TPT May 2017

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I NDUS T RY
24 MAY 2017
Steeltec publishes material
selection guide
COMPONENTS used in high-tech
applications have to meet increasingly
sophisticated demands, such as greater
efficiency, improved dynamic strength
and longer service life. Cost-effective
production processes are essential to
maintaining long-term market viability.
In its recently issued Material
Selection Guide, Steeltec has identified
five steps that manufacturers of
advanced steel components can take to
select the right high-performance steel
for their purposes and to optimise the
costs of their manufacturing processes.
The guide explains the benefits of
getting the material selection process
right and the problems that can arise
when the wrong choice is made, and
recommends ways to optimise material
processing and machining stages.
It also provides checklists that enable
users to translate their individual
processing and product requirements
into material properties, and illustrates
preventive quality assurance measures.
A case study of electric power tool
manufacturer Metabo is included.
“We help component manufacturers
to achieve the best possible cost-benefit
ratio along the entire value chain,”
explained Guido Olschewski, head of
quality and product development at
Steeltec.
“The key is simply to provide
manufacturers with the best high-
performance steel for their specific
application needs.”
The free Material Selection Guide is
available as a downloadable PDF file or
a printed document.
Steeltec AG – Switzerland
Website:
Steeltec’s new Material Selection Guide
can help users find the right material for
manufacturing advanced steel components
International recognition for Materials
Processing Institute chief technology officer
THE chief technology officer at the
Materials Processing Institute has won
an industry award from the Association
for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST).
Alan Scholes has been awarded the
Best Paper Award by the AIST, as co-
author of a paper titled ‘Development
of Tailored Roll Grade Materials for
the Early Stands of Finishing Hot
Metals’, along with other research
and steel organisations. The accolade
is presented to the author(s) of the
best paper submitted to the Rolls
Technology Committee.
The paper summarises how a
methodology for the manufacture of
small castings has been developed
using microstructural and thermal-
mechanical testing. By using this
approach, several new material grades
have been produced, analysed and
refined, including grades that have now
been cast as full-scale rolls. Specific
grades have been developed to target
mills that have difficulty using standard
HSS (high-speed steel) and to further
improve the performance of HSS in
service. The research, which was
supported by the European Research
Fund for Coal and Steel, has provided
a means to simulate the rolling
environment and to test new material
grades. It has removed the need for
expensive and high failure risk mill
trials.
Mr Scholes commented, “Techniques
to develop new material grades were
achieved through the combined
expertise and collaboration of several
organisations, and it is a great honour to
be part of this award-winning research
team.”
Co-authors of the paper were Andrew
J Brown and Jason B Sychterz, Union
Electric Steel UK Ltd, UK; Petrus H Bolt,
M Krugla, S Sengo and M Rijnders,
Tata Steel Research & Development,
Netherlands; Alan Scholes, Materials
Processing Institute, UK; Eliette Mathey,
ArcellorMittal Mazières Research SA,
France; and Gisèle Walmag, Olivier
Lemaire and Jurgen Malbrancke,
Centre de Recherches Métallurgiques
ASBL, Belgium.
Chris McDonald, chief executive of the
Materials Processing Institute, added, “I
am delighted for Alan, whose work has
always been of the highest standard,
and this international recognition is
fully deserved. His research, along with
the work of his fellow co-authors, has
identified a cost-effective practice within
the industry and everyone at the institute
is proud of this achievement.”
The award will be presented at AIST
2017, which takes place in Nashville,
Tennessee, USA, from 8 to 11 May.
Materials Processing Institute – UK
Email:
Website:
Alan Scholes