FEATURE ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | JULY 2026 35 T he heat treatment industry is facing a major change. Until recently, business results were a balancing act among tight margins, rising energy costs, and strong global competition. Today, these pressures are even stronger due to major changes in robotization and artificial intelligence (AI). New challenges include supply chain consolidation, higher customer and industry demand for consistent, documented production, and the retirement of experienced workers. Traditionally, the heat treating industry relied on skilled operators who learned by doing the job. This method worked well, but now it poses risks, including differences between shifts, poor knowledge transfer, and additional problems as the workforce ages. Today, the industry is moving toward more eco- friendly methods while retaining valuable experience. Heat treating is an area just beginning to use sophisticated physics-based and data-driven modeling tools for calculating phase equilibria, thermodynamics, diffusion, and phase transformation kinetics. Automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence are now central to this shift. There is a concern that this change threatens skilled workers. In fact, it is an opportunity for plant workers and managers to receive advanced guidance grounded in science and data analytics. These systems automatically record processes and support human decision-making rather than replace them. Over the next several years, the industry will likely move to semi-autonomous thermal plants. This does not mean that factories will run without people. Routine tasks will be automated, while workers will focus on important decisions in supervised, data-driven operations. CHANGING ROLES IN THE WORKFORCE Few industries feel workforce pressures as much as the heat treating industry. Skilled furnace operators, maintenance technicians, and metallurgists are retiring faster than new workers can replace them. In addition, new hires with technical skills are often reluctant to take on tough, repetitive jobs in hot environments. THE AUTONOMOUS THERMAL PLANT: HOW AI AND ROBOTICS ARE CHANGING HEAT TREATMENT “Automation on purpose” uses robotics and artificial intelligence to build metallurgical knowledge into systems that are repeatable, auditable, and reliable. Thomas Wingens* and Michael V. Glazoff* Wingens Consultants, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania *Member of ASM International Automation provides an effective answer. Robots handle tasks such as loading, unloading, and moving parts and batches between heat treat steps. People continue to control production processes, make critical business decisions, and analyze opportunities for further improvement. This change improves safety and shifts job roles, potentially making heat treating more attractive to a new cohort of skilled workers. Customer expectations have changed, too. Meeting standards is no longer enough, as customers now want documented proof. Aerospace standards, automotive audits, and internal quality systems all push for better documentation[1]. Automation raises quality by keeping processes structured, organized, and consistent. Connecting recipe selection to part identification reduces data- entry errors. Ongoing monitoring helps spot problems early, so they can be fixed right away. This often shifts quality control to real-time problem prevention, yielding significant cost savings. From an operations perspective, automated systems make things more predictable. Robots manage repetitive tasks like fixture loading, transfers, and indexing with steady results, which increases throughput and keeps processes consistent. In addition to preventive maintenance, automation and AI help reduce unplanned downtime, which is often one of the most expensive costs in heat treatment. Furnaces require a lot of energy, so even small, consistent improvements in scheduling, soak margins, or heat-loss management can lead to significant cost reductions. LAYERS OF AUTOMATION IN A MODERN HEAT TREAT OPERATION Automation in heat treating works best as a system, with each layer supporting and complementing the others rather than relying on a single technology. Physical Handling and Logistics. Moving materials is the starting point. Industrial robots, automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots move parts and fixtures between furnaces, quench stations, washers, and tempering equipment. Keeping people out of hot,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTYyMzk3NQ==