Steel producer highlights unique processing method

10th July 2015

By: Bruce Montiea

Creamer Media Reporter

  

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Keeping abreast of technological developments is integral to surviving the tough economic environment and the competitive steel industry, says Cape Town-based steel production company GKN Sinter Metals sales and marketing manager Jon Kerr.

He tells Engineering News that using the right technology for production processes enables a company to produce high- quality products that can, in turn, be offered at a better price.

To ensure that it keeps abreast of technological developments in the steel industry, GKN undergoes a formal industrial strategic planning process every year to consider the company’s long-, medium- and short-term plans, says Kerr.

He adds that the company also maintains good working relationships with its suppliers, who regu- larly train staff to familiarise them with the latest steel-manu- facturing technologies and techniques.

Unique Processing Method

Kerr tells Engineering News that GKN differentiates itself from its competitors because it uses a sintering process that can combine different subassemblies into one part.

The company focuses on the standardisation of sintering equipment as a key element of best practice, he adds.

GKN’s sintering process involves heating the steel powder compacts in a continuous sintering furnace to an elevated temperature and in a protected atmosphere to achieve metallurgical integrity. Precise temperature and atmospheric controls are applied to ensure material consistency.

GKN compresses steel powder in a precision tool set and heats it to form metallurgical bonds. The resulting sintered part is often the end product, which makes secondary operations unnecessary. Kerr says this is the key benefit of sintered products – no material waste through secondary machining. He says secondary operations are usually applied to achieve geometries that cannot be formed in the compaction process.

“We aim to be the best when it comes to helping clients with their sintering requirements, as we have the required depth of knowledge and experience. Our Cape Town office has been in business for 52 years, and the global GKN Group for more than 250 years,” he says.

Further, Kerr adds that the company’s engineers are exposed to the latest technology through GKN Group, which has established formal programmes to impart this knowledge to employees at all its plants. The group also has a department dedicated to the effective transfer of best practices.

GKN Group is headquartered in England, and has production sites in countries such as Germany, Italy, India, China, Brazil, Canada and the US.

“GKN South Africa, therefore, has access to the latest manufacturing technology and material for meeting mass-production requirements.”

Moreover, the company keeps its in-house tooling design and manufacturing capability up to standard using the latest versions of Autodesk Inventor, with parts, processes and tools linked through the vault. This ensures end-to-end control of the sintering process, says Kerr.

GKN also implements sizing, a high-speed re-pressing operation that improves the profile tolerance further at a competitive cost level. Additional and typical machining processes, such as turning, milling, drilling and threading, can be applied when required.

GKN produces a variety of products from ferrous and nonferrous materials. “An interdependent relationship exists between composition, density and microstructure – with each optimised for specific applications, leading to the performance and value advantages that powder metallurgy technology delivers,” explains Kerr.

He adds that GKN actively focuses on the continual improvement of materials technology and considers this to be an essential differentiator.

Edited by Samantha Herbst
Creamer Media Deputy Editor

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