The National Fluid Power Association is a supporting partner of the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) Fluid Power Industrial Consortium (FPIC), allowing NFPA member companies to participate in FPIC seminars at no cost. FPIC seminar topics are a great way to learn of the technological advancements that will help meet the future needs of fluid power customers, expand fluid power into new customer markets, and attract the best and brightest young engineers to fluid power.

The first of these half-day seminars has been scheduled for Friday, March 31, 2017, at the Intercontinental Hotel Milwaukee. The following presentations and speakers have been confirmed:

Issues and Answers: The Advantages of Using NitroSteel and the FNC Process
Arnold Johnson, Controller and interim PGM, Gerdau, Pleasant Prairie Facility (NitroSteel, LLC); and Lew Fortune, Plant General Manager, Gerdau Atmosphere Annealing, Lansing Facility
A brief discussion of the applications and reasons for using Ferritic Nitrocarburized FNC-treated steel rods as well as having steel parts treated via FNC processing. Also included is an overview of how the process works.

Nanostructured Coatings for Wear and Resistance
Dr. Gary Doll, Professor, University of Akron and Chief Technology Officer, Akron Surface Technologies Inc.
The ability to tailor coatings on the micro- and nanoscale has enabled the development of coatings that provide high levels of wear and corrosion resistance to metallic substrates. Although nanostructured coatings can be deposited by various means, this presentation will focus on coatings deposited by three different processes: closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering, pulsed reverse current electrodeposition, and thermal reactive deposition.

Surface Engineering at NanoCoatings Inc. and the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSM&T)
Dr. Frank Kustas, Chief Technology Officer, NanoCoatings and Senior Research Scientist, SDSM&T AMP Lab
Surface engineering capabilities at NanoCoatings, Inc. and SDSM&T in Rapid City, SD span a wide range of coating thickness from the nanometer (magnetron-sputtering, physical vapor deposition) to centimeter (cold-spray) scale. Both line-of-sight deposition as well as immersion-conversion technology (e.g., high-voltage plasma electrolytic oxidation) for complex shapes are being developed. Coatings are being investigated for friction/wear reduction, corrosion-resistance, biomedical compatibility, and water/ice repellency, among other applications. Recent developments from the laboratory for wear and corrosion-resistant coatings will be presented.

Click here for complimentary registration if you are an NFPA member.