An intensive forming step integrated into a quench and tempering facility opens up new property categories for steels and high-strength materials.

Modern alloying and processing concepts result in high-strength steels with advanced property combinations. Usually, the properties of bright steel are adjusted on single-bar tempering lines by an integrated austenitizing, quench hardening and tempering process.
There have been no fundamental changes to this technical concept over the past 40 years.

The dimensioning of the HDQT^® technology provides the intagration of a intensive forming step into a conventional single-bar quench and tempering plant. A very fine microstructure with improved mechanical properties is obtained by the high degrees of deformation possible together with the flexible process temperature control, thus opening up advanced property classes for steels, titanium alloys, nickel-based alloys and other high-strength materials. The HDQT^® system allows for the realization of several technologies that cannot be reproduced on conventional systems. Compared to conventionally quenched and tempered materials, the HDQT^® treated ones are characterized by a strength increases by similar or even improved toughness properties.

This new forming technology is in use at the Schmolz and Bickenbach Group called the XTP^® plant.
Since 2016, new forming technologies have been implemented at this facility and advanced property classes have been achieved in cooperation with Steeltec. More information can be found at XTP technology.

The increased requirements on products and materials raise the need for innovative plant development. With the HDCR^® (High Deformation Cross Rolling) plant, the high-quality final properties and the high dimensional stability of the final part are adjusted by a repetitive incremental deformation of the initial material in a single forming step within one forming cycle. The forming process is characterized by a twisted microstructure at the case of the bar which surrounds the deformed core and leads to an increased material performance at various load conditions. Ultra-grain refining in the case region yields a graded microstructure with grain sizes in the range of one to five μm. A major advantage of the plant is the flexibility in terms of the dimensions of the rolling stock.

In addition, the HDQT^® technology opens up optimal conditions for the development of extremely economical and flexible micro production systems. The HDCR^® plant is available in different dimensions. The smallest size is designed for rolling bar in the final dimension range of 12 to 30 mm. The following stand size forms the rolled bar to a final diameter range of 18 to 40 mm with a production capacity of about two tons per hour. Plants for even larger final diameters as large as 100 mm can also be realized on demand.