EBNER Hardening & Tempering Lines

HICON hardening and tempering lines.

EBNER‘s innovative and future-safe developments in continuous hardening and tempering technology are recognized worldwide and set new standards in maximizing product quality and cost effectiveness while minimizing environmental impact.

Continuous in-line hardening and tempering of unalloyed and low-alloy carbon steel as well as martensitic Cr steel strip using hydrogen quench systems or molten metal quench technology with cooling gradients of up to 600 K/s is a process that has won worldwide acceptance.

Non-alloy and low alloy carbon steel strips are transformed using the following technologies:

• martempering – with leveling and tempering
• austempering – to achieve bainite microstructure
• patenting to achieve pearlite microstructure

Stainless Cr steel strip is transformed into martensite using a martempering process.

The martensite structure is formed in 2 steps with rapid cooling and hardening in the quench system followed by transformation to martensite in an air cooler, a process that has considerable advantages over quenching in oil, particularly with regard to strip flatness and surface finish.

Isothermal transformation such as austempering and patenting – and thus the combination of all 4 processes in a single line – is possible by changing the configuration of the facility components.

The extremely powerful hydrogen quench (HICON/H₂Q technology) also allows wide and thick carbon steel strip to be processed.

The facility can be implemented to comply with the standards required by the automotive industry, in accordance with CQI-9 (AIAG).

Strapping band

For this special application, where steel strip is austempered, a heating section featuring conductive heating and an energy-saving strip quench (also available in a lead-free design) are used.