Excursion to the Ruhr area in the field of thermal process technology
From 24/03/2025 to 27/03/2025, students were given the opportunity to gain an insight into various companies in the field of thermal process technology. Both plant manufacturers and plant operators were visited.
On the first day, the students travelled to Duisburg. On the way, a stopover was made in Bovenden at the company OneJoon. There, all participants were given the opportunity to gain an insight into the company's extensive test centre for new technologies in various areas of industrial furnace construction. In addition, a continuous furnace for the heat treatment of blade steel, which was about to be delivered with all its peripherals, was on display. This plant was used to illustrate the complex interaction between the thermoprocessing plant and the peripherals, as well as the dimensions of such a plant.
The next day, the group went directly to LOI in Duisburg, which specialises in the engineering of thermoprocessing plants, particularly in the fields of mining, metal production, secondary metallurgy and heat treatment. In addition to gaining an insight into the working methods of the individual departments, they were able to take a virtual tour of two furnaces in the digital room. In the afternoon, everyone travelled on to ThyssenKrupp, where they were able to see the annealing facilities up close. The modern bell annealing systems could be compared directly with their predecessors. In particular, the increase in performance compared to the old systems was an important insight for the students.
On the third day, the tour continued towards Kleve, where the students were given an insight into the production of atmospheric furnaces and vacuum systems for heat treatment processes. There, it was possible to view and experience the complete production of a system up close. In the FutureLab, everyone was able to gain an insight into new system technologies and see the systems up close in detail.
On the last day, there was one last stop at the company ALD in Hanau. The company specialises in vacuum furnace metallurgy and manufactures furnaces for the high-temperature melting of refractory metals in addition to systems for hardening various materials. In addition to the company presentation and the individual work areas, the tour also included a visit to production and the internal test stands, where the melting of molybdenum using electron steel was demonstrated alongside a hardening section. Plasma melting and 3D printing systems were also on display.
We would like to thank all the companies for giving us an insight into the diverse areas of thermal process technology.