W.S.G. Isaac Newton

Kinkelder is a globally known producer of high-end industrial circular saw blades, with their headquarters located in Zevenaar. Within their Technology Team, constant research & development is being done to optimise their production processes. One of these processes is quenching the blades, which I was focused on during my internship.

During the quenching process, certain parameters need to be taken into account in order to obtain the desired hardness for the saw blades. The most important quantities are the total quenching time and the temperature of the medium used for the process. Having a uniform temperature in the blade throughout the process is vital to prevent distortion and unwanted residual stresses.

The main goal of my research was to optimise the quenching process by increasing temperature uniformity during cooling and reducing the overall quenching time. I did this by making a conjugate heat transfer model in SolidWorks Flow Simulation, with which I could predict the temperature distribution within the saw blades during quenching. Using this model, I was able to find improvement points and develop a more desirable quenching solution.

The internship allowed me to apply a lot of the theoretical knowledge I gained during my studies and I was given a great amount of freedom to work independently on my assignment. When needed, however, my supervisor and colleagues were always very friendly and eager to help.