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CAB Brazing Conference & Seminar
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The 2009 event was held on May 11-13 in Cleveland. When asked what they like best about this program, attendees responded:
“Totality of information presented”
“All the speakers have a lot of experience in CAB Brazing Process & Equipment”
“More details about furnace related topics (were) presented…Good job! Well Done!”
“Videos, all the technical sections”
“Dr. Orman’s presentation, Maintenance presentation by Chuck. The whole seminar was excellent.”
Q & A from 2009 seminar
Changing from Copper to Aluminum | Nitrogen Flow | Paint Fluxing | Profiling | Element Design
Dr. Hawksworth - Question: Can aluminum and copper be run through the same equipment for the production of CAB radiators?
RESPONSE:
This is not a good idea and would not be recommended for two main reasons:
- Copper depresses the melting point of the aluminum-silicon system and any contamination of the aluminum surface with copper particles could cause localized melting and burn through in those areas during brazing.
- Copper is electropositive with respect to aluminum, and areas alloyed with copper contamination that do not “burn-through” during brazing will set up localized galvanic cells with unalloyed aluminum. This would promote rapid galvanic corrosion in a corrosive environment compromising the durability of the heat exchanger.
If copper and aluminum have to run on the same tooling it would be advisable to run the aluminum first. Machinery and tooling would have to be thoroughly cleaned and all possible sources of copper contamination should be eliminated. These would include pick up on guide rolls, fines and dust, scarf on cutting edges, contaminated lubricant (in the sump), and even contamination that could be transferred from personal protective clothing such as metal working gloves.
Dr. Orman - Question: Nitrogen flow - what should it be?
RESPONSE: Commonly used values of the nitrogen pressure are about 6 to 7 bars for the distributing network. Then the pressure is reduced usually with two pressure reducers to a value in the range 1,5 to 3 bars and blown in purge nozzles to the furnace muffle. Please treat these numbers as indicators only since they can differ from furnace to furnace and from design to design. The real value which should be of interest to a brazing engineer is the actual volume of the nitrogen is purged into the furnace chamber. This is measured by flow meters. Each furnace must be equipped with a set of flow meters preferably one flow meter for each purging nozzles and one main flow meter. The nozzles should be set in such a way that nitrogen is mainly fed into the furnace in the area of the brazing zone from where it should flow towards both ends of the furnace. Some nitrogen should be purged into the cooling chambers and very little at the furnace inlet.
Link to SECO/WARWICK Maintenance Tip on Nitrogen Adjustment in Active Only CAB Brazing furnaces, by Joe Reitinger, SECO/WARIWCK Field Service Engineer
Andrzej Bielewicz, SECO/WARWICK- Question: Why Paint Fluxing?
RESPONSE: A Flux-Painting system improves the brazing process and decreases the number of leaks on the core due to better application of flux on the headers and manifolds. In some designs of heat exchangers, the connection between tube and header/manifold is critical, and requires more flux on the joint (tube-manifold/header connection). This method enables flux to be applied on the surfaces which are inaccessible after the assembly of heat exchanger e.g. all oil cooler plates;therefore it has become standard in brazing oil coolers.
The advantage of the flux painting is that application of additional amounts of flux to headers and manifolds during final fluxing is not required, as compared with using a spray Wet Fluxer with only one concentration for whole heat exchanger. The flux painting process will provide less flux consumption and less time needed for flux application.
Generally the automatic paint fluxing machine is capable of applying flux with a binder on heat exchanger parts (manifolds/headers) prior to assembly. The presence of a binder allows for the pre-fluxed parts to be assembled without the risk of removing the applied flux layer.
Chuck Field, SECO/WARWICK - Question: Do you provide a system for checking profiles?
RESPONSE: We use Datapaq
Link to SECO/WARWICK Article Database: "The CAB profiling system as a Quality Control Tool" a guest article provided with permission from Datapaq Inc. USA, originally published in HEAT PROCESSING Magazine (Germany), (4) issue 2 2006
Datapaq website, http://www.datapaq.com/
Dan Maloney, SECO/WARWICK - Question: What is the difference between bayonet and sinuous loop elements?
RESPONSE: SECO/WARWICK can provide both types of heating systems. Each design has strengths and weakness, read the table below for a comparison; Understand that the primary strength of any electrical heating element is proper design:
Bayonet
Can be changed while furnace is hot
Lower cost
Lower cost, replace elements without shutting down system
Sinuous Loop
Furnace must be cold, roof must be removed Additional 14% in capital cost Does not require alloy tubes for support, longer service life * Based on recent estimate
Note: Maintenance and operation have a major impact on element life
Introduction
May 11-13, 2009 Hyatt Regency,Cleveland, Ohio
The CAB Seminar is presented every other year for industry professionals to present the latest improvements in CAB technology and provide basic, practical information for companies new to the CAB Process.
When switching from copper to aluminum brazing our customers have told us that this event saves the both time and money by shortening the learning curve and staying updated on best practices.
CAB Aluminum Brazing can be carried our in a small quantity, batch furnace using vacuum technology, a larger furnace with all of the economy of small units for larger loads in small quantities, or large production on a continuous basis.
Background
CAB Brazing is used in both automotive and HVAC manufacturing for brazing radiators, condensers, oil coolers, evaporators, heaters and charge air coolers. NOKOLOK© Brazing was originally developed by Alcan as a non-corrosive flux brazing process for heat exchangers.
Today, NOCOLOK is the trademark for Solvay Fluor GmbH flux products, but remains the common name for the CAB process.
