Almost weekly, we run across another interesting blacksmithing story about someone who seems an unlikely blacksmith or who is making wonderful creations from lumps of metal or common items.

Based on page views on our website, we are sharing the eight ceramics and refractories/insulation articles most loved by readers.

This article focuses on another method to provide lightweight components, namely innovative heat-treatment schemes.

For operations using extreme heat, engineered plastic cooling towers provide cooling and can outlast traditional alternatives.

Single-point radiation thermometers, also referred to as infrared pyrometers, have been widely used in steel hot-rolling mills for more than 60 years. They offer many advantages compared to contact sensors such as thermocouples.

A case-hardening technique in use since the early 20th century, nitriding has been an effective lower-temperature heat treatment for steel workpieces since even before engineers and metallurgists fully understood it.

Desire for electric cars is quickly gaining consumer momentum, and automakers are rapidly shifting focus to developing affordable, efficient electric vehicles (EVs) for the mass market. This is where aluminum structural components will further serve the automotive industry.

Effective brazing requires heat, cleanliness of the parts being joined and, in the case of torch brazing by hand, special operator skills are needed.

Understanding the true rate-limiting factors when configuring and sizing a metals-recovery system is critical to realizing the full potential of the system. Additionally, managing energy within the system will have a large impact on the operating costs and uptime/maintainability of the system.

Indalco Alloys is a division of Lincoln Electric Company that produces aluminum weld wire and redraw rod. The company operates a melting furnace and two holding furnaces that feed a continuous-casting machine through a trough system.