• Quenching & tempering

    Quenching & tempering means a set of heat treatments that are carried out to particular types of steels and which consists of a quenching followed by tempering.
    During the quenching of steels there is formation of martensite, a structure with high hardness and considerable tensile strength, but with a rather low resilience that may give rise to breakages due to shock. Due to the dangerousness of these phenomena, which result in a practically instantaneous collapse of the structure, the steel will be treated with tempering process, to transform part of martensite into tempered martensite. Typically steels used in this treatment have the 0.4-0.6% C and are precisely those quenched and tempered steels.

  • Brazing

    Brazing is a metal-joining process whereby a filler metal is heated above melting point and distributed between two or more close-fitting parts by capillary action. The filler metal is brought slightly above its melting (liquidus) temperature while protected by a suitable atmosphere, usually a flux. It then flows over the base metal (known as wetting) and is then cooled to join the workpieces together. It is similar to soldering, except the temperatures used to melt the filler metal are higher for brazing.

  • Carburizing

    Carburizing or carburization is a heat treatment process in which iron or steel absorbs carbon liberated when the metal is heated in the presence of a carbon bearing material, such as charcoal or carbon monoxide, with the intent of making the metal harder. Depending on the amount of time and temperature, the affected area can vary in carbon content. Longer carburizing times and higher temperatures typically increase the depth of carbon diffusion. When the iron or steel is cooled rapidly by quenching, the higher carbon content on the outer surface becomes hard via the transformation from austenite to martensite, while the core remains soft and tough as a ferritic and/or pearlite microstructure.
    Some advantages:
    - Increased surface hardness
    - Increased wear resistance
    - Increased fatigue/tensile strengths.

  • Carbonitriding (Case hardening)

    Case hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal object while allowing the metal deeper underneath to remain soft, thus forming a thin layer of harder metal (called the ""case"") at the surface. For steel or iron with low carbon content, which has poor to no hardenability of its own, the case hardening process involves infusing additional carbon into the case. Case hardening is usually done after the part has been formed into its final shape, but can also be done to increase the hardening element content of bars to be used in a pattern welding or similar process. The term face hardening is also used to describe this technique, when discussing modern armour.
    Because hardened metal is usually more brittle than softer metal, through-hardening (that is, hardening the metal uniformly throughout the piece) is not always a suitable choice for applications where the metal part is subject to certain kinds of stress. In such applications, case hardening can provide a part that will not fracture (because of the soft core that can absorb stresses without cracking) but also provides adequate wear resistance on the surface.

  • Low pressure carburizing

    In this process, a gas (such as acetylene) is introduced as a partial pressure into the hot zone at temperatures typically between 1600F and 1950F. The gas disassociates into its constituent elements (in this case carbon and hydrogen). The carbon is then diffused into the surface area of the part. This function is typically repeated, varying the duration of gas input and diffusion time.

  • Stress reliving

    Stress reliving is an heat treatment which consists in heating and permanence at lower temperatures to Ac1 and a slow cooling.
    The purpose of the distension is to reduce the internal tensions without significantly altering the hardness.
    In general, the stress relieving treatment is performed at 150-180°C for carbon steels or low-alloy, and at 170-210 ° C for hardening steels.

  • Heating for forging

    The pieces to be treated are heated to prepare them for the next processes, making the material softer and more homogeneous.

  • Aging

    Heat treatment used to raise the mechanical properties of the material, generally applied to light alloys.

  • Nitriding

    Nitriding is a heat treating process that diffuses nitrogen into the surface of a metal to create a case hardened surface. These processes are most commonly used on low-carbon, low-alloy steels, however they are also used on medium and high-carbon steels, titanium, aluminum and molybdenum.
    Typical applications include gears, crankshafts, camshafts, cam followers, valve parts, extruder screws, die-casting tools, forging dies, extrusion dies, firearm components, injectors and plastic-mold tools.
    The advantages of gas nitriding over the other variants are:
    - Precise control of chemical potential of nitrogen in the nitriding atmosphere by controlling gas flow rate of nitrogen and oxygen.
    - All round nitriding effect (can be a disadvantage in some cases, compared with plasma nitriding)
    - Large batch sizes possible - the limiting factor being furnace size and gas flow
    - With modern computer control of the atmosphere the nitriding results can be closely controlled
    - Relatively low equipment cost - especially compared with plasma.

