This article reviews the developments that have taken place, particularly for surface treatments, within the heat-treatment processing industry.

Now the heat-treat world is seeing another groundbreaking technological advancement, the introduction of the next generation of integral-quench furnaces.

AFC-Holcroft supplied a complete UBH line to Amsted Rail, a Chicago-based global leader in fully integrated freight-car systems for the heavy-haul rail market, to meet a growing need for additional heat-treatment capacity. The line includes a batch-style carburizing furnace, two expansion modules to increase endothermic-gas generator output, a rotary-hearth reheat furnace for press quenching and a continuous integrated parts washer and temper furnace. The equipment is scheduled to ship to a joint-venture facility in Eastern Europe in the third quarter of 2018.

Ipsen will deliver a rotary-hearth furnace to one of the largest companies in the aerospace and defense industry. The company will use the furnace to process specialized gears for helicopters. Rotary-hearth furnaces are extremely versatile and designed for both carburizing shallow case depths and for reheating pretreated workpieces. Its high throughput makes it particularly suitable for even temperature distribution.

United Process Controls (UPC) delivered an Atmosphere Engineering EndoFlex endothermic-gas generator to Jomarca, a fastener manufacturer in South America. The generator is intended for carburizing operations at the company’s Brazilian plant, which includes 10 large continuous rotary-retort furnaces that process over 2,200 tons of fasteners a month. The high-capacity generator was integrated into the plant’s existing gas-distribution system in the first quarter of 2018 and is supplying endothermic gas to all carburizing furnaces.

The heat treater might be surprised to learn that in order to understand how various heat-treatment processes create a particular microstructure and its corresponding mechanical properties, it is necessary to have a fundamental understanding of both thermodynamics and kinetics.