EQUIPMENT NEWS
Horizontal Nitriding Furnace
Nitrex delivered a horizontal nitriding furnace to Hydro Extrusion Norway. The furnace can handle loads up to 1,760 pounds (800 kg). It includes Nitreg technology to optimize process parameters for optimal die quality and a neutralizer for a clean process. The decision to order this furnace was made because Hydro Extrusion Norway had to replace an old decommissioned furnace at its Magnor plant. The new nitriding equipment had to integrate with the existing infrastructure of the plant and fit into the specific floor space.
According to Nitrex, the furnace trials produced very good results, and the company was able to deliver the turnkey system quickly. Nitrex has installed over 20 nitriding systems in Hydro plants worldwide.
Image courtesy of Nitrex
Vacuum Melting and Casting Furnace
SECO/WARWICK will supply a two-chamber vacuum melting and casting furnace to a company in the aerospace industry. The furnace is designed with vertical loading to produce high-quality equiax castings. It is equipped with a 150-kW heater that will heat the mold in the furnace before pouring. The vacuum melting and casting furnace, which has a 55-pound (25-kg) load capacity, will have a valve separating the melting chamber from the mold chamber and a gate separating the vertical loader from the melting chamber. This configuration allows the system to carry on processes one after the other without having to aerate the melting chamber.
Batch Austemper Facility
A supplier of agricultural and lawn equipment based in the Midwest purchased a complete batch austemper facility from AFC-Holcroft. The complete line consists of two AFC-Holcroft UBQA (universal batch quench-austemper) units along with ancillary equipment including pre-treatment spray dunk wash and post-treatment multi-stage washer, preheat temper furnaces, salt reclaiming system and salt holding tank. An AFC-Holcroft EZ 4500 endothermic gas generator was also purchased to provide endo gas to the furnace units.
The system includes a BatchMaster supervisory control system and AFC-Holcroft’s patent-pending Calibration Mode diagnostics software and Maintenance Module software, which comes pre-loaded with recommended maintenance tasks designed for easy access through the HMI touchscreen.
According to AFC-Holcroft, the systems provide positive environmental impact and superior metallurgical results and distortion control.
Forging Press
France’s Obut has been producing steel balls weighing around 700 grams each for popular sport Pétanque since 1955. In an effort to improve production of boule balls at its headquarters in Saint-Bonnet-Le-Château, the company ordered a 1,300-ton forging press from Farina. The forging press replaces two lines with a press force of 600 and 800 tons respectively, which are becoming obsolete. The future line, which also includes a transfer and a furnace, will form a half shell every 2 seconds. The starting material for the boule balls, which have a diameter of just over 2.75 inches (7 cm), are steel rods cut into sections that a press first forms into discs and then into half shells. These are then welded together, machined and polished to a mirror finish.
According to Obut, the Farina press is the first ever in France to be equipped with the KERS kinetic energy recovery system. This enables the company to significantly reduce power consumption and increases the attractiveness of the workplace for operators thanks to the associated lower vibrations and noise emissions.
Image courtesy of Schuler Group
Vacuum Furnace
SECO/VACUUM, a SECO/WARWICK Group company, received an order for a 2-bar vacuum furnace from a global energy and environmental services company. The single-chamber high-pressure-quench furnace will be utilized for a range of heat-treating processes, including hardening of tool steels and high-vacuum sintering and annealing. The furnace is designed to achieve deep vacuum levels that will allow the company to process materials for nuclear applications. It will replace an older furnace, adding more capabilities and process flexibility.
The Vector has a chamber size of 16 inches x 16 inches x 24 inches and comes equipped with an oversized load capacity of 1,000 pounds, metal hot zone and high-vacuum diffusion pump. It uses argon for its process gas.