Visit to ECM

After about a year and a half, I visited ECM again. And since there was time, my guide Cédric Villard also showed me what is not normally shown. And what are the impressions? Big changes are happening at ECM, and expansion in both furnaces and ideas can be seen here at every turn. Since the production premises were no longer sufficient for the pace of development, everything related to equipment for growing crystals, semiconductors, solar energy was moved elsewhere. The vacated spaces are now fully utilized for projects that can be considered groundbreaking. Normally, I would say that I was in Jiřík’s vision. I didn’t even think that our field could be seen in this context.

And when I asked about the competition, the answer was also shocking: “Our competitor is not the oven manufacturer but the technology”.

If I translate it, the main competitor of ECM is heat treatment in protective atmosphere. If you think about it, you have to agree with them. It is all designed in a vacuum so that it will replace multi-purpose furnaces in the future. And if they succeed? Judging by the number of disassembled furnaces in the hall and iron in progress, they are doing more than well.

Fig. 1 and 2 – Manufacturing of vacuum vessels and other system elements in own factory

Although ECM also manufactures individual furnaces, their priority idea is integrated furnace assemblies, guaranteeing flexible heat treatment in the entire process chain. In addition to the basic modular systems of the FLEX type, they are now also concentrating on NANO systems. Compared to multi-purpose furnaces, which can be quenched in oil, carburized, carbonitrided, normalized annealed, these assemblies, in addition to simple quenching in a stream of nitrogen, in oil, LPC and LPCN, can also braze, recrystallization anneal stainless steels, isothermally anneal castings or forgings, quench tool steels both in nitrogen and in oil, normalize or soft anneal, stress relieve,  nitride or carbonitride, all from low temperatures to temperatures above 1250 C. And if needed, a washing machine is also integrated into such a line, tempering furnaces, freezing. And all this is connected in automatic mode, including cooperation with robots or with intelligent systems for transporting the batch

Fig. 3  – Furnace  ECO 1299 in testing

Fig. 4 – Cédric enthusiastically shows the new NANO 

As a result, the customer can build a line exactly according to his requirements, and with the knowledge that he is working with highly clean technologies, with low electricity consumption, and without CO2 emissions. In addition, he can expect that the line will work unattended, day and night, even on weekends, and at the same time, its location can be directly in the machining line, in clean areas.

So, it’s a fairy tale, but it turns into pure reality. And if you want to be sure of the result, there is no problem to test anything, because all these devices are available either right here in Grenoble or from ECM USA.

Fig. 5 and 6  – Demonstration of batch transfer for quenching in the FLEX system and the result

As I have the honour of representing ECM in CZ and SK, I must say that despite my years spent in this field, I am extremely pleased to be able to participate in something like a revolution in the field of heat treatment.

Jiří Stanislav

October 4, 2024