  • Low pressure nitriding

    Low pressure nitriding is a relatively new treatment, but which only in recent years has been introduced in some processes in wide use. In practice it comes to achieving the traditional processes of nitriding and nitrocarburizing, which normally must be made with a process pressure over 1300mbar absolute, to an operating pressure of the treatment chamber of 200-300mbar absolute.
    The use of this type of process allows some important advantages:
    - Preliminary treatment of pre-oxidation much more under control.
    - Treatments process less influenced by the surface of the piece itself.
    - Uniformity of process on all parts of the pieces and especially in the cavity.
    - Reduction of the quantity of the process gas and therefore less environmental impact.
    - Possibility of cooling under pressure, which improves in some cases in a decisive way the surface hardness on the pieces.
    - Conducting systems automated and easy to use.
    - Ability to run much more easily processes of special steels and stainless steels.
    - Possibility to perform post-oxidation treatment step in obtaining pieces perfectly burnished.

  • Normalizing

    Normalizing or Normalization is an annealing process applied to ferrous alloys to give the material a uniform fine grained structure and make it less brittle. It is used on steels of less than 0.4% carbon to transform austenite into ferrite, pearlite and sorbite. It involves heating the steel to 20-50 Kelvin above its upper critical point. It is soaked for a short period at that temperature and then allowed to cool in air. Smaller grains form that produce a tougher, more ductile material. It eliminates columnar grains and dendritic segregation that sometimes occurs during casting. Normalizing improves machinability of a component and provides dimensional stability if subjected to further heat treatment processes.

  • Annealing

    Annealing is a heat treatment that alters the physical and sometimes chemical properties of a material to increase its ductility and to make it more workable. It involves heating a material to above its glass transition temperature, maintaining a suitable temperature, and then cooling. Annealing can induce ductility, soften material, relieve internal stresses, refine the structure by making it homogeneous, and improve cold working properties. In the cases of copper, steel, silver, and brass, this process is performed by heating the material (generally until glowing) for a while and then slowly letting it cool to room temperature in still air. Copper, silver and brass can be cooled slowly in air, or quickly by quenching in water, unlike ferrous metals, such as steel, which must be cooled slowly to anneal. In this fashion, the metal is softened and prepared for further work such as shaping, stamping, or forming.

  • Tempering

    Tempering is a process of heat treating, which is used to increase the toughness of iron-based alloys. Tempering is usually performed after hardening, to reduce some of the excess hardness, and is done by heating the metal to some temperature below the critical temperature for a certain period of time, then allowed to cool in still air. The exact temperature determines the amount of hardness removed, and depends on both the specific composition of the alloy and on the desired properties in the finished product. For instance, very hard tools are often tempered at low temperatures, while springs are tempered to much higher temperatures. In glass, tempering is performed by heating the glass and then quickly cooling the surface, increasing the toughness.

  • Sintering

    Sintering is a particular heat treatment (with high temperature) which transforms a powdery material in a material indivisible.
    Sintering can be carried out at atmospheric pressure or elevated pressure. In the first case is preceded by a powder compaction.

  • Solution quench

    The solution quench heat treatment is reserved for austenitic steels.
    This heat treatment consists of a step of heating and maintaining at a high temperature (between 1050 ° C and 1200 ° C, but more frequently between 1050 ° C and 1100 ° C) followed by a rapid cooling with water (black results that requires a pickling treatment) or inert gas (bright results)"

  • Hardening

    Hardening is a metallurgical and metalworking process used to increase the hardness of a metal. The hardness of a metal is directly proportional to the uniaxial yield stress at the location of the imposed strain. A harder metal will have a higher resistance to plastic deformation than a less hard metal.
    Material hardening is required for many applications:
    - Construction materials - High strength reduces the need for material thickness which generally saves weight and cost.
    - Machine cutting tools (drill bits, taps, lathe tools) need be much harder than the material they are operating on in order to be effective.
    - Knife blades – a high hardness blade keeps a sharp edge.
    - Bearings – necessary to have a very hard surface that will withstand continued stresses.
    - Armor plating - High strength is extremely important both for bullet proof plates and for heavy duty containers for mining and construction.
    - Anti-fatigue - (Martensitic) case hardening can drastically improve the service life of mechanical components with repeated loading/unloading, such as axles and cogs.

