L&L Special Furnace Co. Inc. shipped a floor-standing, high-temperature box furnace to a global supplier of piezo ceramics used in the military, aerospace and medical industries. The furnace, which has an effective work zone measuring 18 inches wide x 18 inches high x 36 inches deep, has a double-pivot horizontal door. It is used for processing glass products to 2500°F (1371°C). This process causes lead to outgas. As a result, the furnace interior is constructed of high-alumina refractory with less silica than normal linings, which helps delay the corrosive reaction between the silica present in the refractory and the lead outgassing at elevated temperatures.

German companies PEER Energy GmbH and Schwing Technologies GmbH signed a long-term cooperation agreement to develop and market fluidized-bed technology for the heat treatment of metal components. The partnership between the two companies focuses on combining quenching processes with fluidized-bed technology. It includes research results and developments of heat-transfer rates. The application focus is on faster and more uniform heating and cooling processes for metal parts, with the aim of conserving resources and further reducing unit costs.

Industrial Heating is hosting three free webinars over the next three weeks, including two in the next couple of days. “Users of Industrial Hydrogen Look Beyond Delivered for Security of Supply” will be held tomorrow, November 30, at 11:00 a.m. (EST). “How to Help Your Customers Decide to Reshore” will be held Thursday, December 2, at 2:00 p.m. (EST), and “Grinding and Polishing of Sample Materials for Microstructural Analysis and Hardness Testing” will be held Tuesday, December 14, at 2:00 p.m. (EST). Registration for these webinars is free.

Nitrex Metal received an order from Elvial S.A., an aluminum extrusion company in Greece for a retort furnace. The furnace, which was installed and started up in July 2021, will help Elvial increase production of building materials. The NX-815 E operates with NX Connect software and uses NITREG-C (nitrocarburizing) and NITREG (gas nitriding) technologies for die extrusion. The machine is equipped with air conditioning, an exhaust gas neutralizer and 1,653 pounds (750 kg) of racking made from Inconel 600. The order also included a lifting device. All processes for this furnace are compliant to AMS 2759/10.

ExOne will install a metal 3D-printing system in the Schunk Sinter Metals location in Thale, Germany, to provide serial production of sintered metal parts to automotive, aerospace, medical and other customers throughout Europe – starting with 316L stainless steel and later expanding to other materials. Schunk plans to integrate ExOne’s metal binder-jetting technology into its industrial ecosystem, which already includes other methods of 3D-printing producing parts with different materials such as copper, stainless steel and low-alloyed steel.

SECO/VACUUM received an order for two vacuum tempering furnaces from an international cutting-tool manufacturer. The furnaces will augment the company’s capacity, which currently includes four vacuum tempering furnaces of the same configuration at its North Carolina manufacturing facility. The two horizontal, front-loading Vector furnaces are designed with an all-metal hot zone for clean vacuum processing. As with the earlier furnaces, the new furnaces include convection fans and a pressurized gas quench for rapid cooling. 

Kanthal signed a licensing agreement with Nycast, a Swedish company that develops electric process gas heating solutions. Under the agreement, Kanthal has the exclusive right to use Nycast’s technology for heating large amounts of process gas at high pressure up to 2012°F (1100°C). The technology is vital for industries, such as steelmaking, with a need to heat high volumes of process gas to high temperature looking to lower their CO₂ emissions.

Nucor Corp. will add a blast and prime line at its steel plate mill currently under construction in Brandenburg, Ky. The blast and prime line will have an annual capacity of approximately 120,000 tons and will provide the Nucor Plate Group with even broader capabilities and offerings for customers of wider and thicker plate products. According to Nucor, the line will enable the company to better serve customers in markets including military, infrastructure, heavy equipment and offshore wind.

Nitrex Metal Inc. (Nitrex) has been selected for the “Global Thought Leaders” series broadcast on CBS News. The feature showcases the company as an industry innovator whose surface-treatment solutions enhance the metallurgical properties of components increasing their durability, wear and corrosion resistance while contributing to a more sustainable future. Nitrex’s nitriding process, vacuum furnaces, services centers, proprietary software and controls make the company a fully integrated solutions provider. 

TÜV Rheinland opened its newest testing services laboratory in West Unity, Ohio. Specializing in nondestructive and destructive testing services for the automotive and aviation/aerospace industries, TÜV Rheinland of North America’s northwest Ohio facility is equipped to provide a full range of testing requirements. The facility includes a custom-built, fully automated magnetic-particle system that provides efficiency and accuracy not achievable with off-the-shelf systems. Production hardness testing and additional nondestructive testing capabilities will also be offered.