Pump, valve and seal shop, Northeastern United States
Industry: Fluid Motion Control
Application: Pump Shaft
Location: Northeastern United States
Problem
A shop focusing on pumps, valves and seals was previously using 410 stainless bar to produce pump shafts. The raw material was put through batch quench and temper, straightening and stress relieving processes prior to arriving in the shop. Major inconsistencies were occurring during production because the bars were not maintaining straightness through the machining process. Not only did this lead to a great deal of time dedicated to post process reworks, but the customer began ordering larger products to enable secondary finish machining.
Solution
Upon discovering the customer’s straightness issues, a Castle Metals representative involved the company’s metallurgist as a resource. The Castle metallurgist worked closely with the customer to identify the product specifications would prove most beneficial. Castle Metals then suggested the use of a stress free 410 stainless bar, which would be provided from Castle’s in-house heat treating facility.
Result
Moving from stress relieved to stress free 410 stainless from Castle Metals proved quite beneficial for the customer. The straightness is now maintained through the process, saving 30% of the cost to machine each shaft. When utilizing stress free products from Castle Metals, customers can rest assured that the product will meet specifications every time, saving any post processing costs and time.