  • Bainitic hardening

    Bainitic hardening or Austempering is an heat treatment that is applied to ferrous metals, most notably steel and ductile iron. In steel it produces a bainite microstructure whereas in cast irons it produces a structure of acicular ferrite and high carbon, stabilized austenite known as ausferrite. It is primarily used to improve mechanical properties or reduce / eliminate distortion.

  • Nitrocarburizing

    Nitrocarburizing is a range of case hardening processes that diffuse nitrogen and carbon into ferrous metals at sub-critical temperatures. The processing temperature ranges from 550°C -580°C. At this temperature steels and other ferrous alloys are still in a ferritic phase, which is advantageous compared to other case hardening processes that occur in the austenitic phase. There are four main classes of ferritic nitrocarburizing: gaseous, salt bath, ion or plasma, and fluidized-bed.
    The process is used to improve three main surface integrity aspects:
    - scuffing resistance
    - fatigue properties
    - corrosion resistance
    It has the added advantage of inducing little shape distortion during the hardening process. This is because of the low processing temperature, which reduces thermal shocks and avoids phase transitions in steel.

  • LLF

    Load Lifting Furnace: it is a furnace with horizontal chamber for hardening treatment in salt, oil or atmosphere, for carburizing or for hardening. The furnace can be realized in version in / out (single door) or with two doors (with a loading and unloading door).

  • FVF

    Furnace with forced ventilation: it is a plant with horizontal chamber for treatment of tempering or heating. It will be realised in version at low temperature and at high temperature.

  • NCV

    Nitriding with vacuum: identifies a plant constructed for the treatment of gas nitriding. It can be realised in the simple version, or even with a whole series of accessories, depending on the needs of the customer.

  • WCF

    Washing Cieffe: identifies Cieffe washing machines, that can be installed in a chamber furnace line. It can be realised in the simple version, or even with a whole series of accessories, depending on the needs of the customer.

  • ENDO

    Endothermic gas generator.

  • EXO

    Exo gas generator.

  • PROSYS

    Supervision system realized togheter with the German company Demig.

  • FORNI II

    Supervision system realized togheter with the Italian company Principia.

  • FNC/TT

    Belt continuous furnace for hardening, carburizing, quenching and tempering.

  • FNC/VF

    Belt continuous furnace with forced ventilation for tempering heat treatment.

  • WCFN

    Belt washing machine: it is a typ of washing machine to be installed in belt or chain heat treatment lines.

  • NDN

    Niederdrucknitrieren: special NCV furnace also for low pressure nitriding.

  • APEV

    Identifies a tempering plant, built according to the principle of vacuum furnace, therefore allows to obtain excellent results in tempering processes and annealing, reducing the production costs.

  • APWP

    Identifies the model of vacuum furnace constructed with circular or square horizontal chamber, supplied in simple version or equipped with various accessories, including the diffusion pump.

  • A-LPC

    Low pressure carburising: special vacuum furnace for low pressure carburising heat treatment.

  • A-HPQ

    High pressure quenching: special vacuum furnace for high pressure quenching.

  • A-VVBLF

    Identifies the model of vacuum furnaces constructed with vertical chamber, supplied in simple version or equipped with various accessories. A peculiarity of this system is the possibility of rotation of the base, to allow a better uniformity of treatment.

  • WCFC

    Drum washing machine: it is a typ of washing machine to be installed in belt or chain heat treatment lines.

  • WCFP

    Pit washing machine: it is a typ of washing machine to be installed in pit heat treatment lines.

  • WCFR

    Roller washing machine: it is a typ of washing machine to be installed in roller heat treatment lines.