Our skid mounted hardening systems are ideal for "in-line" heat treating automation. The standard systems are used for parts 2" to 10.5" diameter and accepts 2 lanes of parts loaded onto the supply conveyor. Pairs of parts are then loaded into the rotary hearth hardening furnace by the robot. The two parts making up the "pair" can be identical or different part numbers. After the parts have been properly heated to the hardening temperature, the same robot transfers the pairs of parts into the quench presses. The quench presses hold and/or form the parts, while a metered and directed flow of quenchant quickly cools the parts resulting in a high as-quenched hardness. Once the parts are quenched they are automatically ejected from the Quench Presses and transferred to the removal conveyor where the parts are typically washed. Parts then can be removed from the end of the removal conveyor or conveyed to an optional tempering furnace.

Superior quality components and extensive failure mode testing make these systems highly reliable with a minimum of unscheduled down time. Systems with our universal tooling for rings can harden a variety of part sizes with the same dies. Only 2 sizes of dies need be used to cover a 2-10.5" diameter range, however 4 different die sets may be needed if both male and female styles are required. The accurate control and integration of the atmosphere system, the application of heat inside the hardening furnace, the temperature uniformity in the hardening furnace, robot gripping techniques, quench press tooling design, and the application of the quenchant to the parts all act together to allow these systems to harden parts with consistent shape, size, and mechanical properties.

The following equipment and options are available for Skid Systems:

• Supply conveyor with part positioning mechanisms that set up 2 lanes of parts for robot pick up automatically based on the recipe file for each part.
• Optional gravity rollers to provide for additional accumulation length for loading parts on the supply conveyor or special equipment for transferring parts from your existing material handling systems.
• Optional washer and dryer added to the supply conveyor for cleaning the parts prior to loading them into the furnace.
• Dual arm, high speed, 6 axis, special purpose robot for loading and unloading the hardening furnace and quickly transferring hot parts to the quench presses. Servos control 3 axes.
• Optional OD or ID style robot grippers instead of the standard "wall pinch" design.
• Controlled atmosphere furnace with integrated fire safety system and servo positioned hearth with machined surface for accurate pick & place operations.
• Two universal die style quench presses with OD and ID quench flow paths. Quench Presses include part lift and part ejector.
• Optional quench presses with single or multiple ram plug style or custom dies.
• Quenchant system that delivers 4 quench flows with 4 independent flow control systems. The system filters and heats and/or cools the quenchant as required to provide a consistent quench.
• Optional compatibility with polymer quenchant.
• Shuttle device to transfer parts to removal conveyor.
• Two lane removal conveyor with room for parts to accumulate.
• Optional part temperature measuring system to monitor part temperatures after exiting the shuttle area.
• Optional removal conveyor mounted parts washer and optional dryer.
• 10" thick skid upon which the hardening system mounts. The skid has access holes to accommodate the easy installation of electrical conduit and process plumbing. It is covered with removable grates and drip pans.
• Optional small-footprint temper furnace. This furnace is not mounted on the hardening system skid. It accepts parts from the skid-mounted removal conveyor. The temper furnace loader transfers parts to preheated shelves in the furnace. The parts are not nested or stacked. The shelves move up and down 2 columns to save on space.
• Electrical control system including a PC based SCADA operator interface, one or more PLC's, servo motion controller(s), PID process controller(s), and a variety of sensors to measure position, temperature, pressure, flow, level & other process variables.

Below are images from some of the skid systems we have made.

Skid System with 4' Rotary Hearth Furnace, 6" Toggle Quench Presses & Air/Oil Quenchant Cooling System - Front

Skid System with 4' Rotary Hearth Furnace, 6" Toggle Quench Presses & Air/Oil Quenchant Cooling System - Back

Skid System with 5' Rotary Hearth Furnace, Universal Die Toggle Quench Presses & Water/Oil Quenchant Cooling System

Skid System with 5' Rotary Hearth Furnace, Universal Die Toggle Quench Presses & Air/Oil Quenchant Cooling System

Skid System with Gas Heated 5' Rotary Hearth Furnace, Direct Acting Plug-Type Quench Presses & Water/Oil Quenchant Cooling System

Skid System with 10' Rotary Hearth Furnace, Direct Acting Multiple Ram Quench Presses & Water/Oil Quenchant Cooling System

Skid System with 16' Rotary Hearth Furnace, Universal Die Toggle Quench Presses & Water/Oil Quenchant Cooling System

Skid System Temper Furnace & Loader

QPS Home - Frames Version

Home / QPS Advantage / Product Overview / Skid Systems / Modular Systems / Controls / Robots & Material Handling / Quench Presses / Quenchant Systems / Hardening Furnaces / Atmosphere Systems / Tempering Furnaces / Services & Support / Downloads / Careers / Contacts