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Volume #007-10-02
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Badger Metal Tech, Inc.
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October
Letter 2002
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IN THIS ISSUE
CHOICES:
FAQ (questions?)
1.
MetaLLife
2.
ThermaLLife
3. Info FNC
Quote Request
3.
Short
Form
4. Standard Form
Tool or Die
Two recent articles in
the Milwaukee Small Business Times drives home the effect China is having on our
manufacturing.
Click Here to
view or download the pdf file.
Need a viewer for Acrobat pdf -click
here
Question:
What if every tool shop in the US refused to rework, repair, or make engineering
changes to any die not made in the US?
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In the tooling industry there
seems to be a very small window from the time a die is taken out of production
to when it will again be required to run product. This is usually the time
when all of the repairs, engineering changes, and reworks are performed.
A common reason for not being proactive or reactive to a die's condition is
"there simply isn't any time to get the needed work done".
Badger Metal Tech appreciates your
needs in this area and has attempted to come up with a possible way to make
the window appear a little larger. If we can answer your questions
regarding both of our processes and also provide you with a means to communicate your needs prior to
shipping
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a tool to
us, this could possibly help to provide the
needed time.
In this newsletter we will utilize the Badger
Metal web site's Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section (see
sidebar) to
answer the most common inquiries we get regarding both of our processes.
For those interested, we will direct you to some in depth information regarding
our
ThermaLLife process and its roots - see sidebar
Info FNC.
In addition we will briefly discuss our newly
developed online quote request section.
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MetaLLife S A
V E S D I E S. Our
MetaLLife
section on our web sites explains each of the benefits associated with the above
upper case phrase.
MetaLLife is not a coating, plating, or chemical
process. It is a mechanical process performed at room ambient
conditions. The mechanics of the process places the surface of a tool into
a compressive state. This compression helps to prevent NEW and retard
EXISTING thermal cracking in hot work steels whose rockwell hardness is in the
40's. Small cracks in the surface of the tool are closed under
compression. The compressive forces also prevent larger existing cracks
from propagating on the ends. The compressive layer varies in depth depending on
the application applied.
Graphs show
various depths using different parameters for processing and a
composite
graph
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of all processes
for comparison purposes.
The subsequent topography
provides two extra benefits.
1. Flow of the molten metal is
improved.
2.
The micro pockets on the tool tend to hold die lubricant which aid in helping
to reduce soldering of aluminum and alloy casting materials.
In the case
of Drawing and Forming applications, these pockets help to
reduce galling and
pickup.
Customers in the last 20 years have also
reported other benefits including:
Reduced casting pressures
Substrate preparation for coatings
Better adhesion of painted surfaces
Increased die thermal heat transfer
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ThermaLLife
(also a registered process) was introduced in the summer of 2001. It is a
thermal chemical process performed in controlled atmosphere equipment that involves heat, gases, and time.
When the die is at the proper temperature,
gases
are introduced into the system that cause a diffusion of nitrogen and carbon
atoms into the surface of the tool. This stretches the surface of the
steel, placing it in an opposing compressive layer. Graphs showing this
relatively shallow layer and compressive value can be compared to the deeper and
higher MetaLLife levels.
The mechanics of
ThermaLLife are known in the industry as Ferritic Nitrocarburizng (FNC). The process is common and
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known by many trade names.
ThermaLLife
is unique because of our state of the art technology that is used. Our
fully automated and computer controlled equipment is the only one of its kind in
the United States. This guarantees the consistent repeatability of the
process, something that other suppliers have difficulty doing.
When proper recipes are utilized,
ThermaLLife has
an ability to form a compound layer on the surface. It is this compound or
epsilon layer that establishes the barrier to prevent the interaction of
aluminum (Al) and the tool steel iron (Fe). Die casters know this unwanted
phenomenon by the name "solder" or "soldering".
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In order to quote our services, we need to know
surface area for MetaLLife and weight for
ThermaLLife. Usually for die
casting, we request a casting for the MetaLLife requirement. This gives us
the ability to quote and at the same time see a fingerprint of the tool under
actual operating conditions which helps when processing.
What do we do when the tool will be a new design
or no casting is available to send us? Gathering the proper information
can then be a time consuming effort for both us and our customers or clients.
Not anymore! Badger has developed an
interactive web means of transmitting the needed information via email.
Just go to the page that is appropriate - with a casting (Short) or without
(Regular). |
Then just fill in the information, and click
SUBMIT. We will do the rest. You will even find links to our pricing
structure for both processes along with formulas for figuring surface area for
different geometric shapes.
To be taken directly to these referenced
pages, just click on the sidebar Quote links. We are always open to
suggestions on improving this feature. If you have any suggestions or
comments, please email us and let us know what you like and don't like about
this feature.
We trust that this newsletter has helped to make
the "Window of Opportunity" a little larger and more accessible to
your tooling needs. We thank you for your continued business.
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Badger Metal Tech, Inc.
N60 W15088 Bobolink Ave. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin 53051
Phone: 262-252-3804 Toll Free 800-366-1973 Fax: 262-252-3956
Email: news@badgermetal.com
URL:
http://www.badgermetal.com
© 2002. All Rights Reserved
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