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...
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...
Friend or work colleague? Can they be both?
Some cultures focus on the fact that work is work. You keep your relationships at work separate from those of your personal life. In...
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 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...
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...
Reflections after a Nadcap audit
We recently finished up a Nadcap heat-treat audit at the facility where I work, and no matter how many times I think they are...
Keeping the momentum going
One of the challenging things about manufacturing is the need to continually stay motivated each day. This is because in the manufacturing world of...
Atmosphere furnace control
Proper temperature is crucial to part quality, but don’t overlook its effect on atmosphere control
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Working with different generations: Communication
> Part 1 of a series on working with different generations
If there is one constant in life, it’s that things change. In heat treating,...
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...
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...
AMS2750E as it applies to Nadcap
Thorough knowledge of AMS2750E will speed implementation of new standard as it applies to NADCAP requirements
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
Feeding the feedback for heat treat success
Last year, I started a podcast called “Work Sucks, But I Like It.” It was definitely inspired by the aerospace industry heat-treat requirements in...
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....
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...
The art and science of Nadcap audit
My company has an audit coming up later this year, and as the team gets ready for the Nadcap Heat Treat audit, it always...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Be attached to process, not results of Nadcap audit
The dreaded Nadcap audit. The daunting AC7102 main checklist with 10 job audits. The strict requirements of AC7102/8 pyrometry adhering to AMS2750. The additional...
