Settle requirement conflicts before accepting a contract
Resolving conflict among purchase order requirements, drawings, and regulatory requirements can be quite the task when accepting contracts for heat treatment. Unfortunately, it happens...
It’s time to recognize ‘fitness’ at work
Almost every child who grows up playing sports dreams of being a professional one day and playing on the big stage (instead of going...
The paradox of work and happiness
There are obviously a lot of factors that go into making a company successful. Probably the biggest factor is the people who work there....
Quality and production are a team, not adversaries
Let me be honest about the elephant in the room that often exists in heat treating. In some cases, but certainly not all, quality...
Quality of leadership matters – at all employee levels
Leadership isn’t always about the top management directing the way for the company. Leadership can be found at all levels of the company in...
Good habits, a solid system can help avoid mistakes
The contract is the first piece of paper you receive with incoming parts prior to processing. This is the purchase order (PO) that details...
Heat treating from the operator’s perspective
Often, a customer visit involves a walk through the facility. Comments are made about how clean it is or how well organized a process...
When different processes co-exist
I’m a quality director at Byington Steel Treating, Inc. (BST). We are a commercial heat-treat shop with accreditation to perform NADCAP/AMS (aerospace) processes. Similar...
‘Say what you do, do what you say’
In the special process world of the aerospace industry, companies with requirements of aerospace manufacturing must rely on the accreditation of AS9100 and the...
AMS2750F contains key pyrometric changes
By now, most heat treaters should have had some time to read the new revision of AMS2750. The changes are extensive and, since it...
AMS2750 pyrometry revisions tweak a crucial process
AMS2750 pyrometry is a daunting heat-treat special process requirement in the aerospace industry. It’s a literal definition implying measurement of temperature, but it also...
A brief history of the non-ferrous alloy aluminum
Non-ferrous alloys have caught my interest throughout my career, particularly aluminum. From its resistance to corrosion to its sensitivity at elevated temperatures, it is...
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...
The art of heat treat: The framework
I was once taught that heat treat is an art as much as it is a science in achieving the results required for the...
Understanding the technology is key to proper use
I teach pyrometry courses throughout the year and, when I do, I include a thermocouple tutorial video from YouTube. In this video the function...
Willingness to change course leads to satisfying career
Editor’s note: Beginning with the March issue of Thermal Processing, we added Tony Tenaglier, a heat treat process engineer at Hitchiner Manufacturing, as a...
The life of a heat treat process engineer
Editor’s note: Beginning with the March 2020 issue of Thermal Processing, there will be multiple contributors to the Quality Counts column. Conrad Kacsik’s Jason...
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...
Determining heat-treat operator training
With the fast pace of change in the heat-treat industry, it is understandable that more automation is in demand. This automation inevitably improves repeatability...
ASTM E18 and Nadcap: Rockwell hardness testing
Rockwell hardness testing is a common way to ensure the material response to heat treat is conforming and is required by applicable industry and...
Purchasing a furnace: Quality concerns to consider
For any heat-treater, whether captive or commercial, purchasing a furnace is the largest investment that can be made. It is important to establish a...
Quality staff: Understanding the technical side
Last month, we examined the history and heat-treatment of aluminum and how it applies to the quality functions of the industry. This month, we...
A technical guide to quenching
From a quality perspective, verification of the conformance of quench requirements can be accomplished by examining a furnace chart that shows the quench trend....
The importance of contract review
Within any aspect of our business structure, understanding the specific requirements needed to produce product that conforms to customer requirements is important. These requirements...
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...
Process quality control in heat treatment
In thermal processing, process quality control is imperative to produce and control conforming product and overall conformance. In this article we will be examining...
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...
Compliance via internal procedures
Verification of compliance is two-fold; witnessing operations being performed in accordance with internal procedures. As long as procedures are followed, the challenge in conformance...
An argument in support of Nadcap
I think it is safe to assume that the majority of Thermal Processing readers have, in some capacity and at some point in their...
AMS2750E, Nadcap requirements
When I consult, I will periodically perform a gap analysis on a supplier’s heat-treat process to either obtain Nadcap approval or as a check-and-balance...
You can’t overlook the process
Cycle verification identifies thermal nonconformance, ensures deviation from requirements is reported
Atmosphere furnace control
Proper temperature is crucial to part quality, but don’t overlook its effect on atmosphere control
Understanding gas composition
Evaluating furnace atmospheres for proper gas composition is the key to desired performance results
AMS2750E as it applies to Nadcap
Thorough knowledge of AMS2750E will speed implementation of new standard as it applies to NADCAP requirements
Quality Counts: Producing Endothermic Gas Efficiently
One of the critical elements in the carburizing process is the ability to create a base atmosphere suitable for the parts placed inside a...
Getting Control — Let’s Start with PID
It does not matter what thermal treatment work piece requires, proper control is the foundation for repeatability and quality processing. For heat-treating processes, there...
The State of Process Controls
It is hard to find a market segment that has not benefited from technology advancements. Heat-treating process control is no different. While there are...
The Right Prepared Atmosphere
Furnace atmospheres are critical to meeting metallurgical specifications defined by control processes. The makeup of a furnace’s atmosphere in the heat-treating process varies based...
Pyrometry, Industry Standards, & Temperature Uniformity Surveys
In its simplest sense, pyrometry is the measurement of temperatures. Practically speaking, in the business of heat treatment, the term also refers to the...
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...
