Watch this video message from Bethany Leone, editor at Heat Treat Today, to learn how to nominate a rising young leader to Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40!
Who To Nominate
A young person working for a manufacturer with in-house heat treat (excellent!), or a colleague/yourself working in the heat treat industry
Based in North America
40 years old or younger at some point in the nomination year
Models excellent heat treat knowledge/abilities
Evidences significant accomplishments/contributions to the industry
Demonstrates leadership skills and character
How To Nominate – 3 EASY STEPS
Each nomination should take 10 minutes. Multiple nominations are allowed. Nominate your customer and be recognized as their sponsor. Points!!
Click to nominate!
1. Share nominee information:
current job title and employer
contact email
Optional: years in the heat treat industry and year of birth
2. Share why they stand out through concrete benchmarks/descriptions of their leadership. The best things to include are:
Leadership qualities and character
Evidence of initiative and/or accomplishments
Evidence of contributions to the industry
Demonstrable evidence of having positions of leadership and/or is on a leadership track
Let’s discover new tricks and old tips on how to best heat treat, whatever your application.
In this Technical Tuesday, originally published in the March/April 2024 Aerospace Heat Treatprint edition, Heat Treat Today compiled top tips from experts around the industry to get the best results in your heat treat furnace by optimizing fixtures and fabrications.
#1 Welding Fabrications with Nickel Alloy
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“Heat resistant alloys used for heat treating fixtures, muffles, retorts, radiant tubes, and other parts are typically stainless steel or nickel-based austenitic alloys.
“Good welding practices for nickel alloys are centered on the need to remove heat as quickly as possible in order to minimize the time spent in the hot tearing range. The first consideration is to keep the heat input as low as possible to still get a full penetration weld. The actual input in kJ is dependent on the alloy being welded.”
Source: “Marc Glasser on the Tools and Trade Secrets of Heat Resistant Alloy Welding,” reprinted in Heat Treat Today, 2020.
#hottearingrange #austeniticalloys
#2 Consider Corrugated Inner Covers
Inner covers are a component of the batch annealing process in the steel industry. If your inner covers are vertically corrugated, consider horizontally corrugated inner covers instead. Horizontally corrugated inner covers are repairable and, for this reason, offer longer overall life and better value.
Source: Alloy Fabrications
#batchannealing #innercovers #maintenance
#3 Countermeasure To Combat CFC Failure
“It is important to consider the specific process conditions in advance so that unwanted reactions — from carburization to catastrophic melting of the workpieces — can be avoided. Effective countermeasures can be taken.”
Dr. Demmel gives the following countermeasures:
Ceramic oxide coatings such as aluminum oxide (Al2O3) or zirconium oxide (ZrO2) layers placed onto the CFC
Hybrid CFC fixtures having ceramics in key areas to avoid direct contact with metal workpieces
Alumina composite sheets
Boron nitride sprays
Special fixtures made of oxide ceramics
Source: Dr. Jorg Demmel, “CFC Fixture Advantages and Challenges, Part 2,” Aerospace Heat Treating (Heat Treat Today, March 2023).
#CFC #fixtures
#4 Allow for Thermal Expansion
When bringing furnaces to operating temperature, always be aware of thermal expansion of your alloy components. Muffles, retorts, and radiant tubes all expand with heat input. These components must be free to expand within the furnace or early failure may result.
Source: Alloy Fabrications
#thermalexpansion #heattreatfailure
#5 Batch Rotary Retorts — Stay Put and Stay Clean
Batch rotary retorts are positioned on furnace rollers at the front of the furnace. In time, these retorts expand until they no longer track on the rollers. Extend the life of your batch rotary retorts by using adjustable roller brackets (available from Alloy Engineering). And to keep the outlet tubes clean, use Alloy Engineering pigtails and augers to self-clean batch rotary retort outlet tubes.
Source: Alloy Fabrications
#thermalexpansion #heattreatfailure
#6 Corrosion at Every Corner
“[All] materials are chemically unstable in some environments and corrosive attacks will occur. It can often be predicted or modeled. . . In the real world, however, it is important to recognize the various forms of corrosion, namely:
In brazing, a filler metal is used to create a strong bond between parts. In business, what holds companies together is the shared vision of its people. That is the philosophy of the team at Thermal-Vac Technology, southern California’s premier brazing facility, where an experienced crew shares a passion for solving complex puzzles and delivering quality outcomes.
