Page 20 - MetalForming October 2009

Materials&Coatings Auto/Steel Partnership Releases Revised Guidelines
for Forming Advanced High-Strength Steels
The Auto/Steel Partnership (A/SP) has released a revised version of its toolkit, the Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS) Applications Design and Stamping Process Guidelines—A Special Edition of In-Depth Advanced High-Strength Steel Case Stud- ies. The manual is designed to help automotive product designers and materials engi- neers specify and apply specific grades of AHSS parts, and to help die engineers and metalformers define their processes for making parts of AHSS. Download the tool- kit at www.a-sp.org/publications.htm.
Service Center Installs Third Waterjet-Cutting Machine
Jacquet Mid Atlantic, Pottstown, PA, a processing and distribution center specializing in stainless steels and nickel alloys, installed its third waterjet-cutting machine. The new machine, from Jet Edge, Inc., St. Michael, MN, boasts a 21-by-13-ft. work enve- lope and twin abrasive-waterjet cutting heads. Other features: a mirroring package, independent programmable Z carriages, programmable height sensing, remote pen- dant and closed-loop water-filtration system. The firm stocks 19 different grades of alloys, and uses the cutting machines to cut near-net-shape parts for its customers with no heat-affected zone and little or no need for secondary finishing operations. Jet Edge: 800/538-3343; www.jetedge.com
Low-Temperature Alloy for Brazing Aluminum Components
Lucas-Milhaupt, Inc., Milwaukee, WI, has introduced an option for brazing alu- minum components, Handy One alloy AL-822. The low-temperature alloy is provided in a number of forms including spooled flux-cored wire, flux-cored rods and flux-cored preforms. Company engineers can assist in proper alloy selection, joint design and preform design for optimizing the brazing process. In addition to common chemical compositions, Lucas-Milhaupt can provide flexible flux and alloy compositions of AlZn- Si and AlZn to satisfy particular application needs.
The company provided an example of how the alloy works. A large HVAC OEM man- ufacturer faced difficulties converting HVAC coils from copper to aluminum. A major concern was the small temperature window between the melting point of the aluminum base metal and traditional aluminum braze filler metals, and operating within this window would have forced the manufacturer to replace its capital equipment.
Using the alloy provided a larger temperature window to braze aluminum coils with- out overheating the aluminum base metal. Preproduction trials showed that the alloy met the manufacturer’s strength, corrosion and production-line requirements. Lucas Milhaupt engineers assisted in equipment setup and the design of the aluminum flux- cored preform brazing ring to meet the performance criteria of the OEM. Lucas-Milhaupt, Inc.: 800/558-3856; www.lucasmilhaupt.com
New Multi-Blanking Line at Service Center
Ken-Mac Metals, a division of ThyssenKrupp Materials NA, has installed a new Red Bud Industries’ precision multi-blanking line at its service center in Kansas City, MO. The line, which includes a precision grip-feed system and CNC programmable
slitter, will process stainless steel, alu- minum alloys and prepainted materials. The combination of machines allows Ken- Mac to produce blanks with width and length tolerances of ±0.005 in. The line can process coils to 50,000 lb. and 72 in. wide, of material to 0.135 in. thick. Red Bud Industries: 800/851-4612; www.redbudindustries.com
IMS Opens
West Coast Storefront
The Irvine, CA, branch of Industrial Metal Supply Co. (IMS) is being recon- figured as the company’s first full-serv- ice storefront facility. The new distribu- tion model, it says, improves its ability to deliver services to a wider geograph- ical area. Customers can receive next-day delivery or can arrange for pickup as quickly as 2 hr. after placing an order. IMS stocks steel, aluminum, stainless steel, tool steel and other materials. Industrial Metal Supply: 800/350-6768; www.industrialmetalsupply.com
Metals Distributor Gets Huge Defense Contract
The Defense Supply Center Philadel- phia, the troop support center of the Defense Logistics Agency, named TW Metals, Exton, PA, a prime vendor for metal products and awarded it a contract to support the Northeast region of the United States. The contract is for $96 million—fixed price with economic price adjustment—with a maximum limit of $288 million. TW Metals’ Government Business Unit in Carol Stream, IL, will manage the contract for its customers— Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Federal civilian agencies. TW Metals distributes a range of products, including extrusions, fittings, pipe, sheet, and plate, of carbon, alloy and stainless steels, and alloys of aluminum, nickel and titanium. TW Metals: 610/458-1300; www.twmetals.com
18 METALFORMING / OCTOBER 2009
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