Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd. received a contract from a Tier 1 manufacturer of forged suspension components for a system that will produce lightweight forged-aluminum parts for passenger vehicles. The system includes a pre-forging rotary-hearth aluminum heating furnace, water quench and continuous aging furnace. The equipment will be integrated into an automated forging cell that includes specialized material-handling components and advanced controls.

Andritz received an order from Allegro, a subsidiary of Evraz and RailService established to produce train wheels in Russia, for a complete production line for train wheels. The production process includes several stages. Blanks produced by Evraz are heated to 2282°F (1250°C) in a rotary-hearth furnace, then descaled and pre-formed in a hydraulic press with 10,000 tons of press force. The blanks are then rolled in a wheel-rolling machine developed by Schuler and forged into a finished product in a crimping and piercing press with 5,000 tons of press force. This is followed by a geometric test in a laser measuring system and permanent marking in a marking press. Finally, the wheels undergo heat treatment, and the running surfaces are hardened.

Custom Electric Manufacturing (CEM), which was acquired by Sweden-based Kanthal in 2018, will go to market under the Kanthal brand effective Jan. 1, 2021. Headquartered in Wixom, Mich., CEM has been supplying original equipment and replacement heating elements for both electric and gas furnaces for more than 35 years. The background to the acquisition is that Kanthal plans to strengthen its footprint in the North American market.

It is a well-known fact that too many recordable safety incidents will result in the good people from OSHA showing up to hang around and ask a lot of questions. Nobody wants to get hurt on the job. Everyone at the facility has some other place to be once their shift is over, and many employees have family waiting for them. With that being said, why would people continue to operate poorly maintained manufacturing equipment and material-handling machinery? 

The Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA) brings industrial process-heating professionals together to provide combustion and safety education for the industry each and every fall. This year will look different, but IHEA will still deliver essential content through a virtual platform. The IHEA Virtual Fall Seminars will be held over two consecutive weeks in November from Wednesday to Friday each week. Each day will consist of three presentations from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (EST). The agendas for the virtual seminars contain vital topics that have been adapted to online versions so attendees can still get the information they need whether they are working from home or in the office. 

Quintus Technologies delivered what it says is the world’s fastest fan-driven hot isostatic press (HIP) to Italy’s PRES-X, a start-up established to meet the post-production needs of 3D-printed metal components. The HIP’s high-pressure heat-treatment (HPHT) capability makes it possible to eliminate several operations in the AM production line. With Quintus’s proprietary uniform rapid cooling (URC) technology, a cooling rate of 1500K/minute can be achieved while minimizing thermal distortion and non-uniform grain growth, producing finished 3D-printed parts with optimal material properties.

L&L Special Furnace Co. Inc. shipped a high-temperature box furnace to a government defense organization located in the southeastern United States. The medium-sized furnace will be used for military ceramic-composite development along with research and development for other components. The furnace, which has a work zone of 24 inches wide x 18 inches high x 36 inches deep, is rated for continuous operating temperatures up to 2500°F (1371°C). It comes equipped with silicon-carbide heating elements for high-temperature operation.

A new IoT (Internet of Things) predictive maintenance system is available on industrial ovens manufactured by Wisconsin Oven.

The additive-manufacturing (AM) process as a whole involves turning 3-D CAD files on computers into finished products layer by layer –although AM specifically relates to the construction part of that process. What happens after the printing phase has concluded also matters, however, in order to ensure that products are ready for use. 

The recent pandemic forced many companies into survival mode: reducing head-count, cutting costs where possible and establishing new health and safety protocols, all while trying their best to carry on with business as usual. But what about the next crisis?