The details of INCERTEC’s recent acquisition of Metal-Tek, Inc. have been featured on the Finishing & Coating website — including our expanded service list, transition plan and more.
INCERTEC has recently been featured by The Monty after our recent acquisition of Metal-Tek, Inc. The Monty has been a mainstay for heat treatment news, interviews and equipment and we were proud to be featured as a piece of bright news amid a slew of closures.
What is NADCAP accreditation? NADCAP (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) is a global program that sets the standards for aerospace engineering, defense and related industries.
There is a very detailed process that goes into NADCAP certification, including establishing an approved quality management system (QMS), passing a stringent on-site audit and a review of that audit by special process experts.
NADCAP is critical for manufacturers, as it allows them to quickly know that services like heat treating, painting and coating adhere to the exacting industry standards of quality, reliability and consistency. NADCAP also shows that a service provider can help streamline the overall manufacturing process, since they have proven their ability to maintain compliance with high quality standards while working quickly and efficiently.
Generally speaking, specificity. ISO 9001 is the broadest of the three certifications, ensuring that your QMS meets the global standards for performance, customer satisfaction and commitment to quality. AS9100 is built on the ISO 9001 standard, but adds specific standards and requirements for the aerospace industry and is produced by the International Aerospace Quality Group. NADCAP is even more specific, applying to individual services like heat treatment, painting, coating, chemical processing, and many others.
INCERTEC is proud to offer a number of NADCP accredited services for our partners in the aerospace and defense industries. These include our overall accreditation for our Aerospace Quality System, as well as our painting, chemical processing and non-destructive testing services.
Polyurethane painting improves durability, UV resistance and general flexibility for metal parts that are used outdoors or are subjected to harsh working conditions. Our polyurethane painting services meet many NADCAP mil-spec standards of excellence and performance including:
INCERTEC’s chemical processing NADCAP certification includes our plating, anodizing and heat treatment services.
There are a wide range of NADCAP certified non-destructive testing services that we can provide for all kinds of parts, including:
These tests, along with our other testing services, helps ensure that critical parts have the strength, durability and resilience to hold up in the harsh environments that are common in the aerospace and defense sectors.
This accreditation ensures that our overall system of procedures and processes meet the necessary regulatory, reliability and safety standards of the aerospace industry.
Get the high-quality, NADCAP-certified services your parts need by working with INCERTEC. Start by checking out all of our NADCAP services or reach out to us for additional information about our NADCAP certifications.
INCERTEC has been featured in Hometown News, a local publication for Volusia County, Florida, as one of three companies moving to the town of Edgewater. This relocation of INCERTEC’s Florida location, formerly Synergy Metal Finishing of Titusville, is set to put INCERTEC in close proximity to the Space Coast and Daytona Beach, enhancing the ability to serve aerospace and defense clients. Read more about the relocation, future expansion and more.
We are proud to announce that INCERTEC has acquired Metal-Tek, Inc., a trusted name in the heat treating industry for nearly 50 years. Now operating as Metal-Tek, LLC, the company will continue to serve OEMs across aerospace, military and defense, medical devices, automotive and industrial markets — now strengthened by INCERTEC’s resources, certifications and customer support.
George Fuglsang, Metal-Tek’s long-standing leader, will remain on staff for a minimum of one year to ensure a seamless transition and continuity for clients.
This acquisition strengthens INCERTEC’s position in the Midwest heat treating market and adds several highly specialized capabilities to our portfolio. As a result, INCERTEC now offers the following:
Ready to take advantage of these new capabilities? Request a Quote or contact our team to discuss your project.
For Metal-Tek’s valued clients, very little will change. Our priority is to keep service levels consistent while introducing additional benefits.
No. All projects in progress will continue without interruption, handled by the same Metal-Tek staff you already know.
RFQs should now be directed to [email protected], but all existing channels will remain open during the transition.
We understand that change brings questions, and we’re here to provide answers.
Call us at (763) 373-7533 or contact us online with your questions about the INCERTEC acquisition of Metal-Tek, Inc.
With this acquisition, you can count on the same trusted service you’ve always received from Metal-Tek, Inc., now paired with INCERTEC’s broader capabilities, certifications, and support.
INCERTEC has been featured in a recent Products Finishing article focusing on their growth in Florida’s aerospace market. Learn how expansion into heat treatment and liquid painting services have helped INCERTEC quickly become one of the main players in the Sunshine State’s aerospace and defense industries.
Gas fan quenching is the process of introducing a gas into a vacuum furnace in order to quickly and reliably cool the heat-treated parts at a controlled rate. The types of gases that can be used in this process include:
Sometimes, these gases are used in combination to quench parts. At INCERTEC, we use nitrogen for all of our gas quenching. There are other quenching mediums available, including oil and water, so be sure you have a thorough understanding of each method before choosing the quench that is best for your components. Need some help deciding on the best quenching process for your parts? Reach out to the experts at INCERTEC for trusted insight and proven solutions.
Gas fan quenching is the process of cooling heated parts by introducing a gas into a vacuum furnace chamber after parts have undergone heat treatment. Doing this in a controlled way allows parts to be quickly and uniformly cooled without removing them from the chamber.
There are three methods for quenching: oil, water and gas. Oil and water quenching can be less uniform than gas, making it more likely for the parts to be distorted during quenching. Both of these methods also require disposal of the water or oil, which adds time, effort and cost to the process. At INCERTEC we only vacuum quench with nitrogen gas, as it offers the greatest range of benefits and is versatile enough to work with all kinds of parts.
