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Hardmetal parts maker faces new competition
Each shipment of Alcan metal powders is made on a partnership basis. That partnership consists of a customer's needs and our hands-on expertise to satisfy them. It's been our way of life since 1916. We were founded in that year to supply aluminum and zinc powder to North America's chemical indusb~j. During the 1920's we developed copper and tin powdem for self-lubricating beerings. Spherical bronze was Introduced in the 30's for automobile ga~ other filtering Iq~o~icalton~ And more recentiy introduced Nu-Bronz premixse for efficient I~ self-lubricating bearings, ultra-fine copper po~ injection molding and electronics, and inert ga
atomized alloy powders. To this day, we continue to embrace a prot~ solving mentality, supported by a competent technical staff lind a fiacHity that is expending into NEW ~ l e s . FROM
INDUITRY
PIII~NIIIR
TO
Whatever your nonferrous metal powder needs, look to Alcan Powders and Pigments. Join in a partnership that shares a common goal...the fulfillment of your powder metallurgical requirements. For more information, wdts or call for your copy of "A Metal Powder Fact Rle". Metal Powder Produot Lktm Copper POwder and Copper Alloy Powders * Tin Powder and Tin Alloy I= Powders • Premix Bronze POwder • Powders for Iron I i InfllVation • Spherical Copper Shot • Spherical Bronze Shot * Bronze Rlter Powder • Aluminum Nloy Powders | • Antimony • Bismuth • Chromium • Manganese | | • • Nickel Powder and Nickel Alloy Powders | II II ~ * Nickel Flake * Silicon * Silver Flake * Alloy I I I I I Po,,, m e,.==m =..v.o**, Atomizir~ " t | II i, • Grinding and Screening • Flaking • Rapid ~ i d ~ Technology
,1111 N
INDUI~'RY
LIADIER~
WIE ARE
INNOVATION
IN
MOllON
Alcen POwders and Pigments, Division of Alcan Aluminum Corporation 901 Lehigh Avenue, Union, NJ 07083-0746 • (908) 081-4,R90/4800 • FAX (908) 851-4597 • Telex 135069
PM
SPECIAL
FEATURE
Toolmaker produces wide range of carbide parts As Part of the Fanstcc! VR/Wesson group, Fansteel Hydro Carbide manufactures sintered carbides and carbide metalcutting tools. Ken Brookes visited the company's main plant in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, USA, where dies, rolls and other metalforming tools are made. There is also a satellite plant in Guffport, Mississippi.
FIGURE 1: As-sintered, ground and polished wear parts manufactured in Fansteel's plant at Latrobe. Components for the synthetic diamond industry, exemplified by the large anvil seen on the right, make up 28% of current production.
bout 28% of the 245 tonnes output of Fansteel Hydro Carbide, made at Latrobe, goes into the d i a m o n d industry, either as high pressure components for synthetic diamond manufacture or as substrates and tool bits for polycrystalline diamond cutting inserts. The company also makes dies, rolls and other metal forming tools, rod and rotary-tool blanks, mining inserts and a variety of wear parts ( F i g u r e s 1 a n d 2). A b o u t 40%, o r 100 tonnes, of the company's output is for rotary tools. This and the 32% of output which is for dies and miscellaneous wearparts are made at the Gulfport plant. Hydro Carbide has about 100 employees in Latrobe, of which about 80 work at the factory. The company's 1992 turnover is expected to be about $15 million.
A
properties, with cobalt contents from 3 to 23%, average grain sizes between submicron and 10 ~m, nominal hardnesses from 84.0 to 92.7 and transverse rupture strengths between 1300 and 3500 N / m m 2. Tungsten carbide powder is purchased from US General Electric, Starck, Towanda (recently sold by GTE), Buffalo Tungsten, Murex, Eurotungst~ne and Hertel. Cobalt powder comes from Carolmet Inc. Grade powders are mixed and milled in Union a t t r i t o r s a n d ball mills, using heptane as milling liquid and lubricant solvent. Milled p o w d e r s are screened, dried, then acceptance tested. Powders are shipped around the plant in stainless steel canisters, holding up to 360 kg. About 80% of material going through this plant, some 50% of all Hydro Carbide production, is cold isostatically pressed (CIP). Gulfport output is pressed conventionally. The National Forge cold isostatic press has a c h a m b e r 585 m m in diameter by 1825 m m high. P r e s s u r i z a t i o n is to 125 MPa and cycle time is 40 minutes. A Stantron wire-wound CIP is similar to the typical A s e a design and has a f a s t e r operational cycle, only 20 minutes. Hydro Carbide makes it own rubber bags up to about 150 m m square, but can make parts routinely up to 300 m m diameter and 450 m m long. The r u b b e r moulds are compacted by vibration after powder filling, then stacked within the frame press chamber. Pressed billets axe kept-in a controlled environment, the store room being held at around 37% humidity and at 32°C.
