TAG srl

HOT ISOSTATIC PRESSING

Hot Isostatic Pressing, HIP, is a heat treatment that involves the use of an inert gas (usually Argon) at high temperature and pressure with the aim of eliminating the microporosity/microfractures that are created inside the materials, thus enhancing their characteristics.

The HIP treatment significantly improves the mechanical properties of the treated parts, increasing their resilience and workability. In the Cremella plant, TAG has two systems dedicated to HIP: the first one is equipped with a cylindrical molybdenum thermal chamber (1000 mm in diameter by 1500 mm in height) able to reach the maximum working temperature of 1400° C and a maximum pressure of 175 MPa; the maximum capacity of the system is 10 tons.

The second one, dedicated to R&D, has a thermal chamber made of graphite (77 mm in diameter by 150 mm in height) capable of reaching 2000° C temperature and 200 MPa of pressure; maximum capacity of 10 Kg.

FLUORIDE ION CLEANING

Fluoride Ion Cleaning, FIC, is a thermo-chemical vacuum process that works by using anhydrous gaseous hydrofluoric acid to attack oxides that form deep within cracks on the parts’ surfaces. The maintenance of these components requires a complete removal of inclusions caused by oxidation, sulfation, hot corrosion, etc. before proceeding with repair by brazing, which otherwise would not be effective.

BRAZING

The process of vacuum brazing consists in joining metal parts with the help of a filler material without melting the base materials.
Following a liquidus phase the filler material solidifies between the parts to be brazed, ensuring the complete adhesion of the surfaces, like a standard welding operation.

ALUMINIZING AND CHROMIZING

Aluminizing is an aluminum-based surface enrichment for machined parts. The coating created is a diffusion coating and is mainly applied on Nickel and Cobalt based superalloys. The purpose of the treatment is to protect the steel structures of parts that are subject to high working temperatures (“hot parts”) from oxidation or from phenomena like the Aluminum Depletion.

STRIPPING

Stripping is a coating removal technique that is critically important for the repair and reconditioning of worn parts. During the coating repair process, the first step is to remove the old coating using appropriate stripping techniques. The main feature of the process used in TAG is to ensure the complete removal of the coating without altering the geometry of the components and without damaging the base material, a fundamental prerogative for the success of the process.

HEAT TREATMENTS

At TAG we have state-of-the-art facilities that allow us to maximize the mechanical and metallurgical characteristics of the steels we process. All the systems available to these processes are capable of operating both using vacuum to a value of 10-5 mbar or a protective atmosphere being composed of either Nitrogen or Argon, according to the Customer’s needs. To ensure a better production flexibility, we have systems with loading capacities ranging from 50 kg to 8000 kg.

TITANIUM AND LIGHT ALLOYS TREATMENT

High-temperature solution treatment followed by low temperature tempering (known as ageing) can improve the mechanical properties of an alloy such as titanium or aluminum by more than 35% if compared to the sole annealing processes. Our treatments meet the market demands both from a quality as well as from a technical standpoint, thanks to the extremely fast cooling rate that our equipment is able to achieve to guarantee the effectiveness of the solution. The complete immersion of the load in the cooling tanks only takes 4.6”.

NITRIDING

Ion nitriding is a surface hardening chemical heat treatment that occurs by diffusing nitrogen and/or carbon into a metal substrate. The depth of diffusion can be adjusted depending on the base material and the cycle parameters set.

RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION

For some years now TAG has decided to structure a laboratory dedicated to Research, Development and Innovation activities: RD&I. On the one hand, sophisticated, state-of-the-art machinery, on the other hand highly qualified personnel in the conduct of research activities: this is our recipe to be able to propose to the customer innovative and “out of the box” solutions.  We are committed to improving the efficiency of existing processes, to enhance their performance and to propose effective solutions to recurring problems. The RD&I laboratory is located by the Cremella site, with dedicated space and personnel, and collaborates with all the company’s production areas and metallurgical analysis laboratories.

NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING (NDT)

Non-destructive testing (NDT) detects the presence of internal defects in the material or appearing on the surface of the part, without altering its geometry and strength.