Today's Industrial Products and Solutions February 2019 | Page 14
`Forging Ahead
with Advanced
HDPE Cooling
Towers
Patriot Forge Co. depends on advanced HDPE cooling towers to maintain optimum bath
temperatures for quenching metal forgings and cooling hydraulic systems.
The forging industry has achieved an impressive place in the North American industrial economy by producing
components with unique benefits that are difficult to duplicate. Forging, a manufacturing process of shaping
metal by applying a variety of powerful compressive forces to it, is known for producing parts that feature
excellent fracture toughness, ductility, as wells as both impact- and fatigue-strength.
However, delivering on those attributes also requires dealing with the extremely high heat generated during
the forging process, which can reach up to 1,150 degrees C (2,102 F). For Patriot Forge, a Canadian supplier
of custom open die and rolled ring forgings, controlling those high temperature hinges on dependable cooling
tower technology.
Frequently used for industrial applications such as refineries, metal foundries and manufacturing plants, cooling
towers remove heat from cooling system water and exhaust it into the atmosphere.
Needing an advanced solution
With plants in Branford and Paris, Ontario, Patriot Forge produces products in a variety of materials ranging
from carbon, alloy, stainless steel, nickel-based alloys and aluminum. Producing for demanding industries
such as power generation, petrochemical, heavy-equipment manufacturers, military and aerospace requires
consistent quality, including the vital hardness characteristics of forgings ranging from 5 lbs. to 50 tons.
According to Derek Hynes, Senior Mechanical Engineer at Patriot Forge, three years ago, the company decided to
begin the process up replacing its aging, multi-use cooling tower, located at Building One of its Branford plant.
12 TIPS Magazine • February ‘19