Examples of Lifetime Improvements

Many companies have used cryogenic treatment to improve metal part lifetimes, and several examples are listed in the following table.

  1. Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant, Sperry Rand Corp., Minden, La.
  2. Hawthorned Metals, Detroit, Michigan
  3. S.K. Wellman Div., Abex Corp., Bedford, Ohio
  4. Detroit Area Manufacturing Div., Chrysler Corp., Detroit, Michigan
  5. De Vlieg Machine Co., Detroit, Michigan
  6. Boise Cascade Composite Can Div., Hazelwood, Missouri
ITEM COMPANY AVG. LIFE BEFORE TREATMENT AVG. LIFE AFTER TREATMENT RATIO
2-inch end mills used to cut C-1065 steel A 65 parts 200 parts 3.07
Hack-saw blades used to cut boss on M107 shell A 4 hours 6 hours 1.50
Zone punches used on shell casings A 64 shells 5820 shells 82.5
Nosing thread dies used on M485 shells A 225 shells 487 shells 2.12
Copper resistance weld tips B 2 weeks 6 weeks 3.00
Progressive dies used in metal working B 40,000 hits 250,000 hits 6.25
Blanking of heat treated 4140 and 1095 steel C 1000 pieces 2000 pieces 2.00
Broach used on a C1020 steel torque tube yoke D 1810 parts 8602 parts 4.75
Broaching operation on forged connecting rods D 1500 parts 8600 parts 5.73
Milling T-nuts from C1018 steel with M-2 cutters E 3 bars 14 bars 4.67
AMT-38 cut-off blades F 60 hours 928 hours 15.4

Dr. Randall F. Barron, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University, “Yes, Cryogenic Treatments Can Save You Money! Here’s Why”