Chicago
Flame Hardening is widely known for its reputation
and capabilities in the flame-hardening industry.
Another facet of our business is our capability of
stress-relieving, drawing, tempering and post-weld
heat-treating. Our facility has available to our customers
some of the largest capacity furnaces in our area.
There are many sources of
residual stresses that can occur during rolling,
casting, forging and forming operations such as
shearing, bending, drawing and machining. These
stresses can also result from welding, fabrication
and burning operations.
Thermal stress-relieving is
the preferred method of reducing or eliminating
residual stress, and the only form of stress-relieving
that will lower hardness of burnout plate edges
to improve machinability.
There are many benefits to
stress-relieving:
- Reduced distortion
- Improved dimensional stability
- Improved machinability
- Reduced risk of stress corrosion cracks near welds
- Improved in-service performance
Stress-relieving today is
an increasingly complex operation. Some stress-relieving
specifications require and/or dictate a controlled
rise to the stress relieving temperature, holding
at that temperature for a dictated length of time,
followed by a controlled cool down to ambient temperature.
Our
continuing commitment toward quality and service
has been enhanced by the installation and documentation
of:
- Certified thermocouples
- Computerized furnace controllers
- Direct thermocoupling available
- Atmosphere chart recording
- Outside certification of all facets of
furnaces
- All certifications are traceable to national standards
- All certifications are performed on a regular
basis
We use car bottom furnaces
with no direct flame impingement on the parts being
drawn, tempered or stress-relieved. They are multiple
zone furnaces, allowing for evenly distributed heating
throughout the furnace.
Furnace sizes are:
5' wide x 3' high x 10' long
6' wide x 6' high x 20' long
10' wide x 10' high x 32' long
10' 6" wide x 8' high x 30' long
