Seco/Warwick S A : SECO/WARWICK to provide two CaseMaster technological lines for the railway industry

voestalpine Fastening Systems, a supplier to the railway industry, has ordered a technological line consisting of two CaseMaster furnaces, three tempering furnaces and two washers. The line will be utilized for hardening processes of steel parts used in railway rolling stock. This is the first cooperation between both partners in this product area. SECO/WARWICK has previously delivered vacuum furnaces to the voestalpine Group.

A universal furnace with many possibilities

The technological line on order consists of an electric chamber furnace, a washer, a cooling station, and an endothermic atmosphere generator. "This comprehensive solution meets the Partner's needs. The key aspect in choosing SECO/WARWICK as the solution's supplie, was the result of technological tests carried out in a service hardening plant that the customer was acquainted with. This convinced voestalpine Fastening Systems that we would meet the high requirements of the contract. The line is configured in such a way that if the volume of the company products decreases, the customer can also offer commercial processing due to the wide technological spectrum of this main furnace unit," said Mariusz Raszewski, Deputy Director of the Aluminum Process and CAB Furnaces Team at SECO/WARWICK.

The process will be carried out in a controlled atmosphere with temperatures up to 950°C.

Additionally, the technological line includes an electric chamber furnace designed for the heat treatment of steel parts in a protective nitrogen atmosphere at temperatures up to 700°C, along with a washer, cooling station and endothermic generator. The line will include a loader operating in automatic mode, a set of roller tables and a closed loop water system. The number of the supplied technological line units is selected to ensure the quality of manufactured components.

The whole solution will be supervised by a master system, which is used for the continuous monitoring of the heat treatment equipment operation and provides advanced data analysis for the production processes.

The railway industry is developing

"The universal furnace solution will allow the customer to process a variety of parts in various configurations. Apart from technological parameters, it is important for us to limit processed part deformations, which is possible with the solution on order. SECO/WARWICK presented a partnership and flexible approach to the challenges of this order," said Mariusz Fogtman, COO, voestalpine Fastening Systems Sp. z o. o.

voestalpine Fastening Systems (part of the voestalpine Group) has been a leading manufacturer of rail components for over 40 years. The company produces high-quality fastening systems using modern production technologies. In 2018, SECO/WARWICK delivered a 15-bar vacuum furnace with high-pressure gas hardening and a retort tempering furnace to voestalpine High Performance Metals.

"Constant investments in technology development and many years of cooperation with the largest steel producers allow SECO/WARWICK to maintain its leading position among reliable suppliers, meeting the required standards and offering modern solutions," commented Piotr Skarbiński, Vice President, Aluminum Process and CAB Business Segment (ATM).