Good leaders properly manage from start to finish
Anyone who tells you that running a business — any business — is easy, is lying to you. Each one has its pitfalls. When...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Transitions and transformations in the workplace
In the heat-treat world, metals are carefully ramped up to certain temperatures to allow for transformation of the microstructure. Temperature and time allow the...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Keeping thorough test records key to resolving issues
Record retention is an important part of quality. Quality is tasked with keeping records of periodic tests performed on all equipment used for heat...
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 2021 PRI Top 10 NRCs in heat treating
As the pandemic adjusted our lives and systems, we have still had to maintain Nadcap accreditation in heat treat and other commodities. While the...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
QMULUS harnesses power of data to transform operations
In the rapidly evolving industrial landscape, efficiency, reliability, and adaptability are paramount. Industries ranging from manufacturing to energy production face the constant challenge of...
Atmosphere furnace control
Proper temperature is crucial to part quality, but don’t overlook its effect on atmosphere control
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Understanding gas composition
Evaluating furnace atmospheres for proper gas composition is the key to desired performance results
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,...
The process of problem solving
The corrective action. That dreaded tally on one’s personal record at work that is available for all of upper management to see a mistake...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
