KANTHAL APMTM TUBES & TUBOTHAL ® ELEMENTS CASE STORY Hughes Christensen Company is internationally recog­ nized as one of the worlds leading manufacturers of rock cutting drill bits. The plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland, specializes in the construction and develop­ ment of roller cone bits. THE CHALLENGE The heat treatment shop comprises 10 furnaces used for case hardening at between 850°C (1560°F) and 950°C (1740°F). These furnaces are in use 24 hours per day, five days a week. In the past, these furnaces were equipped with Kanthal ® Super electric elements expo­ sed directly to the furnace atmosphere, and although these elements are very successfully used in such fur­ naces throughout the world, certain unique processing techniques developed by Hughes Christensen for their

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