Hitachi Metals, Ltd.

2003 News Release

November 13  

 

Hitachi Metals Develops and Commences Manufacturing and Sales of World's Largest High-Performance Ceramics

Sleeve 350mm

Tokyo, Japan, November 13, 2003—Hitachi Metals, Ltd., announced today that it has developed new high-performance ceramics with superior strength and thermal shock resistance and also established the necessary technologies to manufacture the world’s largest ceramic materials. Using these new ceramics, Hitachi Metals has commenced manufacturing and sales of steel production machinery components with substantially improved durability.

I. Background

Although Hitachi Metals has until now manufactured machinery components using its Sialon^*1 ceramic materials, strength and thermal shock resistance problems^*2 often led to cracking and other durability issues in components subjected to extreme conditions.
Hitachi Metals responded by reevaluating its ceramic materials and driving innovation in its manufacturing technologies. These efforts resulting in the successful development of the high-performance ceramic material, Super Sialon, which is vastly superior to the Sialon range in terms of strength and thermal shock resistance and can be produced in sizes that are now the largest in the world.
The use of Super Sialon in the manufacture of components for steel product production machinery enables vast improvements in durability from three- to fifty-fold, thus reducing the frequency of component replacement and raising production efficiency.
In September 2003, Hitachi Metals installed new large-scale sintering furnaces with which it commenced manufacture and sales of components for steel product production machinery using its new high-performance Super Sialon ceramic materials. Going forward, Hitachi Metals will expand beyond the steel product production machinery field and develop new fields and applications for Super Sialon.

II. Strong point

(1)	Available in the world's largest production sizes, up to 780mm2,200mm
(2)	Superior strength, increasing durability of steel production machinery components by three- to fifty-fold
(3)	Reduced frequency of component replacement, thereby improving production efficiency
(4)	Performance values: Item Sialon Super Sialon Comparison Transverse strength (MPa) *3 880 1,050 Approx. 20% increase in transverse strength Thermal shock resistance Greater than 700 Greater than 850 More than 150K difference in temp. Thermal conductivity (W/mK) *5 17 65 Four-fold increase in thermal conductivity
(5)	Applications Steel product production equipment components (rolls, rollers, axle bearings, sleeves) *6, new fields, new applications.

III. Sales Projections

	Fiscal 2004:	¥300 million
	Fiscal 2005:	¥500 million

Inquiries

Product Inquiries:	Mr. Fukui Roll Company, Hitachi Metals, Ltd. Tel: +81-3-5765-4338 Fax: +81-3-5765-8317
Press Inquiries:	Mr. Minami Corporate Communications Office, Hitachi Metals, Ltd. Tel: +81-3-5765-4079 Fax: +81-3-5765-8312

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Notes

*1. Sialon
	One type of ceramics, in comparison to aluminum-based and other ceramics, it features superior strength at both standard and high temperatures.
*2. Thermal shock resistance
	Resistance to cracking and other stress phenomena resulting from swelling and contracting due to sudden changes in temperature
*3. MPa (Megapascals)
	A unit of measurement for pressure and stress relating to force per area. 1 MPa of force is comparable to the amount of hydraulic pressure that would be subjected to a land-bound object were it to be submerged in water at a depth of 98 meters.
*4. (Delta T)
	A measure of difference in temperature
*5. W/mK (Watts per meter Kelvin)
	A unit of thermal conductivity, the greater the value, the greater the conduction of heat.
*6. Steel product production equipment components
	This term refers to rolls and rollers used in the forming of steel products, which differ from the rolls used in the cold rolling of large steel sheets.

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