Variation in steel hardenability
Many heat-treating processes cannot tolerate appreciable variations in steel hardenability. For an established in-control process, deviations in chemical composition and starting microstructure may result...
Quality review: Heat-treat related certifications
As heat treaters, we must admit that, at the end of the day, what we feel we are paying for is a certification that...
Thermal expansion of mineral oil quenchants
In this column, I will discuss the thermal expansion of oil. This information is primarily important for initial fills of a quench tank.
Introduction
Oil, when...
IFHTSE Fellow Prof. Tatsuo Inoue dies at 83
It is with regret that we announce the passing of IFHTSE Fellow Prof. Tatsuo Inoue. He was 83. He was a professor at Kyoto...
Q&A with Stephen Harris
Tell us about the new Bodycote Elgin, Illinois, facility. When did it become fully operational?
We are very pleased to announce that our brand-new Elgin...
Heat treatment of aluminum, Part V
After quenching and any straightening, the supersaturated solid solution of aluminum wants to reach equilibrium. It does this through the process of precipitation hardening....
Combatting undesirable NMTP formations
Whether formed during a conventional quench and tempering process, carburizing, or induction hardening, non-martensitic transformation products (NMTP) are widely considered undesirable microstructural features. However,...
Safety considerations when quenching with oil or salt
In this column, we will consider safety aspects of quenching with oil or molten salt.
Heat treating is a manufacturing process where the goal is...
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...
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...
Hardness scale conversion
The use of hardness testing as a quality control method to check the outcome of a thermal treatment process is a common application of...
IHEA fall seminars return to Cleveland, Ohio
The Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) heads back to Cleveland, Ohio, for its 2021 Fall Seminars and Tabletop Exhibition. The Combustion Seminar and the...
Developing a superalloy with superior heat resistance
Demand for superior machinery that can operate effectively under extreme conditions is driving the development of newer alloys. One significant example is the preparation...
Heat-treatment of modified 9CrMo steel
The modified 9CrMo steels, such as Grade 91, Grade 92, and HT9, are materials of choice for fossil-fuel-fired power plants and Next Generation Nuclear...
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...
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...
Great programming, great networking at the 2020 Annual Meeting
Get ready to sail! IHEA’s 2020’s Annual Meeting promises to deliver important and timely presentations and as always, entertaining networking opportunities on board Royal...
Retained austenite significant for strength, toughness
The role of retained austenite (RA) and the magnitude of its influence on the performance of steel components are continually debated. Depending on the...
Performing a Temperature Uniformity Survey
Performing a temperature uniformity survey (TUS) can be somewhat of a daunting process. After all, a TUS carries the weight of not only being...
Gap analysis can guide procedure changes
Well-designed procedures are crucial to any business operation, whether it’s a simple task of following a procedure to construct a cardboard box, or something...
Quality management is vital in heat-treating
Quality management in the thermal-processing industry is essential to not only conformance, but also as a check-and-balance to both systems and operations. Quality at...
Accounting for carbon rejection can head off trouble
The heat treatment of steel alloys is required in almost every industry to acquire the necessary properties for a material given a particular application....
Variation in Hardenability
Many heat-treating processes cannot tolerate appreciable variations in steel hardenability. For an established in-control process, deviations in chemical composition and starting microstructure may result...
Industrial Process Heating online education is affordable, convenient, and flexible
IHEA’s Fundamentals of Industrial Process Heating Online Learning Course continues to provide an excellent overview of the essential areas used throughout the industrial process...
Use of molten salt in heat treatment
At the turn of the 20th century, the use of molten salt as a heating and quenching medium for steels was developed in England....
Q&A with David Strand
President and CEO, Wisconsin Oven Corporation and Thermal Product Solutions
Is there a furnace problem?
That question is much easier to answer if you learn the indicators, alarms, switches
Heat transfer: Convection’s reach
Many years ago, as a mechanical engineering undergraduate student, an analogy was offered to help explain the interplay between convection and conduction in heat...
Overcoming the knowledge ‘blind spot’
No one knows everything. Nor will anyone ever obtain all the knowledge in the world. Sometimes what happens, though, is we learn something and...
IHEA announces 2022-23 board of directors and officers
The Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) recently announced its 2022-23 board of directors and executive officers. Serving as president is Jeff Valuck of Surface...
