Q&A with Andrew Bassett
How did ATP get started?
During the early 1990s, the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (Nadcap) began embracing all special processes, and we...
Q&A with George Barbour
Please tell us a little about Heavy Carbon Co.
The company began in 1995 as an idea for carburizing steel at a cleaner, faster rate...
Furnace Doors
No matter the configuration, single or multi-chamber vacuum, batch integral quench, continuous, or even pits — an item that all furnaces have in common...
Thermal Process Modeling
Thermal process modeling has been a hot topic in the heat treating community over the past few years. The project conducted by ASM International...
Carbon Diffusion and Carburizing Parameter Selection
Although carburizing is a complicated process, it can be broken down into two main steps: carbon generation in the furnace and carbon diffusion into...
Q&A with Bill Stuehr
Please tell us how Induction Tooling began.
In 1975, I was working as a process design engineer with a local commercial heat treating company. Several...
Stainless Steels
Kitchen sinks, refrigerator or oven doors, and tableware are what many people think of when they are asked what’s made from stainless steel (SS)....
Gas Nitriding
In general, nitriding of parts involves a thermal process that provides a tough, corrosion-resistant, and wear-resistant surface with less distortion compared to other case...
Carburizing
While some heat treatments are used to soften the material or improve its machinability, most are processed to obtain strengthened or hardened properties. The...
Q&A with Dennis Beauchesne
When was vacuum carburizing introduced?
The process has been around since the 1960s. Vacuum carburizing enables more precise control of case depth and microstructure than...
Heating with natural gas
It’s no secret that the heat treating industry is one of the major recipients of the impact when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)...
Control technology
There are many demands for precision manufacturing of steel components. Heat treatment is a critical step in nearly all manufacturing processes to achieve required...
Hardening and tempering in the same cell
Tempering hardened steels is one of the most important heat treating processes used in part manufacturing. Induction tempering produces hardness and mechanical properties similar...
Q&A with Brian Russell
Q: Tell me a little about the history of Dry Coolers, Inc.
We started in 1985 to provide cooling water solutions for heat treating equipment—for...
Intensive Quenching Calls For Very High Cooling Rates Part 2
Intensive quenching (IQ) is defined as cooling, usually using pure water, at a rate several times higher than the rate of conventional quenching. Fast,...
True Carbon Potential
The relationship between a carbon-rich atmosphere and its effects on low-carbon steel are well known. The evolution of carburizing led to in-situ monitoring of...
Materials Selection for Induction Hardening Processes
Induction hardening is the most common technique of the various types of applied energy processing. It uses alternating current that induces a magnetic field...
Intensive Quenching
Heat treating is similar to art in many ways, but not for the reasons you might think. Art, it’s said, is in the eye...
Poor Carbon Control
Carburizing has an advantage over other gear case hardening processes because it increases a gear’s ability to carry high torque. Carbon control is critical to...
Different Scales Are Used For Rockwell Hardness Testing
Production Bench Rockwell Hardness Testing of Small Work Pieces
As induction hardened workpieces get smaller in size, attention to the proper abrasive cutting of the...
Furnace Maintenance
When a heat treat manager or anyone responsible for purchasing heat treating equipment makes a buy decision, they must first consider the process required,...
Furnace atmospheres and temperature
Getting the Right Protective and Carburizing Atmosphere
The makeup of a furnace’s atmosphere in the heat treating process varies based upon the application. For carburizing,...
Some workpieces are too large and expensive to fit into conventional benchtop hardness testers
Portable Rockwell Hardness Testing of Large Induction Hardened Work Pieces
The previous article identified many factors related to benchtop Rockwell hardness testing practices. This article...
Q&A with Bob Wells
What are some factors one should consider in cryogenic processing of gears?
First off, what is the size I need? Secondly, how do I want...
Furnace Atmospheres
The makeup of a furnace’s atmosphere in the heat treating process varies depending upon the application. Sensor technology allows for the in-situ monitoring of...
Testing of Induction Hardened Work Pieces
Hardness testing is a simple and universally accepted practice for checking induction hardened parts and is performed in literally thousands of manufacturing facilities. There...
Site Safety
We live and work around fire all day. It’s pretty much taken for granted. We cook with it, and use it to heat our...
Q&A with Jim Litzinger
Your company, Orton, offers TempTabs, some pretty ingenious technology for monitoring temperature throughout a furnace. How did the idea come about?
Our founder, Edward Orton...
Carburizing and Steel
In carburizing, gears must be heated to reach the appropriate temperature for the steel grade without causing excessive grain growth and distortion in a...
Process Control and Scada
Heat treaters are always looking for methods to improve productivity without compromising quality. One method that many heat treaters have put in place is...
Induction Hardening Choices for Gears
Of the various types of applied energy processing, induction hardening is the most common. Induction heating is a process that uses an alternating electrical...
Site Safety
In the last issue of Thermal Processing, I wrote a pretty broad and general article about the do's and dont’s of safety, using some...
Q&A with Tom Ott
Most people don’t associate hardness testing with heat treatment, but it’s very relevant. You say there are a number of products that are really...
Lighter Weight and Increased Fatigue Strength with Adi
Have you ever hit a rock or other hard projectile while cutting your lawn? Have you noticed that the blade is dented, not broken...
Site Safety
In 35 years, I’ve witnessed many industrial accidents. Even at the start of my career, I was evaluating the combination of events that lead...
Q&A with Keith Boeckenhauer
What is your background?
I have an engineering degree from the University of Missouri and I’ve been with Seco/Warwick since 1984, working in sales, engineering,...
Future of heat treating of gears is similar to garage sale mentality
When and how does a heat treater determine whether to purchase new equipment or rebuild an old furnace?
Several years ago I participated in a...
Process automation and controls for carburizing
Process control can be defined as the ability to meet certain parameters over time using inputs from the process and controlling outputs for desired...
Compelling reasons normalizing produces high quality gears
In this day and age, adding steps to the gear manufacturing process is not highly desirable unless the benefits far outweigh the costs incurred....
