By Tim Donofrio, vice-president sales, Can-Eng Furnaces International Limited
Manufacturers of high volume, mass produced, high integrity threaded fasteners have adopted fully automated, continuous mesh belt atmosphere heat treatment systems as the design standard to provide high-quality, energy efficient and reliable heat treatment processes.
Since the early 1990s, manufacturers have exploited the soft handling, reduced thread damage and part mixing potential features that are synonymous with mesh belt heat treatment systems. Over the years, as manufacturers’ processing capacity requirements increased, so did the design capabilities of the mesh belt heat treatment system. In the early days, capacity ranged from 500kgs/hr – 1,800kgs/hr, whereas today capacities have increased to 3,400kgs/hr comparable to cast link belt furnace technology.
Mesh belt furnace systems are recognised as the preferred configuration used to process small to medium sized fasteners in the range of M3 – M16. Manufacturers appreciate the additional mesh belt system features, which allows products to be loaded externally, thereby allowing minimal gaps between processing lots and improving overall efficiency. Traditionally large fastener mesh belt processing was avoided because of potential damage to the mesh belt resulting from continuous impact loading at each process transfer point.
Today manufacturers of medium to heavy sized fasteners seek new and creative methods for improving their competitive position and look to their lighter counterpart producers for the same benefits – realised in spite of the inherent size considerations of the M18 – M36 products they produce.
Through globalisation and development of markets, there is a growing need for large fasteners used in the construction, heavy equipment and energy markets. As a result, there is a demand for new highly automated heat treatment systems that require minimal operator involvement following the bulk loading and entry into the heat treatment systems. System design, configuration and quality improvements offered by the mesh belt heat furnace system make them a feasible option for manufacturers of heavy threaded fasteners.
Can-Eng Furnaces International has led this movement to expand the processing capabilities of these systems and provide enhanced processing benefits to manufacturers of heavy fasteners. Through the introduction of newly designed automated part loading and computerised vibratory soft handling systems, heavy fasteners can now be immediately deposited onto a mesh belt system, eliminating any potential for belt damage. Unique transfer devices and hybrid conveyors have also been implemented, which limit the level of product inertia that is typically created in conventional systems and provides a gentle transfer and reduced impact loading.
Additionally, design evolutions have been implemented in areas where impact loading cannot be avoided – such as wash systems, phosphate removal systems and quench systems. In these areas, engineers have implemented robust conveyor designs that allow for the repetitive impact loading resulting from free falling fasteners.
As well as product handling evolutions, designers have integrated quenching technology flexibility. In some cases, manufacturers process a wide variety of material chemistries that require the ability to vary quench severity of the solution being used. In the case of polymer quenching, quench severity is being adjusted through the control of polymer concentration levels. In this case, engineers have developed an automatic polymer solution concentration system that serves two purposes, firstly to automatically control the level of polymer concentration for enhanced process control and secondly to provide the feature that enables the polymer concentration level to be altered to suit the product being processed.
Can-Eng’s continuous mesh belt atmosphere furnace systems have earned an international reputation for the following:
Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe.
Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned.
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