Key Updates on Certification, Testing, and Essential Data Collection Tools
The Ipsen Calibrations Lab is an oasis among a hub of busy furnace makers, with workers buzzing around the frame of a furnace that’s about to get shipped out just beyond the lab’s front door. With its red fiberglass walls and large plexiglass windows, the lab stands out from the bright white testing room where all the commotion is taking place. A silver plaque hangs on the wall that states Ipsen USA “is accredited in accordance with the recognized International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2017”
We spoke with Luigi Moruzzi, Calibrations Lab Technician, and Cavan Cardenas, Ipsen’s Lead Technical Trainer and former Pyrometry Manager, to discuss recent updates in the Calibrations Lab and the essential tools vacuum furnace operators need to ensure their processes meet specifications.
Q: What types of testing does the Calibrations Lab provide to customers?
Cardenas – We offer temperature controller calibration. We can service high, medium, and low temperature furnaces, making sure the furnace is capable of reaching and holding at specific temperatures within the chamber. In the vacuum furnace world, “low” temperatures are typically around 800 °F while “high” temperatures are around 2400 °F.
Moruzzi – We can also provide system accuracy testing (SAT). Vacuum furnaces need to reflect the correct temperature within the chamber within a specific range. The displayed temperature and the actual temperature should have a very minimal difference. For example, in a furnace that is calibrated and certified to have no greater than a .4% difference from recorded and displayed temperatures, that would mean a furnace that claims to be operating at 2000 °F can have temperature variations no more than ± 8 °F.
Cardenas – System accuracy testing also includes vacuum testing. Checking to see if the system calibration matches our independent calibration devices. Reporting and advising customers if there is a significant difference that could require attention.
Moruzzi – We will also frequently provide temperature uniformity surveys (TUS). Working with a customer, we can simulate a load within their furnace, wiring thermocouples on their rack in each corner and the middle of the payload. Running the simulated recipe, we can make sure all areas of the hot zone are functioning properly, validating the work zone and making sure that no matter where the parts go in the furnace, they will get the same amount of heat exposure. Confirming that the same heat-treatment process works for everything within that work zone.
Q: It has been one year since Ipsen received ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certification. What has that meant for Ipsen and our customers?
Moruzzi – ISO/IEC 17025:2017 is a technical lab certification for our industry, making sure that we can prove what we do in the lab will abide by specific technical standards. It’s often a requirement from aerospace manufacturers that any heat-treatment equipment used in their manufacturing process be inspected on a regular basis.
This certification gives Ipsen customers the peace of mind that we will provide them with a highly-skilled field service engineer, and that our technical service is being tracked and documented. The equipment we use has been calibrated, and is trackable, traceable, and accurate. Reliable data is important to our customers. They put their trust in Ipsen because they can count on us to provide high-quality services.
Cardenas – It can be difficult for smaller heat-treating companies to maintain their own calibration standards. It takes a bit of experience to achieve the standards on your own. By earning the ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certification for Ipsen, we can help even small heat-treating companies stay compliant with the demands of the aerospace industry, and the pyrometry quality control standards set by AMS 2750. Beyond the service to our customers, by having our own internal calibration lab, we save Ipsen over $200,000 per year in calibration fees and lost time.
Q: How often does Ipsen need to recertify for ISO/IEC 17025:2017? What do you have to do to maintain compliance?
Cardenas – The initial certification took almost two years to complete. We had to ensure that external work instructions and internal lab instructions met these certification standards. Today, we perform internal audits, tracking each piece of equipment that comes into the lab.
Moruzzi – At the end of our first year, we will also have on-site and virtual audits from the certification company, Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation. We’ll need to present them with documentation that our processes are being followed, and that our gauges and testing devices are tracked, calibrated, and when necessary, sent for repairs.
Cardenas – Every handheld testing unit needs to be calibrated four times per year. Data loggers need to be calibrated quarterly as well. Every device has a technical sheet that comes with it, documenting its accuracy specifications. There’s a lot of technology we need to be proficient with.
Q: What are the newest tools now available through the Ipsen Calibrations Lab?
Moruzzi – We are getting some brand-new leak detectors. That’s pretty great because they have roughing pump helium leak detectors. It’s a fast turbo pump that can help us pick up the smallest of leaks in a compact model. The older models are big and clunky, this one is smaller and handheld, and it can do all the things the older models could do, but with more accuracy.
Q: Describe the ideal toolbox that an Ipsen customer should have to make sure they have the means to test and verify their furnace.
Moruzzi – Customers should make sure to have their own handheld multi-calibrators. It’s important for vacuum furnace operators to make sure their thermocouples aren’t drifting, and that the temperatures they’re reporting are correct. Having thermocouples drift from one temperature or location to another can cause strange variance. Make sure your control thermocouple is in the same spot every time, where it can be hit by all the heating elements. And make sure it hasn’t been overused, there’s no need to run it through too many cycles. That ensures your vacuum furnace recipe is heat treating your parts the way you want it to every time.
Pick up some extra vacuum gauges, they’ll help you make sure your furnace is pumping down properly. Keeping a close eye on vacuum gauges can help you catch fluctuations – they can be very sensitive at both high and low vacuum levels. Very low vacuum levels can cause wear and tear on your gauges and can cause fluctuations in vacuum levels resulting in discolored parts.
Making sure you have gauges and spare parts on hand can help you reduce downtime. Keep on hand high-temperature thermocouples that you can plug into your jack panel and do a quick temperature uniformity survey. Then run your recipe to make sure the furnace isn’t drifting out of the allowed range it’s certified for.
Of course, you should also always keep on hand other common maintenance resources: vacuum grease, leak detectors, lip seals, and other hot zone replacement parts. A well-stocked maintenance team is the best way to keep downtime to a minimum.