"When we set out to design our Spring Grove (Illinois) forging plant, we had two basic objectives; first, to be the most modern, efficient producer of high quality open die forgings to be found anywhere, and second, to have the safest, most pleasant workplace for our people that it was possible to build.
    An ultra-modern heat treating operation was basic to the entire design concept, and in this regard the decision to use polymer quenchant from Tenaxol was made before a single design line was drawn.
    This decision, along with those determining the other unique aspects of the Spring Grove plant, stemmed from our own investigations in the forging field as well as Scot Forge experience in our other plants in Cicero, Illinois, and Clinton, Wisconsin.
    The size and shape of some of our forgings -- shafts up to 40 feet long, for example, weighing up to 36,000 pounds -- dictated a large and open quench tank. For purposes of safety and cleanliness, that ruled out oil right from the start. With Tenaxol's polymer we have absolutely no fire hazard, no fumes, no smoke, no need for pollution control apparatus and none of the mess you inevitably get when quenching into oil.
    We selected Tenaxol for two very fundamental reasons; product quality and metallurgical competence. Both of these characteristics emerged from our own investigations.
    The heat treat department was installed under the supervision of Tom Fenzl, our plant manager, John Kapina, our facilities engineer, and Clair Schneider, our heat treating manager. It was nearly all designed and built by our own people, including the furnaces.
    The department went on stream in May, 1980, and is performing according to expectations.

Furnaces

    Heating is done in four gas-fired, open-flame, car-bottom furnaces insulated with fiber for energy efficiency and operating up to 1,850°F. Two of them have heating chambers 43 feet long by 8 feet wide, while the other two are 25 feet long and the same width. The four are located side by side with a common face line.
    The quench tank is located at one end of the furnace line and parallel to the furnaces, but is offset so that the manipulator moves in front of the furnaces at right angles to them.
    The manipulator is a somewhat complex mechanism, being a remote-controlled multi-tined forklift device running on floor rails. It's about 55 feet wide with vertical and horizontal movement.
    It picks up a hot load from a furnace car, carries it to the tank, lowers it for quenching and brings it out again, up to 40,000 pounds a load.

The Quench Tank

    The quench itself is a pit measuring 45 feet long by 15 feet wide and 12 feet deep, holding some 50,000 gallons of Tenaxors "HT" polymer in a 20 percent solution.
    For its size, the tank is a fairly sophisticated operation, at least in our opinion. For one thing, the bottom is slanted from two sides so that scale, aided by eight flushing jets, ends up in one corner where a conveyor automatically removes it. A constant filtration system also assures clean quenchant

Photo above shows load of hot forgings positioned over 50,000 gallon quench tank using polymer supplied by Tenaxol. Submerging load is shown below. Note absence of flame and fumes, and high degree of quench agitation. Manipulator handles up to 40,000 pounds.

    Quenchant is circulated by eight ducted propellers, each driven by a two-speed 30 horsepower motor. Quench temperature ,s maintained, usually in the 120°F- 140°F range, by a submerged 2.5 million BTU burner tube working in conjunction with a finned-tube cooling unit outside the plant that employs four 7.5 horsepower blowers. Temperature -control is automatic with manual override.
    All in all, the heat treating system is just about as automatic and finitely controllable as we could make it, keeping in mind that we have to deal with substantial variations in part size, shape and weight, and a variety of materials.
    Only three full-time people per shift work in the heat treating department, and on a two-shift basis we have heat treated up to 3,000,000 pounds in a month. The quenchant from Tenaxol gives us outstanding and predictable metallurgical properties and is a very easy quenchant to manage.

Furnace above is one of four designed and built by Scot Forge at its Spring Grove, Illinois plant. Load shown emerging will be picked up by remote-controlled manipulator and transferred to quench tank at end of furnace line, sequence shown on facing page. Heat treat department employs only three people per shift, processes up to 3 million pounds per month on two-shift basis.

People to People

    Our experience with the people at Tenaxol has been just as our research indicated it would be. If and when we need them, they are here.
    An interesting thing is that they not only know their own product line and how to use it, they know about materials and the metallurgy of quenching, regardless of the quenchant being used. In our field investigations it became apparent that Tenaxol seems to be considered almost unique in this regard.
    At Scot Forge we'd like to think our operations here at Spring Grove are the most advanced in the industry, whether a commercial forging operation like Scot or an in-plant department of a manufacturer.
    Our customers are located from coast to coast, and also in some foreign countries. They are in a variety of industries such as oil drilling, earth moving and mining machinery, marine equipment, gear machining, machine tool building, and many others.
    For them we produce rings, pinions, shafts, gear blanks, hollow core forgings, hubs and special shapes. We work primarily with carbon and constructional alloy grades of steel. We'll provide anything from a rough forging to one that is turned and bored, and in the near future we plan to add milling to our process capability.
    And thanks to our heat treat versatility in general, and Tenaxol in particular, we can ship forgings in just about any metallurgical condition our customers specify.

On Quality

    Quality is a word in the business world that is over-used and frequently abused. At Scot Forge quality is a genuine way of life, but we don't really expect our customers and prospects just to accept our say-so.
    That's why we welcome visitors to our plant here at Spring Grove where they can see first hand what we offer in the way of people, equipment and methods, and the quality of forgings this combination produces.
    Our heat treating operation is fundamental to our forging operation, and polymer quenchant from Tenaxol is fundamental to our heat treating.
    No company can produce a quality product without dealing with quality vendors. At Scot Forge we believe that when we're selling, and we believe it when we're buying."

James F. McKinley, Jr.
Executive Vice President
Spring Grove Division
Scot Forge.