Carpenter Technology Corp. opened its 500,000-square-foot Emerging Technology Center (ETC) in Athens, Ala. It will provide the capability to atomize a range of specialty alloys into metal powder and manufacture the powder into finished parts using AM technology (3D metal printing). The ETC’s downstream equipment for taking the initially produced part to a final finished product includes a hot isostatic press (HIP) system and vacuum heat treating to optimize the material properties of high-value specialty alloy components. Carpenter Technology has invested approximately $40 million to date in the ETC and is expected to create about 60 jobs over the next five years.

Nitrex Metal entered into an exclusive agreement with Voestalpine AG to bring new innovations in stainless steel hardening technologies to the Czech Republic. As a result of the agreement, Voestalpine added a nitriding system configured to process workloads 31.5 inches in diameter x 78.75 inches high (800 mm x 2,000 mm) that weigh up to 3,850 pounds (1,750 kg). The system complements a previously installed Nitrex system that combined Nitreg-C gas nitrocarburizing technology with ONC post-oxidizing technology for processing firearms.

Gasbarre Products Inc. (Gasbarre) announced that all manufacturing for its Thermal Processing Systems business unit will take place in its 50,000-square-foot facility in St. Marys, Pa., at the end of 2019. In 2011, Gasbarre acquired the J.L. Becker brand of industrial furnace equipment. Over the last eight years, Gasbarre has run parallel manufacturing facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania for its furnace equipment. Consolidating the manufacturing of its common product lines allows for the most efficient use of its floor space, equipment and manufacturing processes. The company plans to invest in an additional 12,000 square feet of manufacturing space with additional office and conference-room capacity in St. Marys.

Ipsen USA was awarded an order to supply a West Coast aerospace customer with four 2-bar vacuum furnaces that will be used for heat treating additively manufactured parts in full-scale production. The furnaces have a load size of 36 inches wide x 36 inches high x 48 inches deep and can process up to 3,000 pounds. Ipsen shipped two of the furnaces in November and will ship the remaining two in January.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and AK Steel, a leading producer of flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Cliffs will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of AK Steel common stock. The transaction will combine Cliffs, North America’s largest producer of iron ore pellets, with AK Steel to create a vertically integrated producer of value-added iron ore and steel products. The combined company will be ideally positioned to provide high-value iron ore and steel solutions to customers primarily across North America.

The MuShield Co. of Londonderry, N.H., commissioned Solar Manufacturing to build its first vacuum furnace. The furnace is designed to accommodate loads up to 36 inches wide x 36 inches high x 72 inches deep and a maximum weight of 5,000 pounds. MuShield, which is undergoing an expansion, serves the magnetic shielding industry by providing material designed to protect sensitive electronics from magnetic fields. The additional space will house the new furnace, which has a maximum temperature of 2400°F.

A rolling-mill expansion at Steel Dynamics’ facility in Columbia City, Ind., includes a new billet welder and an induction furnace. The billet welder and spooler line will produce spooled coils up to 5 tons. The 3-MW induction furnace will heat the stock coming from the existing mill. The expansion also includes a 70-meter conveyor connecting the existing medium section mill to the new spooler line, six housingless roller stands complete with quick stand-changing table, a six-pass Delta-type finishing block driven by a low-voltage 2.5-MW motor and finishing services.

Wisconsin Oven Corp. shipped an indirect-gas-fired walk-in oven to a manufacturer in the technology industry. The heavy-duty oven, which will be used for heat treating materials used in the production of vehicle batteries, has work-chamber dimensions of 12 feet wide x 6 feet long x 10 feet, 6 inches high. Guaranteed temperature uniformity of ±10°F at 190°F was documented with a nine-point temperature uniformity survey in an empty oven chamber under static operating conditions.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA completed construction of a new brazing and assembly room. Though built primarily to accommodate a large aluminum brazing project for a specific customer, the room will be used for other brazing and assembly work. The temperature- and humidity-controlled room provides a clean environment for the critical assembly and alloying methods employed by Solar. All inventories of the clean components for final assemblies will be safely stored within the new space.

Germany’s Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH awarded a contract to build a 2.2-MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis plant to Siemens Gas and Power, marking an important step toward hydrogen-based steelmaking. The plant is due to commence operation in the fourth quarter of 2020 and will cover Salzgitter’s entire current demand for hydrogen. The necessary electrical power will be generated by seven wind turbines.