“The activities and process advances within the Contract Heat Treatment Association members and the case for outsourcing heat treatment in

today’s economy”

John Jervis UK Business Development Manager Bodycote Heat Treatments Ltd

www.chta.co.uk

• Representing over 60 UK wide heat treatment specialists

• Over 75% of UK subcontract processing capacity

• From individual stand alone businesses to UK ,European and global specialist groups

• Through to global strategic partners

Use the Professionals

• Access to basic process understanding.

• Understand furnace availability within your region

• Tap into our member’s process experience, and metallurgical knowledge.

• Send new business enquiries

• Solve your specific issues and processing concerns

Member Activities

• Core activities and focus is providing full range of heat treatment and metal joining processes- offered to all markets and industries.

• Allowing customer businesses to focus, invest and grow in their own specialised fields of expertise.

Heat treatment Technologies

• Before- old in-house Salt Bath processing

• After-Investments by CHTA member with compliant methods

• With the adoption of new materials enables the move to vacuum technology alternatives

Latest Technologies- Corr-I-dur

• Nitriding and nitrocarburising carried out in the Corr-I-Dur® process is a combination of various thermochemical process steps, i.e. gas nitrocarburising and oxidising.

• Wear and corrosion resistant layers are created which show are dark grey to black colour.

• Significantly improved corrosion resistance: +280 hrs salt spray test

• Excellent wear resistance

• Single components to production volumes

• Can be applied to most cast iron and steel alloys

• Minimal distortion / dimensional change

• Environmentally-friendly alternative to salt bath treatments

Induction

• Latest induction equipment used with all the controls and efficiencies using less energy

• Longer working life of inductor coils

• Continuous process monitoring

• Allowing Key Automotive manufacturers and 1st tier suppliers to move from in house use of old unreliable kit to full out sourcing

• Equipment which can be automated and fully utilised 24X5 or 24X7

• Opportunities for dedicated customer cells

ADI Treatments

• Partnering with major producers and users of Austenitic Ductile Iron

• 3 Furnaces:

• 2 x 55t Salt Quench

• 1 x 110t Salt Quench

• Max. Load 2700 kgs

• 1 Integrated Furnace:

• Max. Load 7000 kgs

Austenitise C-Atmosphere

Salt Quench 50/50

Nitrate / Nitrite

Load / Unload

Purge

Low Pressure Carburising and Nitriding • Enhanced Mechanical Properties-

Elimination of Intergranular Oxidation layer, improved fatigue properties.

• Dimensional Control-Low distortion predictable and repeatable.

• Reduced Total Cost - Shorter cycle times are possible, saving time and cost.

• Environmentally friendly.

• Reduced manufacturing steps such as post grinding, cleaning and inspection.

• Enhanced cleanliness of products

• Precise control of case depth, microstructure and hardness

• Improved blind hole case penetration

• Better case depth uniformity for complex shapes

Advanced Metal Joining

• Vacuum and honeycomb brazing: Used to join critical honeycomb seals in jet engines, for the efficiency of gas flow through the engine. Brazing is a cost-effective process Brazing can be used to repair surfaces that are susceptible to corrosion, erosion and cracking.

• Felt-metal brazing: With demand for improved aircraft engine performance, the use of vacuum brazed felt-metal abradable seals is increasingly being adopted for flow path efficiency improvements, providing superior clearance control in blade tip and labyrinth seal applications up to 760˚C, whilst minimising or eliminating wear on expensive rotating parts.

• Electron Beam Welding (EBW): A cost-effective method for producing complex components with varying section thickness which require ultimate joint strength and integrity. The precision and cleanliness of the process allows EBW to be used for items such as engine flame tubes without adversely affecting prior heat treatment or fine details such as air cooling holes

The case for Outsourcing

• With the UK manufacturing economy now back in growth in many markets there are both new opportunities and risks associated with the outsourcing versus ‘in-house’ processing decision.

• Do manufacturing businesses invest to increase capacity and replace outdated equipment, do they outsource totally, or do they place their additional requirements through subcontracted services?

• Existing large users of subcontract processing may now consider that their process spend potentially justifies an in-house investment based on their outlook for growth and because it provides them with more control by doing the work in-house.

It is a “Once in a Generation” decision

Consider the following points……

Costs of in-house heat treatment • Energy and carbon footprint: The real cost of processing is energy - understand what percentage of

costs energy represents! Energy is the biggest individual cost of heat treatment -the carbon footprint can be reduced through outsourcing and further with the use of the most efficient furnaces being effectively utilised.

• Capital expenditure: Compared to heat treatment spend, the full costs of capital purchase need to be understood, together with the hidden associated costs of installation, upgrades and enhancements.

• Quality: The cost to achieve and maintaining approvals? Nadcap, AS9100, TS16949, CQI-9 • People: Finding, securing and retaining technical and quality personnel cannot be underestimated -We

know how difficult it can be to attract and retain qualified, trained and experienced people. • Efficiencies: Economies of scale of 24x7 processing compared to in-house cannot be ignored; the cost

of underutilised equipment - expensive luxury. • Flexibility and agility: In-house operations cannot match the range of processes and equipment sizes

or be able to meet reduced or increased EBQ’s and respond to changes to new products, materials and specifications.

• Value focus: Considered the value of workspace if focused on core activities for adding value? • Industry knowledge: Access to knowledge, experience, new processes and technologies. • Risk mitigation: The benefits of risk sharing and mitigation by entering into the appropriate

agreements.

Furnace Utilisation Captive v Customer Partnership

From own business From Partnership Customer

From 3rd

Parties

5.5 days 7 days

Best Utilisation 65%

Best Utilisation 85%

Driver for

cost down

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

New Average

Current Average

Outsource Partnerships

• CHTA member companies have a long history of successful outsource partnerships with global through to local manufacturers

• It has been the key way that member organisations have grown

• All forms of agreements are undertaken/agreed from conventional subcontract support, often when several CHTA members provide volume dual or triple sourced process provision, through sole source long term business agreements, to top level strategic partnerships involving capital investment and even examples of “factory gates “ facilities

• Within agreements we can offer

– Price stability over an extended period

– Capacity guarantees

– Risk mitigation

– Approvals as appropriate

– Product and process development support- Future proofing through new technology

– Improving targets and service levels- KPI’s

Example facilities