Why simulating your heat treatment process is important?

August 5, 2021

Updated on September 13th, 2021

Heat treatment processes are essential to fine tune the mechanical properties of a part. Controlling and predicting the effects of heat treatment are increasingly crucial for companies, as recently demonstrated by a French steel producer who completely upgraded its heat treatment line.

“Aubert & Duval, a French producer of superalloys, high-performance steels, aluminum and titanium alloys in the form of bars, powders and forgings, created a new heat-treatment line. The line, which will completely replace the company’s current heat-treatment line 3, has been designed to achieve the following objectives: reduction of safety risks and improvement of working conditions; process and quality control; productivity and flexibility; and reduction of environmental footprint. Almost all the parts produced at Aubert & Duval’s Pamiers’ facility undergo heat treatment. Mastering these processes is central to the company’s industrial mission, which involves working on the most demanding projects in the aerospace, energy and defense industries.” From Industrial Heating magazine on August 2, 2021 (https://www.industrialheating.com/articles/96490-french-steel-producer-adds-heat-treat-line).

Like Aubert & Duval many of our Transvalor Americas customers have been using simulation for a long time to predict and fine tune their heat treatment processes ahead of production. The desire to control and to continuously improve product quality is the strategic driver for all reputable metal forming companies. Placing simulation at the center of this journey toward better product quality is critical.

Simulation makes heat treatment processes easier and more repeatable since all parameters are taken into consideration. Engineers, metallurgists, and operators visualize the effect of mishandling and/or entering “wrong” input parameters. The simulation provides information such as microstructure evolution, temperature evolution, distortion, residual stresses to mention only a few outputs, anywhere in the part. These results can also be visualized through points tracking for better comparisons, and ensure that customer specifications requirements in specific areas of the parts are met.

The message is clear: improve your products quality through appropriate heat treatment process, and predict the outcome through simulation.
Prediction and validation are what simulation is about, and no other tool at the engineers, metallurgists, and operators’ disposal can do it better. This is why we have released a Heat Treatment simulation software dedicated to this: SIMHEAT®.

Another direct benefit of simulation is cost reduction. Since simulation is about prediction and validation, the traditional and sometimes antiquated “trial and errors” process will in most cases be eliminated or dramatically reduced, resulting in sizeable material, equipment and labor savings. Not to mention reduction in engineering/design time that in addition to also contributing to cost reduction will improve your “time-to-Market”.

Finally, by integrating simulation results in your sales and marketing processes, you will be able to achieve significant advantages over your competition. With such a powerful tool, your sales and marketing departments have access to a wealth of information and proof-points to build the case that your product will meet the customer’s specifications. Simulation will also re-enforce your brand attributes by demonstrating the modernity and efficiency of your processes

Not convinced? Do not hesitate to contact us, we are sure we will make you a believer.

In the meantime, check us out in the 2021 buyer guide book just released by Industrial Heating, at: https://view.ceros.com/bnp-engage/ih-buyers-guide-ebook-2021/p/67.
We are the only Heat treatment processes simulation software listed.

Nicolas Poulain

Director of Sales and Technology