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...
Achieving consistent quality is a slow, steady process
In a world that asks for more, what we sometimes need is less. I’m currently back in school, working on a Ph.D. in Industrial...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Employers need to expand on carrot-stick philosophy
We all trade time for money. Gone are the days of bartering, trading your chickens for goats. We go to work to earn a...
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...
‘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...
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....
Set company goals that engage employees daily
It’s a new year. A chance to start fresh. A chance to set the entire year’s goals for yourself, the department you work for,...
Developing a ‘C’reative culture in heat treat process
Hitchiner Manufacturing’s motto is, “imagination in metallurgy.” As a heat treater, there are certainly opportunities to use a bit of creativity in creating a...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The art of leading the heat-treat team
Leadership is about guiding the team toward the best opportunities and taking action toward getting the required task done. But success can come down...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Understanding gas composition
Evaluating furnace atmospheres for proper gas composition is the key to desired performance results
The ‘why’ in heat treating is important to operators
Quality is in the details, but what details need the most attention? A good contract review, starting with the purchase order, then the drawing,...
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,...
Industrial automation and labor in heat treating
There is a changing landscape on two fronts in the thermal processing market. Without a doubt, there are technological opportunities that companies can take...
You can’t overlook the process
Cycle verification identifies thermal nonconformance, ensures deviation from requirements is reported
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...
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...
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...
Aluminum heat-treating has unique challenges
From a metallurgical and quality perspective, aluminum heat-treating presents unique challenges when compared to carbon-based steels. This article will examine the aspects of aluminum...
AMS2750E as it applies to Nadcap
Thorough knowledge of AMS2750E will speed implementation of new standard as it applies to NADCAP requirements
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....
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 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...
Atmosphere furnace control
Proper temperature is crucial to part quality, but don’t overlook its effect on atmosphere control
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...
