Ovako Steel’s 2018 investment in a vacuum tank degassing (VTD) facility is a critical development for the Smedjebacken mill. Removal of hydrogen by a state-of-the-art vacuum process now enables Ovako to address the needs of forgers that require high-performance, reliable and cost-effective steel for demanding applications such as those in the automotive industry.
A relatively new family of steel grades, called Hybrid Steels, is well-suited to meet the demands of high-stress, high-temperature applications in which mechanical and fatigue strength are critical. These steels are strengthened by an alloying philosophy combining precipitate phases and adding aluminum as an alloying element.
Steels have traditionally been divided into separate categories of tool steel, stainless steel and low-alloy engineering steel, as well as more sophisticated maraging steels. That changed in 2017 when Ovako launched its “Hybrid Steel” – a new family of grades with a new alloying philosophy.
Ampco-Pittsburgh Corp. completed the sale of its Canadian specialty steel subsidiary, ASW Steel Inc. (ASW), to Valbruna Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of Acciaierie Valbruna S.p.A., of Vicenza, Italy. With production facilities in Fort Wayne, Ind., and in Italy, Valbruna produces stainless steels, nickel alloys and titanium long products. It has an annual output of approximately 200,000 tons of specialty steels.
We have noticed an uptick in the number of blacksmithing stories over the past few years. Here’s an opportunity to find out what the buzz is all about.
Under certain circumstances, hybrid heating using both gas and induction furnaces can be desirable and cost-effective. The issue of whether to use induction followed by gas heating or gas heating followed by induction is considered here.
As an advanced manufacturing industry, forging can benefit from the development of advanced alloys used in its products and in the dies it uses to forge them.
South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction installed a new 17,000-ton steel forging press at its forging plant in Changwon. The press, which replaces a 13,000-ton press, is expected to increase the Changwon plant’s forging capacity by 34%.