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Lindberg/MPH designed and shipped a rod over-bend box furnace with a powered load/unload table to a manufacturing company. The heat-treating furnace, which has a maximum temperature rating of 2000°F (1093°C) and a load capacity of 900 pounds, has workspace dimensions of 24 inches wide x 36 inches deep x 18 inches high. Designed for air atmosphere applications, it features an automated actuator to flip the push/pull mechanism on the load table to eliminate the operators need to manually flip it into push position. This option allows the push/pull head to retract from the furnace once the work grid is in the furnace chamber and increases operator safety by removing the need to reach into the hot furnace with a hook to flip the push/pull head.

The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), operated by the University of Strathclyde, opened its new flagship facility at the heart of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) in Renfrewshire. It aims to be a major stimulus for the country’s economy and skills development. The 11,500-square-meter facility, acting as a magnet for advanced manufacturing in Scotland, will support manufacturing, engineering and associated technology businesses of all sizes.

ArcelorMittal and John Cockerill announced plans to construct what the companies say is the world’s first industrial-scale, low-temperature iron electrolysis plant. The Volteron plant, which in a first phase will produce between 40,000 and 80,000 metric tons a year of iron plates, is targeted to start production in 2027. Once the technology has been proven at this scale, the intention is to increase the plant’s annual capacity to between 300,000 and 1 million metric tons.

L&L Special Furnace built and shipped a retort furnace with an Inconel 602CA alloy retort to a manufacturer of motor laminations located in the Midwest. The furnace serves a primary role in the manufacturing of motor laminations in an atmosphere of up to 100% hydrogen. The laminations are deployed for motors in aerospace, military, automotive, medical and industrial fields. The furnace has an effective work zone of 23 inches wide x 23 inches high x 36 inches deep and uniformity of ±15°F above 1200°F after optimal tuning and balancing of any gradients using digital biasing. The control system includes one control loop with six zones of heating volume that can be adjusted to achieve the required temperature gradients.

Algoma Steel Group Inc. reported a fatal incident involving an employee of a contractor who was retained to perform specialized maintenance work at the company’s facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. On the afternoon of June 15, the worker lost consciousness while cleaning an out-of-service gas line. Algoma Steel Emergency Services personnel responded immediately with assistance from Sault Ste. Marie Fire and Paramedic Services. The worker was transported to Sault Area Hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries.

SECO/WARWICK will supply companies from Poland and the Czech Republic with electric-vehicle continuous atmosphere brazing (EV/CAB) lines for protective atmosphere brazing of EV battery coolers. The equipment ordered is the third and eighth lines delivered to these heat-exchanger manufacturers, respectively. EV/CAB lines are used for the mass production of large EV battery coolers. Thanks to continuous operation, the line guarantees an uninterrupted production process. It is also able to provide perfect temperature uniformity over the entire production-line width.

Akademi Metalurji, a commercial heat treater located in Turkey, upgraded its heat-treatment facility with a turnkey nitriding installation provided by Nitrex. The project includes a pit-type furnace, advanced controls, three process technologies (Nitreg controlled nitriding, Nitreg-C controlled nitrocarburizing and ONC post-oxidation) and accelerated cooling. The latter is an add-on equipment that will help the customer reduce cycle times, optimize production between batches, and run more cycles. The system was successfully installed at the company’s Gebze facility, located southeast of Istanbul, and commenced operations in April 2023.

Tenova will supply an electric-arc furnace (EAF) equipped with a continuous scrap charging system and an electromagnetic stirring system to Posco for its Gwangyang plant in South Korea. The South Korean steelmaker, which produced approximately 43 million tons of steel in 2022, is gradually converting from the BF-BOF route toward electric steelmaking. After a two-year process of co-engineering and competitive comparison, Posco selected a full-platform EAF from Tenova capable of tapping 280 tons of liquid steel. The new EAF will be uniquely designed to match Posco’s needs of quality, productivity and efficiency and will include a full set of robotic applications and enhanced safety solutions.

The U.S. Department of Energy selected Arizona State University (ASU) to receive up to $70 million to establish a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute devoted to fighting greenhouse-gas emissions from industrial process heating. ASU will lead the multi-institution effort known as Electrified Processes for Industry Without Carbon, or EPIXC. The institute will support expanded use of clean electricity for industrial process heating in steelmaking and ironmaking. It will operate as a public-private partnership conducting research, development, demonstration and deployment of relevant technologies as well as necessary workforce training. 

In an effort to meet growing demand for electrification within industries like steel, Kanthal will expand its production site in Walldorf, Germany. The aim of the investment is to capture the growth within electric industrial heating and drive operational improvements through increased automation. The investment includes expanding the current site with approximately 2,500 square meters of manufacturing space, as well as new equipment and automation improvements. Kanthal, which expects to hire approximately 10 new employees, manufactures Fibrothal heating modules, flow heaters and metallic heating elements at the Walldorf site.