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Sumitomo Metals Receives Awards from Japan Institute of Metals
11/10/2011 - Sumitomo Metal Industries, Sumitomo Metals (Kokura), and Sumitomo Metals (Naoetsu) recently received the 34th Technical Development Award from the Japan Institute of Metals for the development of the low-carbon non-leaded free cutting steel “Smigreen CS” and for development of fine-precipitates dispersed stainless steel sheet “NAR-301L HSX.”
Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Metals), Sumitomo Metals (Kokura), Ltd. (Sumikin Kokura), and Sumitomo Metals (Naoetsu), Ltd. (Sumikin Naoetsu) recently received the 34th Technical Development Award from the Japan Institute of Metals for the development of low-carbon non-leaded free cutting steel “Smigreen CS” and for development of fine-precipitates dispersed stainless steel sheet “NAR-301L HSX.”
Smigreen CS received the award jointly with Osaka University, while NAR-301L HSX received the award with Honda R&D Co., Ltd. and Nippon Leakless Corp. Sumitomo Metals and Sumikin Naoetsu won awards for the fourth consecutive year for their joint developments.
Sumikin Kokura and Sumitomo Metals succeeded in developing the easy-to-machine, non-leaded free cutting steel Smigreen. According to Sumitomo, Smigreen CS cutting steel enables precision cutting work in terms of measurement and surface roughness, reduces wear on the edges of cutting tools, and reduces the burden on advanced and automated working processes, as chip forms are constant and predictable when machined—all without the addition of lead or other metals to the steel. Instead, Smigreen CS features more sulfur compounds.
NAR-301L HSX stainless steel sheet was developed for high combustion-pressure cylinder head gaskets. During combustion, a gas leak is prevented by the gasket, which is made of stuck thin steel sheets and has the wave shaped portions called beads. The bead, with its spring-like elastic force, prevents the leakage.
Based on NAR-301L HS1, which received the Technical Development Award in fiscal 2008, the Sumitomo Metals Group developed NAR-301L HSX by creating even finer grains on the surface of the steel sheet and utilizing the change in metallic characteristics caused by bead-forming processing (age hardening).
The fine grains on the sheet surface have become finer as a result of precipitating a fine chrome-nitrogen compound by using annealing and heat treatment processes. Due to age hardening, the new material has become stronger without any increase in the number of manufacturing processes, and has improved combustion gas sealing performance by 30%.
NAR-301L HSX has been adopted in the Honda Accord Diesel for the European market since fiscal 2008.
