Important conferences through 2027
7th Asian Conference on Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering
September 10-12, 2026
Chengdu, China
The 7th Asian Conference on Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering of Materials (7ACHTSE2026)...
Vacuum Furnace Leaks
The process of finding leaks in your vacuum heat-treating system can sometimes be a lengthy process. However, a deeper understanding of best practices for...
Heat treatment process modeling development for age-hardenable alloys
Age-hardenable alloys, such as some aluminum alloys, maraging steel, and nickel-based alloys, get their strength not from quenching but from the precipitation that occurs...
IHEA offers 2021 Virtual Spring Safety Standards & Codes Seminar
After the success of a series of virtual seminars last fall, the Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) has scheduled a virtual Safety Standards &...
Register for IHEA’s Combustion and Safety Standards and Codes Seminars
The IHEA fall seminars will be October 31 and November 1. This year, IHEA will offer the Combustion Seminar and the Safety Standards and...
Q&A with John Ludeman
Advanced Heat Treat Corp. (AHT) recently renewed its Nadcap accreditation in heat treating. What makes the Nadcap accreditation important to what AHT does?
Nadcap is...
Hardening power: A measure of quenching performance
In this column, we will discuss the Segerberg Hardening Power (HP) for polymer quenchants.
When comparing polymer quenchants, there are several things that we look...
Technology is key to improving process efficiency
Efficiency. What is it, exactly?
The term “efficiency” refers to the peak level of performance that uses the least amount of input to achieve the...
How did we get where we are today?
Having worked in the heat-treating industry for 58 years, I agreed in January 2011 to write a monthly column about all things heat-treating for...
Heat Treating, Furnaces, and Unintended Consequences
A few decades ago, my involvement with depleted uranium (DU) began in the metallurgical R&D department, developing program logic to heat treat DU in...
IHEA education heats up this fall
The Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) offers a plethora of training opportunities and educational resources to keep businesses moving forward. IHEA members contribute their...
Tom Hart
What is Pit LPC, and what went into its development?
Pit LPC, or low-pressure carburizing, is an alternate method of low-pressure carburizing, and it’s conducted...
2024 Annual Meeting was a success
Association annual meetings allow members to come together, exchange ideas, learn from expert speakers, work on committee initiatives, and network with others in the...
IHEA 2023 Annual Meeting returns to Florida
The Industrial Heating Equipment Association will hold its 2023 Annual Meeting March 13-15 at the beautiful One Ocean Resort & Spa in Atlantic Beach,...
Infrared technology is hot!
The Industrial Heating Equipment Association’s Infrared Equipment Division (IRED) recently completed revisions to its popular Infrared Process Heating Handbook for Industrial Applications. This fundamental...
Q&A with Bob Fouquette
Chief Engineer with Custom Electric Manufacturing Co.
Member spotlight: Burner Design & Control
Burner Design & Control (BDC) focuses exclusively on the industrial combustion market. It prides itself on the extensive knowledge and experience its service, engineering,...
Method means comparing checklists vs. procedure
Whether commercial heat-treating or captive, procedures are essential to the production of conforming product and its repeatability. Procedures can be challenging to write at...
Breaking Ground: Decarbonization SUMMIT – Can you risk doing nothing?
The hottest topic facing the industry today will take center stage at the Industrial Heating Equipment Association’s (IHEA) first Industrial Heating Decarbonization SUMMIT at...
Q&A with Shlok Sundaresh
What is your role at TS USA?
I joined TS USA, HEF Group, in 2014 as a process engineer for its Springfield, Ohio, facility. As...
Press quenching tooling design using simulation
Steel powertrain gears are commonly carburized and quench hardened to improve strength and wear characteristics. However, solid-state phase changes occurring within the steel during...
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...
Q&A with Jeff Rissman
You’re the lead author on the report, “Thermal Batteries: Decarbonizing U.S. Industry While Supporting A High-Renewables Grid.” What is your background, and what were...
IHEA Combustion Safety Training: One-Day Safety Standards and Codes Seminar
Explosions and fires in industrial heating systems can result in injury or loss of life, as well as loss of property and production. Understanding...
Deadline approaching for ECHT2022 conference abstract submissions
Abstract submission deadline is January 31, 2022, for the 27th IFHTSE Congress in Salzburg, Austria, September 5-8, 2022, at the Wyndham Grand Salzburg Conference...
Q&A with David Hamling
What’s a typical week like for you at ZIRCAR Ceramics?
I drive the company’s sales and marketing efforts and usually begin my day with a...
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,...
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...
The big gamble: Electric vehicles or bust
There’s a big gamble going on in Detroit, and I don’t mean at Greektown Casino; it’s at the big three automakers. All have, in...
Revisiting the 1:1 Rule for oil quenchants
The rule of thumb “one gallon of oil to one pound of parts and fixtures” has been in the literature for a long time....
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...
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...
MP Combustion: Supply and support of the best combustion equipment
MP Combustion, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is IHEA’s newest member company. MP is a regional leader in the supply and support of industrial combustion...
Start making plans for Heat Treat 2023, one of many big conferences ahead
This event, co-located with IMAT 2023 and the Motion+Power Technology Expo in Detroit, is October 17-19 and is expected to cover many topics of...
Conference updates for IFHTSE members
There are a few conferences members should make sure are on their calendars for the coming year.
They include:
Tooling 2022 Conference and Exhibition
April 25-27, 2022...
IHEA announces 2023-2024 board of directors and officers
The Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) recently announced its 2023-2024 board of directors and executive officers. Taking over as president is Brian Kelly of...
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...
Atmosphere furnace control
Proper temperature is crucial to part quality, but don’t overlook its effect on atmosphere control
World Congress keynote speakers and topics revealed
The ASM Heat Treating Society (HTS) and the International Federation for Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering (IFHTSE) proudly present the highly anticipated 29th IFHTSE...
Reasons to consider low biopersistent fiber insulation
When it comes to high-temperature furnace lining applications, most people are used to using traditional ceramic fiber blanket. This is the itchy white stuff...
