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Metals Processing

For decades, metals processors around the world have come to rely on Air Products’ industrial gases and gas atmospheres to help improve product quality, reduce operating costs and increase production. In addition to the gases and gas atmospheres listed below, we offer additives, equipment, technologies and technical knowhow to help you succeed. Visit our Metals Processing industry site for a complete listing of our offerings.

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Annealing Gas Atmospheres

Gas atmospheres for annealing can range from nitrogen-based blends with hydrogen for carbon steels (to improve microstructure, surface appearance and reduce residual stresses), to 100% hydrogen (for stainless steels or for faster batch processing of carbon steel components). For vacuum annealing of reactive metals, we can provide argon or helium atmospheres. Our atmospheres can help you achieve improved and consistent part quality, reduced post-heat-treatment cleaning or pickling costs and reduced furnace maintenance.

Brazing Gas Atmospheres

Gas atmospheres for brazing can vary depending upon your base materials, process, part quality and cost considerations. Commonly used industrial gas atmospheres for brazing include nitrogen, hydrogen, nitrogen/hydrogen mixtures, nitrogen/methanol mixtures, argon and argon/hydrogen mixtures. Air Products applications engineers can help you select the right brazing atmosphere tailored to your process requirements for reducing potential, wettability, soot prevention, as well as excellent and repeatable braze quality.

Hardening Gas Atmospheres

Nitrogen can be blended with methanol or other enriching gases at the furnace to provide superior atmosphere control versus endothermic gases to help you achieve consistent part quality, operational cost savings, significant increases in productivity and more efficient use of furnace time. Accurate control of the carburizing potential can be provided by the Air Products Accelerated Carburizing System.

HIPing Gas Atmospheres

Air Products can provide various industrial gases for hot isostatic pressing, in particular argon, because of its inertness.

Hydrogen/Nitrogen

Hydrogen and hydrogen/nitrogen blends can be used to help remove dissolved oxygen or control the generation of metallic oxides during processing.

Powder Metal Gas Atmospheres

Air Products can provide various gas atmospheres, including high pressure argon for powder atomization and hydrogen-based atmospheres for powder reduction.

Sinter HIPing Gas Atmospheres

Air Products can provide various industrial gases for sinter-HIP (pressure-assisted sintering) applications, including argon and hydrogen. Hydrogen is primarily used to facilitate the removal of the binder material, while argon provides the pressure medium for densification and void removal.

Sintering Gas Atmospheres

For ferrous or non-ferrous metals, the use of nitrogen or hydrogen-based atmospheres can help you achieve the control and purity that are difficult to obtain with generated atmospheres. Nitrogen or hydrogen-based atmospheres help minimize the variations in atmosphere composition and dew point that are common with endothermic and dissociated ammonia atmospheres. Air Products has extensive experience in helping customers optimize their sintering atmospheres to improve their operations.