As a supplier to major aerospace programs, Thermal-Vac is united with its customers in its uncompromising approach to quality control. One of the company’s taglines summarizes its mindset: “We build good parts here; at a profit if we can, a loss if we must, but always good parts.” The company has invested in cutting-edge digital systems that provide continual insight into its brazing processes. Monitoring equipment, including digital readouts from load thermocouples inside the furnaces, gathers real-time data from part surfaces. These tools allow operators unprecedented control throughout the braze cycle and the opportunity to review in detail every step of the process to identify opportunities for improvement.
Quality control is critical for the commercial
heat treater.
Incorporating digital technologies into brazing has pushed Thermal-Vac to innovate in exciting ways. Brazing is a well-defined technique, with roots going back to ancient Egypt. But today’s manufacturing requirements push the boundaries of materials science. Exotic materials, elaborate component shapes, and new end-use applications all present opportunities for innovation. Thermal-Vac’s clients have come to rely on the company to find answers to their brazing challenges. To be ready to tackle whatever its clients need, the company has assembled a large, in-house engineering team. Thermal- Vac’s engineers draw upon their specialization in the brazing field to find creative solutions in close collaboration with their customers. Some of their routine achievements include implementing a new alloy, improving component design, or creating specialized tools to achieve the customer’s planned outcome.
The proof is in the product. Thermal-Vac’s quality control standard helped it to be selected to work on NASA’s SLS-Orion project, a space exploration vehicle that will eventually send astronauts to the moon and beyond. Thermal-Vac partnered with L3Harris/Aerojet Rocketdyne in the production of rocket motors by nickel plating 10-ft long tubes that needed to be precisely plated with an even, 0.0001 inch thickness. They also hand-assembled the rocket motors’ heat shields.
The company is proud to have received the 2023 MTI Commercial Heat Treater of the Year award, which it sees as a validation of its approach to constant improvement.
Vacuum furnace at Thermal-Vac Technology
Quality and innovation are not the entire Thermal-Vac story. CEO Heather Falcone sees the strength of the company arising from the way her 45-person team was assembled: by bringing people from all walks of life together to forge a special environment of trust and collaboration. Along with her three brothers — COO Shannon Driscol, Special Projects Expert Shane Driscol, and Sean Driscol, now president of the company’s sibling start-up company, Thermal-Vac Arizona — Heather has led the company’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, and fair chance hiring practices. Heather and her brothers strive to create a workplace where everyone is valued and treated well. To do this, the company introduced well-received cultural initiatives such as a four-day work week, giving out over 20% of net profit in bonuses as featured in the Wall Street Journal, and awarded over $30,000 in charitable donations and scholarships in 2023 alone.
In recent years, Thermal-Vac Technology has been busy consolidating its operations at its Orange location. The company is pursuing numerous initiatives as it prepares for the future. Special focus will be given to streamlining operations and finding new ways to leverage technology so the company can remain agile and responsive. The company is also looking forward to continuing to foster a spirit of community in the North American heat treating industry.
Renowned for its dynamic trade show environment, FNA 2024 brings together the foremost experts, suppliers, decision makers, and buyers from around the globe. This year’s event is set to continue the tradition of offering an engaging technical conference alongside the bustling trade show floor.
The excitement takes off on the first day of the trade show with a unique gaming opportunity. During the Day 1 Trade Show Floor Reception, one lucky attendee will be selected to participate in a thrilling game at the heart of the expo, standing a chance to win $500, $1,000, or a staggering $100,000!
With exhibit booths in high demand and an anticipated sellout, prospective exhibitors are urged not to hesitate in securing their spots. Registration for attendees will open on May 1, 2024.
Mark your calendars and prepare to be a part of the industry’s most awaited event. Stay tuned for more details and visit www.FurnacesNorthAmerica.com for the latest updates.
Furnaces North America 2024 is excited to unveil its lineup of Title Sponsors for the upcoming trade show and technical conference, scheduled for October 14-16, 2024. Produced by the Metal Treating Institute in collaboration with Heat Treat Today, the event will be hosted in Columbus, OH — a hub of manufacturing innovation.