Quenching parts with nitrogen gas has many benefits — overall, the process is quick, efficient and cost-effective without sacrificing the quality of the results. Specifically, vacuum gas quenching provides uniform cooling, a bright and clean surface finish, minimizes quench cracking and is an environmentally friendly process, especially when compared to other quenching methods. The process is ideally suited for both alloys and ferrous metals, including various types of steel.
By cooling parts evenly and uniformly, gas quenching reduces the possibility of cracking or distortions. This means the parts will keep the properties of their heat treatment and are less likely to fail during use, making the gas quenching process a good fit for parts like gears, bearings and similar automotive components that need to be as strong and structurally sound as possible to extend their service life.
Gas leaves no residue or scale behind after quenching, unlike liquid quenching mediums. This means that once parts are quenched, they have a bright, smooth surface that needs no further post treatment, making it ideal for parts that require precision — like turbines in the aerospace industry.
Gas quenching is an environmentally friendly quenching option that does not require harmful chemicals or liquids. Nitrogen is not a harmful gas and produces no problem side effects. INCERTEC is proud to be RoHS compliant and gas quenching plays a big role in that certification.
Stress relieving and normalizing, two heat treating processes, can be used to improve the quality and reduce the imperfections in iron and steel parts. Stress relieving heat treatment will reduce, or relieve, the internal stresses of parts after fabrication by heating parts to a temperature below their critical point and cooled slowly. After being welded, formed or cut, stress relieving reduces the chances of parts cracking, warping or distorting during use.
Normalizing is also used to improve parts, but by heating them beyond their critical point and allowing them to cool. This will improve the grain structure of the metal and increase its toughness and strength.
Some commonly relieved and normalized parts include:
Stress Relieved
Normalized
Ready to get started with INCERTEC’s stress relief or normalizing heat treatment services? Contact us today to request a quote or get more information.
There are two types of stress relieving: vacuum and air. While both will relieve internal stress they are slightly different in practice. Air stress relieving uses open air to cool the parts after they are heated. This method is cost-effective and fairly efficient. Vacuum stress relieving uses the vacuum furnace to cool the parts after they are heated. The lack of atmosphere helps keep the parts scale-free, so they won’t need to be washed after the process.
There are many benefits of both stress relieving and normalizing, let’s break them down here:
Stress Relieving
Normalizing
These processes are well suited for parts that will be used in a wide range of industries, including the automotive, manufacturing and construction industries.
The materials that respond the best to both stress relieving and normalizing are iron and all kinds of steels. These materials gain the most from the dimensional stability imparted by these processes.
Vacuum tempering is a heat treatment process that is used after an initial hardening process. Parts are placed in vacuum chamber, reheated and cooled based on specific parameters to achieve the following results:
Many parts made of various materials can be improved by vacuum tempering, including critical components used in the firearms, automotive and aerospace industries.
Want to speak with one of our experts about vacuum tempering? Contact us today!
Vacuum tempering uses a sealed vacuum furnace chamber to create a no- or low-pressure environment. Air and other gases are removed to create an inert environment to ensure the parts are not contaminated. The vacuum chamber can be heated to a range of temperatures based on the needs of the material being tempered.
Depending on the parts and materials being tempered, INCERTEC can alter the heat and time the entire process takes. However, there are some constants, such as the use of the vacuum chamber to keep the parts free of contaminants and in a stable environment. The rest of the process generally follows these steps:
Vacuum tempering has many benefits, including being an eco-friendly, efficient and fast solution for parts that require the benefits of the process. Tempering is also compatible with many different types of metals, including:
Vacuum annealing is a heat treatment process that uses a controlled vacuum environment and heat to alter the properties of metal components. The process is capable of providing a number of desirable results, including:
Vacuum annealing is suitable for a variety of materials, including stainless steels, titanium alloys, and tool steels.
Want to speak with an expert about vacuum annealing? Reach out to us today!
The vacuum chamber used in the annealing process is a controlled environment where air and other gasses are removed to create a sterile space. These chambers can reach high temperatures and create and maintain a low-pressure or complete vacuum environment to ensure the annealed parts aren’t contaminated and have minimal defects. Inert gas is often used to quench the parts at a fixed rate to produce the necessary final results.
At INCERTEC, annealing follows a fairly straightforward process. It always requires a vacuum furnace chamber that can heat to the required temperature and create an environment that is free of contaminants, with minimal or zero pressure. The steps include:
Many metals respond well to the annealing process. Some of the most common that we deal with are:
Parts made of these materials that go through the annealing process have higher ductility and stability, allowing them to be worked again after the process. This enhances the reliability and overall precision when these materials are used in their end form, making them invaluable to many vital industries. Annealed metals are often found in engine and suspension parts in the automotive industry, aircraft frames and landing gears in the aerospace industry, semiconductors in the electronics industry and internal devices such as pacemakers in the medical industry.
When you need the best results, turn to INCERTEC. We can work with you to make sure annealing is the right process for heat treating your parts and provide top-quality service and results throughout the entire project.
If you have any questions about annealing or any of our other heat treatment processes, contact us and we’d be happy to get you the information and answers you need. Ready to get started? Reach out to our team today and request a quote.