S.”, added Claus Løndal, Country Manager, North America “This allows us to serve a wide range of customers while reducing lead times and costs”. Expanding Heat Treatment Capabilities Besides the proprietary Expanite processes, standard vacuum heat treatment processes are offered from Expanite.”
 
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