Ipsen delivered a vacuum furnace specially designed for carburizing and solution nitriding to Vacu Braze, a specialty commercial heat-treating facility in Quakertown, Pa. Vacu Braze uses the furnace to harden steels with Ipsen’s patented SolNit (solution nitriding) process. The SolNit process increases surface hardness and improves resistance against wear, erosion and cavitation. Parts treated in Ipsen’s Turbo²Treater range from surgical instruments to household appliances.

Rex Heat Treat, a commercial heat treater specializing in the aerospace market, became the first company to install and commission SECO/WARWICK’s new Super IQ gas carburizing furnace. The hybrid system combines a conventional furnace and a vacuum furnace in one unit. Rex Heat Treat has commissioned several vacuum furnaces over the past several years at its Lansdale, Pa., location as part of a plant modernization initiative. The new furnace will allow the heat treater to upgrade its through-hardening and carburizing capabilities alongside its legacy harden and temper furnaces while using the existing loader, baskets and washing system.

Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd. designed, built and delivered a mesh-belt heat-treatment furnace line to Gallos Metal Solutions of Milwaukee, Wis. The continuous atmosphere system will be used primarily for demanding processing, including carbonitriding and carburizing, while allowing for neutral heat treatment with a production capacity up to 4,000 pounds/hour. This high-capacity furnace line is part of Gallos’ expansion and modernization project, which has more than doubled the existing plant square footage, increased capacity and added automation.

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.