Technical Program
The Technology
Speakers will discuss the history and progress of the technology along with the latest information on process development in the past year. Technology topics include:
- Switching from Copper to Aluminum?
CAB Brazing for HVAC- Principles of CAB Brazing
- Alloy Selection & Material Properties
- Flux , Issues & new Technology
- New Developments in CAB equipment
The Equipment
The SECO/WARWICK Conference and Seminar is unique in that it covers the equipment choices and best practices for selecting and maintaining your manufacturing cell. Talks will cover:
- CAB Furnace Designs
- Practical Heat Transfer
- Heating Systems
- Temperature Control
- Flux Application
- Thermal Degreasing
- Dry Off Ovens
- Atmosphere Control
- Furnace Maintenance
Questions? Contact Mike Jacobs at 814-332-8598 or e-mail mjacobs@secowarwick.com
Speakers
SECO/WARWICK’s CAB Brazing Team has been providing equipment solutions for aluminum brazing since 1984. We strive to keep our seminar portion non-commercial and cover all aspects of the technology from all suppliers. In addition to our staff, we have invited guest speakers to round out the event and provide you with the most up-to-date technology information and best practices.
Jeff Boswell, CEO SECO/WARWICK S.A., SECO/WARWICK Corp. began his career in 1978 as a Project Engineer in the furnace sales department of a national furnace manufacturer. In 1983, he worked as a Project Engineer for Vacuum Systems. In 1986, he was promoted to Product Manager, General Furnaces Group for SECO/WARWICK, where he was responsible for marketing over forty types of vacuum and atmosphere heat treat systems. In 1989, he was promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing and was elected to the corporate Board of Directors. Mr. Boswell was responsible for the successful product launch for Controlled Atmosphere Brazing furnace systems for SECO/WARWICK worldwide. He is a graduate of Gannon University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management.
Piotr Skarbinski, SECO/WARWICK S.A., Global Product Director for Controlled Atmosphere Brazing (CAB) equipment began his career in 1988 at ELTERMA as a project engineer, then joined SECO/WARWICK later that year. He worked as a sales application engineer for Vacuum Furnaces, then was promoted to Sales Manager for General Furnaces in 1997. In 2001, he became the Product Manager for Aluminum Process Equipment and CAB Furnaces. Mr. Skarbinski has served as the Global Product Director for CAB furnaces since 2005, and was instrumental in the acquisition and consolidation of the CAMLAW and CuproBraze® brands into the SECO/WARWICK product group portfolio. He serves on the Board for the CuproBraze® Alliance, a consortium of companies and organizations worldwide who facilitate the adoption of CuproBraze technology by the global automotive industry. Mr. Skarbinski holds a Masters of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Machine Technology from Zielona Góra University and is a member of IMechE (Institution of Mechanical Engineers).
Mike Jacobs, SECO/WARWICK Corp., Seminar Director, joined SECO/WARWICK in 2005 after working in the plastic injection molding industry. He is the Sales Applications engineer for CAB Brazing working on both aluminum and CuproBraze product applications. Mike is a graduate of Edinboro University of PA with a BA in Marketing.
2009 Guest Speakers
Doug Hawksworth, PhD
Dr. Doug Hawksworth, Sapa Heat Transfer, has worked in the field of Aluminium brazing technology development for the past 21 years. He started his career at Hulett Aluminium where he was responsible for the development of clad brazing sheet and finstock for use in Nocolok ™ brazing technology. Later working for FHE Automotive Technologies (now Behr, SA), he developed cladless brazing technologies. He currently holds the position Senior Process and Materials Specialist for Sapa Heat Transfer AB and is based in Toronto Canada.He graduated with a BSc Degree from the University of Natal, South Africa and holds a PhD in Materials Engineering and Materials Design from the University of Nottingham in the UK. He has presented and published a number of technical papers on aluminium brazing technology and is a respected expert in this field.
Sapa Heat Transfer produces heat transfer strip for various types of heat exchangers used in the automotive industry, such as radiators oil coolers and charge-air coolers. Sapa supplies heat exchanger strip to the global automotive industry.
Leszek Orman, PhD
Dr. Orman has 24 years experience with aluminium metallurgy, working at Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Krakow Poland, Institute of Non Ferrous Metals in Gliwice Poland and Metallurgical Plants in Skawina, Poland. Since 1998, he has focused exclusively on the aluminium brazing process, working for Valeo in Poland and later for Visteon in the United Kingdom. In 2006, Dr. Orman joined Solvay Fluor as the Technical Service Manager for Nocolok® Flux, and in 2008 he began working independently as a Solvay Technical Consultant.
He has served the CAB industry in many capacities including the installation of new brazing lines, direct oversight of brazing manufacturing cells, troubleshooting brazing process issues, testing and developing new brazing fluxes and testing new flux application methods (flux painting).
Dr. Orman earned a Masters of Science from the University Of British Columbia, Canada and a PhD from the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, Krakow. Poland.
Nicholas Bellwood, Export Manager
The Fin Machine Company offers an exclusive microchannel technology and welded tube for the HVAC & Refrigeration industry Mr. Bellwood has worked in capital equipment for the last 10 years, most recently joining The Fin Machine Company having worked number of years for JCB based in the USA. His main areas of responsibility are equipment applications for automotive and HVAC in the USA, South America, Mexico and Europe.
The Fin Machine Company manufactures special purpose capital equipment for the automotive & HVAC industry. Located in the UK we have invested in the development of machines to meet the extensive demands of the heat exchanger industry. The result has been a proven range of machines which have become the first choice for manufactures of heat exchangers worldwide.
Updated 5/26/2009
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