Compaction of powders and CIP iiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Fansteel Hydro Carbide powder grades cover a wide range of compositions and 36 MPR November 1992
FIGURE 2: Polished wear parts.
atomized alloy powders. To this day, we continue to embrace a prot~ solving mentality, supported by a competent technical staff lind a fiacHity that is expending into NEW ~ l e s . FROM
INDUITRY
PIII~NIIIR
TO
Whatever your nonferrous metal powder needs, look to Alcan Powders and Pigments. Join in a partnership that shares a common goal...the fulfillment of your powder metallurgical requirements. For more information, wdts or call for your copy of "A Metal Powder Fact Rle". Metal Powder Produot Lktm Copper POwder and Copper Alloy Powders * Tin Powder and Tin Alloy I= Powders • Premix Bronze POwder • Powders for Iron I i InfllVation • Spherical Copper Shot • Spherical Bronze Shot * Bronze Rlter Powder • Aluminum Nloy Powders | • Antimony • Bismuth • Chromium • Manganese | | • • Nickel Powder and Nickel Alloy Powders | II II ~ * Nickel Flake * Silicon * Silver Flake * Alloy I I I I I Po,,, m e,.==m =..v.o**, Atomizir~ " t | II i, • Grinding and Screening • Flaking • Rapid ~ i d ~ Technology
,1111 N
INDUI~'RY
LIADIER~
WIE ARE
INNOVATION
IN
MOllON
Alcen POwders and Pigments, Division of Alcan Aluminum Corporation 901 Lehigh Avenue, Union, NJ 07083-0746 • (908) 081-4,R90/4800 • FAX (908) 851-4597 • Telex 135069
PM
SPECIAL
FEATURE
Toolmaker produces wide range of carbide parts As Part of the Fanstcc! VR/Wesson group, Fansteel Hydro Carbide manufactures sintered carbides and carbide metalcutting tools. Ken Brookes visited the company's main plant in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, USA, where dies, rolls and other metalforming tools are made. There is also a satellite plant in Guffport, Mississippi.
FIGURE 1: As-sintered, ground and polished wear parts manufactured in Fansteel's plant at Latrobe. Components for the synthetic diamond industry, exemplified by the large anvil seen on the right, make up 28% of current production.
bout 28% of the 245 tonnes output of Fansteel Hydro Carbide, made at Latrobe, goes into the d i a m o n d industry, either as high pressure components for synthetic diamond manufacture or as substrates and tool bits for polycrystalline diamond cutting inserts. The company also makes dies, rolls and other metal forming tools, rod and rotary-tool blanks, mining inserts and a variety of wear parts ( F i g u r e s 1 a n d 2). A b o u t 40%, o r 100 tonnes, of the company's output is for rotary tools. This and the 32% of output which is for dies and miscellaneous wearparts are made at the Gulfport plant. Hydro Carbide has about 100 employees in Latrobe, of which about 80 work at the factory. The company's 1992 turnover is expected to be about $15 million.
A
properties, with cobalt contents from 3 to 23%, average grain sizes between submicron and 10 ~m, nominal hardnesses from 84.0 to 92.7 and transverse rupture strengths between 1300 and 3500 N / m m 2. Tungsten carbide powder is purchased from US General Electric, Starck, Towanda (recently sold by GTE), Buffalo Tungsten, Murex, Eurotungst~ne and Hertel. Cobalt powder comes from Carolmet Inc. Grade powders are mixed and milled in Union a t t r i t o r s a n d ball mills, using heptane as milling liquid and lubricant solvent. Milled p o w d e r s are screened, dried, then acceptance tested. Powders are shipped around the plant in stainless steel canisters, holding up to 360 kg. About 80% of material going through this plant, some 50% of all Hydro Carbide production, is cold isostatically pressed (CIP). Gulfport output is pressed conventionally. The National Forge cold isostatic press has a c h a m b e r 585 m m in diameter by 1825 m m high. P r e s s u r i z a t i o n is to 125 MPa and cycle time is 40 minutes. A Stantron wire-wound CIP is similar to the typical A s e a design and has a f a s t e r operational cycle, only 20 minutes. Hydro Carbide makes it own rubber bags up to about 150 m m square, but can make parts routinely up to 300 m m diameter and 450 m m long. The r u b b e r moulds are compacted by vibration after powder filling, then stacked within the frame press chamber. Pressed billets axe kept-in a controlled environment, the store room being held at around 37% humidity and at 32°C.
Compaction of powders and CIP iiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Fansteel Hydro Carbide powder grades cover a wide range of compositions and 36 MPR November 1992
FIGURE 2: Polished wear parts.