Hey Neil,
I had planned on posting yesterday but in light of what has happened in America it really seemed somewhat insignificant.
Many variables must be taken into account and addressed.
Preheat, postheat/stress relief and cooling rates are critical.
Alloy and base metal selections and compatibility are critical as diffusion between the two occurs.
Heat input, deposition rates, etc must also be taken into account.
There are too many variables for me to try to get real specific about SharpFusion at this point. My initial post was meant to be of an introductory and generic nature. I wanted to share this with you guys before anything hit the market.
Brad and I will be working with about a dozen different alloys and substrates. Each of these combinations will exhibit different mechanical properties.
Darrel, the substrate alloy that I will be using for my fixed blades is completely corrosion proof, non magnetic and non ferrous.
It exhibits great ductility and very good rigidity.
I work as a independent metallurgical consultant, AWS Certified Welding Educator, AWS Certified Welding Inspector, API Certified 570 and 653 Inspector as well as a NACE Coating inspector and QA, QC consultant for the largest oil company in the world. I have also been ASME certified in just about every fusion process out there. That is all I have done for the last 20 years. This has afforded me a great deal of insight into various fusion methods.
There are basically three criteria that must be met.
1. Cost effectiveness
2. The positive mechanical attributes of the alloy cutting edge must not be diminished (directly or indirectly) as a result of the fusion process.
3. The fusion zone must meet or exceed the strength of the weaker of the two materials joined.
Here is another image of a SharpFusion Overlord. This is a Stellite/high chromium hybrid. The blade was bent to 180 degrees with no cracking or damage to the substrate or cutting edge. I then attempted to completely beat the radius out of the 180 bend with a sledgehammer. It was at this point that the cutting edge exhibited an independent transverse crack.
Regards,
Mike Snody
My email has been screwed up for a while. I recently lost 270 unread messages. I am trying to recover them. If I have not responded to anyone that is probably why.
Thanks, Keith and Derek. There is something else right around the corner. It will take cutlery into unchartered territory.