Quintus Technologies
| Quintus Paulo HIP.jpg | |
 Hot Isostatic Pressing | |
| ISIN | 🆔 |
|---|---|
| Founded 📆 | 1962 |
| Founder 👔 | Asea |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , , |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | High pressure presses |
| Owner | Kobelco |
| Members | |
Number of employees | appr. 140 |
| 🌐 Website | https://quintustechnologies.com/ |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Quintus Technologies, headquartered in Västerås, Sweden, is a globally leading manufacturer of ultra-high-pressure machine presses. The presses are used for hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of powders into fully solid objects and for post-pressing of cast iron and sintered parts to eliminate casting or sintering defects. The presses are also used for cold isostatic pressing of various metallic and ceramic powders. In isostatic pressing, a liquid (cold) or gas (hot) is used as a pressure-transmitting medium to apply pressure to the material from all directions.
Quintus Technologies is also a global leader in thin sheet metal forming. This technique is used in the manufacturing of aircraft components, both the aircraft body itself and engine parts, and for prototyping and small-batch production in the automotive industry.
What distinguishes Quintus Technologies' presses is that the force-absorbing elements, press frames and cylinders, are pre-stressed with flat-rolled high-strength wire. This means that frames and cylinders are never exposed to tensile stress while loaded, which significantly increases the service life and safety of the press. The use of high-strength wire also makes the presses lightweight. This technology enables the construction of very large and powerful presses.[1]
Background
ASEA began conducting research into producing synthetic diamonds in 1942. This research was resumed in 1950 with Dr. Erik Lundblad as project manager. The project was supported by ASEA CEO Dr. Ragnar Liljeblad and CTO Dr. Halvard Liander. The press, with wire-wound pre-stressed frame and cylinder, was designed and built by Baltzar von Platen. The machine was able to generate a pressure of 80,000 bar (1,160,302 psi) with a temperature of up to 2000 °C (3632 °F). The first synthetic diamonds were produced in 1953. The rest of the 1950s were spent refining the method and developing the tool in the press.
In 1960, three wire-wound presses for diamond production were manufactured at ASEA in Västerås. The Q diamond sector was established at ASEA in 1962.[2] Diamond production was relocated to Robertsfors, where synthetic diamond production began in 1963. The company Scandiamant AB was established in 1965 and continues to develop products and sell synthetic diamonds. ASEA stayed on as partner but left the company completely in 1975.[3]
The QUINTUS division was established within ASEA in 1964 with the objective of marketing high-pressure equipment based on the wire-wound press design to the industrial sector. To broaden the use of high-pressure presses based on wire-wound pre-stressed frames and cylinders, ASEA established a high-pressure laboratory in Robertsfors in 1965. The laboratory was equipped with a press for cold forging, a press for hydrostatic extrusion of metals, and two isostatic pressure chambers – one hot and one cold.
A major cost in the production of diamonds is the tools. The pre-stressed cylinder and the punches that generate the ultra-high pressure are made of cemented carbide. Because the sintered carbide metal contained pores that are starting points for cracks, the service life of the tools was short. ASEA started up a project with Sandvik Coromant aimed at using hot isostatic pressing to produce completely pore-free cemented carbide. The project was a success and in 1969, the first hot isostatic press was delivered from ASEA to Sandvik Coromant in Stockholm.
In the early 1970s, a method was developed in collaboration with Stora Kopparberg AB to use powder and hot isostatic pressing to produce tool steel with a higher alloy content than what was possible using conventional techniques. In 1973, the first factory for the production of powder-based high-speed steel with superior properties was installed in Stora Kopparberg's plant in Söderfors. The process was called the ASEA/STORA process.[4]
The cold forging press proved able to meet all of Sweden's automotive stub axle needs. The project was concluded. In 1969, Bertram Brinkeborn took over as manager of the QUINTUS division. The plan was to expand activities in this area as the market potential was deemed to be huge. In 1970, QUINTUS broke into four divisions
- Isostatic presses for cold and hot compacting of powder and post-pressing of cast iron and sintered materials.
- Extrusion presses for aluminum and copper
- Metal powder processes
- Thin sheet metal forming for the aviation industry.[5]
In the early 1970s, ASEA supplied a number of extrusion presses for the production of copper and aluminum pipes and for copper-clad aluminum. When copper prices fell and aluminum prices rose during the 1973 oil crisis, interest in the process began to decrease.
