IHTS Case Studies

Lean, Integrated Heat Treating for Direct from the Forge Intensive Quenching (DFIQ™)

Lean integrated heat treating solutions cannot be fully implemented without the development of the proper heat treating equipment. With Direct from the Forge Intensive Quenching (DFIQ) equipment on the forging shop floor, the forger is also the part heat treater; the forger becomes a “captive heat treater” adding more value to the forger’s link in the manufacturing chain.

DFIQ processing equipment “uniformly and intensively” water quenches the hot (~ 2,000°F / 1,093°C+) forging as soon as it is removed from the forge or the trim die. The DFIQ forging does not need to be normalized and does not require a third re-heating to the austenitizing temperature for quench and temper.

After coming directly from the forge or trim die, the hot forging is uniformly and intensively water quenched until the “current” compressive stresses on the part shell are at their maximum value, then the intensive water quench is interrupted. As the part is cooled in the air, the hot core “snap tempers” the martensite on the part surface shell. After the “snap temper,” the part is tempered at the required temperature, for the time necessary to fully develop the as-tempered “hardness and ductility” throughout the forging for the next step in the part manufacture.

Since the part is heat treated directly from the forge, the time and expense of transporting it a separate heat treat area is eliminated. This shortens delivery times and saves energy.

The application of DFIQ can provide the forging with all the mechanical properties of traditional, after-forging heat treatment. The combination of the DFIQ process and the newly developed water quenchant additives reduces heat treating production costs for forgings by up to 75%. DFIQ is lean heat treating, integrated with lean part making, at its best.