Bethlehem Lukens Plate:Products-MTD Tools 3 of 8



In the ladle furnace, precise alloy additions are made.		PRODUCTION OF BETHLEHEM'S MTD^� & TOOL STEELS
		All of Bethlehem's MTD^� and tool steels are produced in a modern electric melt shop, which includes a 165-ton electric arc furnace, a ladle furnace for steel refining and a tank degasser for vacuum treatment. These facilities allow the production of quality alloy steels with consistent chemistry, heat-to-heat and plate-to-plate. When specified, very clean steels with sulfur levels as low as 0.001% maximum can be produced using Bethlehem Fineline� processing. For improved machinability, higher levels of sulfur can be maintained through Bethlehem Clean-Cut� processing. Depending on grade and final plate thickness, Bethlehem's steels are cast into slabs via continuous casting, with includes electromagnetic stirring and argon shrouding, or into bottom-poured ingots.
One of Bethlehem's continuous heat treating furnaces at the Conshohocken, PA facility.
The slabs or ingots are rolled to plate on one of two rolling mills, depending on finished plate size. Both mills have hydraulic gauge control to produce plates with uniform thickness end-to-end and side-to-side. MTD� plates are prehardened and tempered in one of three continuous heat treating facilities or in car-bottom heat treating furnaces, all with the latest process control features. Two additional heat treating facilities, also with full process control, are available for annealing Bethlehem's cold work tool steels. Heat treatment cycles have been designed to produce Bethlehem MTD and cold work tool steels with consistent machinability and minimal internal stresses. NOTE: For those who prefer to have material heat treated locally after cutting or machining, all MTD chemistries can be purchased in the stress-relieved or annealed condition. However, due to variations in processing, the hardness values certified by Bethlehem will not necessarily apply when heat treatment is performed outside of Bethlehem's control.
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