In the mid-1960s, ASEA began to develop a unique concept for pressing sheet metal under very high pressure using a rubber membrane, which provided exceptionally good shaping results. After a few years, ASEA became a world-leading supplier of presses for sheet metal forming of thin sheet in short-run series. In 1973, ASEA/QUINTUS was commissioned to produce a prototype for terminal storage of spent nuclear fuel. A demonstration plant was built in Robertsfors under the direction of Hans Larker. Two half-scale prototypes were produced, one based on a ceramic enclosure and one based on a copper enclosure. As the latter was considered safe enough for long-term storage of the spent fuel and was easier to make, this option was chosen.[6][7]
ASEA Pressure Systems Inc. was established in the US in 1982 for the design, manufacturing and marketing of isostatic high-pressure presses.[8]
ASEA Cerama was founded in 1984, with ASEA, Volvo, Sandvik, Kema Nord and AC Invest as joint owners. The goal was to produce ceramic machine elements based on hot isostatic pressed silicon nitride and silicon carbide. The most successful was ceramic ball bearings, but other mechanical components were also manufactured.
An initiative to pasteurize food using high pressure was launched in 1990. This was probably the biggest challenge Quintus had taken on. The required pressure for most applications is 6000 bar (87,023 psi). Stainless steel must be used and clean water pumped to the high pressures. Quintus worked with Stazione Sperimentale in Parma, Italy, on the development of the food pasteurization method. It required work with both the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) in the US and the EU in Brussels to obtain approvals for the method. The business gained momentum in the 2000s but was then sold to a company in the US.
ABB sold its high-pressure pressing technology in 1999 to US company Flow International. Flow launched the technology onto the food preservation market under the trade name AVURE. In 2005, Avure Technologies became privately owned.[9]
In 2012, Avure Technologies Inc. became a privately owned and standalone company with two divisions: Food and Industrial. The Industrial division is now a separate corporation under the name Quintus Technologies and is headquartered in Västerås, Sweden.[10] The Food division, which markets to customers in the food industry, is called Avure Technologies Inc. and is based in the United States.[11]
Change of ownership
Kobelco (Kobe Steel Group) bought Quintus Technologies from the privately owned Milestone Partners on May 5, 2017[12]
Quintus Technologies today
Today, Quintus Technologies is a modern company offering manufacturing, installation and maintenance of high-pressure sheet metal forming presses and isostatic pressing. The company is represented in 35 countries and has delivered more than 1800 machines to customers throughout the industrialized world. Compacting of 3D-printed metallic components is a growing market. The customers are suppliers of high-performance printed components for customers in areas such as the aerospace industry and the energy and automotive sectors. Heat treatment (a type of hardening) of components improves their properties. Newer presses have the capacity for rapid cooling, and HIP and heat treatment can then be combined in the same process.[13][14]
See also
References
- ↑ "Quintus Technologies". Quintus Technologies.
- ↑ Glete, Jan (1983). Asea under hundra år: 1883-1983 : en studie i ett storföretags organisatoriska, tekniska och ekonomiska utveckling. Västerås: Libris. p. 252. ISBN 9172607645. Search this book on
- ↑ Lundblad, Erik G. (1989). "Diamanter: utvecklingen vid ASEA 1953-1965". Dædalus (Stockholm). volym=1989/90 (58): 118-137 : ill.
- ↑ ASEA (1976). The ASEA-STORA process for the production of high-speed steel. Västerås: Libris 347055. Search this book on
- ↑ "Asea i världstopp med ny teknologi". Veckans Affärer. 1970-04-23.
- ↑ Värnild, Ola. "Robertsforsbehållaren - Historisk och teknisk dokumentation" (PDF). SKI Rapport 2008:26. Statens Kärnkraftinspektion.
- ↑ Bjurström, Sten; Ahlström, Per-Eric. "Kärnkraftavfallets behandling och slutförvaring -Program för inkapsling, geologisk djupförvaring samt forskning, utveckling och demonstration" (PDF). SKB FUD-program 95. Svensk kärnbränslehantering AB.
- ↑ Glete, Jan (1983). Asea under hundra år: 1883-1983 : en studie i ett storföretags organisatoriska, tekniska och ekonomiska utveckling. Västerås: Libris. p. 355. ISBN 9172607645. Search this book on
- ↑ "About Avure". FPSA Food Processing Buyer’s guide.
- ↑ "Quintus Technologies - Our Heritage". Quintus Technologies.
- ↑ Westberg, Magnus. "Avure byter namn till Quintus". VLT, En del av Mittmedia.
- ↑ "Kobe Steel Acquires Swedish Isostatic Press Manufacturer Quintus Technologies". Quintus Technologies.
- ↑ Henning, Peter (2019-03-14). "Quintus Technologies HIP Extends Capabilities for Heat Treating Specialist Paulo" (Press release). Quintus Technologies.
- ↑ Westberg, Magnus (2019-03-14). "Amerikansk miljonaffär ett lyft för Västeråsföretag". VLT, En del av Mittmedia.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Quintus Technologies. |
- "Quintus Technologies". Quintus Technologies.
- Gord (2019-03-14). "Mr. Jan Söderström, Quintus Technologies Interview". Heat treat news. the Monty.com.
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