Omer Haimbaugh started Induction Heat Treating Corp. (IHT) in 1946 in Chicago with an induction heater he used to braze bread pans. Today, over 70 years later, the company has more than 20 induction heaters and 60 employees.

Sometimes learning more about a common heat-treat phenomenon can yield a deeper understanding of the underlying principles involved.

Launched annually on the first Friday in October, and with events continuing throughout the month, Manufacturing (MFG) Day helps show the reality of modern manufacturing careers by encouraging thousands of companies and educational institutions around the nation to open their doors to students, parents, teachers and community leaders.

Most readers make stuff from metals or make equipment to make that stuff. So, let’s look at what and where we get some of the more unusual metals, most of which are scarce and costly.

As heat treaters, it is critical to be able to justify the purchase of new heat-treatment equipment to management by being able to prepare a return-on-investment (ROI) analysis.

Much of the current research and development in additive manufacturing is devoted to making parts from just a few specific alloy compositions.

Some readers could help the U.S. and the world by manufacturing a different kind of furnace. Let me explain.

What started with one furnace in one plant is now four plants, over 270,000 square feet of space and 64 million pounds of monthly capacity. So is the story of Heat Treating Services Corporation of America (HTS).

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