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Lab synthesis of customised materials: continuous extension of our offer
OCAS has extensive experience in melting different base alloys, ranging from very pure iron to stainless steel, non-ferro alloys and complex alloys. Evidently, we are specialised in the production of high-quality carbon steel alloys, which we can produce in a wide range of quantities and subsequently process into a variety of shapes with thermo-mechanically tuned microstructures.
Building further on this base and our fundamental understanding of the processing of steel, we’ve followed our customer needs in various niche applications: — High-nitrogen steel production — Improved internal cleanliness & purity — Increased amounts and reproducibility — Hot deformation of intrinsically brittle materials
HIGH-NITROGEN STEEL PRODUCTION
High-nitrogen steels offer an attractive combination of properties: high strength, high ductility, improved corrosion resistance, cost reduction, increased austenite stability, etc. However, the production of high-nitrogen steels poses 2 main problems: (1) Introducing high N content into the melt (2) Maintaining high N content during solidification Through optimised atmospheric control during the melting and casting process, correct raw material selection and the use of a suitable crucible to ensure the best solidification path, OCAS is able to produce the requested nitrogen content in a wide variety of carbon steels, stainless steels and Ni-alloys.
IMPROVED INTERNAL CLEANLINESS & PURITY
In the European nuclear R&D community, OCAS is one of the preferred suppliers of lab-produced 9% Cr steels. By means of raw material selection and crucible optimisation, we have been able to produce
Our customers come to us with difficult steelmaking requests. Often, it involves production aspects which are new to us, but supported by our deep and broad experience, we make it happen.
Klaas Poppe, Nico De Wispelaere
lab material with an internal cleanliness that is comparable to the best-in-class industrially produced speciality steel.
INCREASED AMOUNTS AND REPRODUCIBILITY
Although we are primarily oriented towards smaller batch sizes (our largest batch size amounts to 100 kg), we were contracted for the production of a >1 tonne production of specialty stainless steel sheets over a period of 2 years. By sourcing a sufficiently large amount of raw materials, we were able to guarantee a constant quality level over multiple production runs.
After optimising the thermo-mechanical deformation path (the right combination of temperatures and degrees of deformation), even brittle materials can be hot rolled into plates. OCAS has successfully performed such feasibility studies on special Ni-alloys and on A-B4C Metal Matric Composites.
