Production capabilities

Melting and remelting, forging and rolling, peeling, grinding, turning and drawing – at VDM Metals all of these important stages of production are found under one roof. In this way, we also provide assurance of reproducible quality and efficient processes.

Melting and remelting

In our melting shop in Unna, Germany, our nickel materials and special stainless steels are melted in an electric arc furnace and then undergo vacuum treatment. A ladle furnace is available for the secondary metallurgical treatment. Casting takes place in a vertical continuous caster or by ingot casting. In addition to the conventional technology of open melting, we also use vacuum induction melting (VIM) furnaces in both our German melting plant and in our melting plant in Florham Park, New Jersey, which is operated by VDM Metals USA.

The homogeneity and purity of the materials can be enhanced by remelting in electroslag remelting (ESR) or vacuum arc remelting (VAR) furnaces.

Ingots and slabs function as pre-materials

VDM uses cast and/or remelted slabs or ingots function as pre-material for the production of our sheets and plates, strips, rods, bars, forgings and wires.

Forgings

VDM Metals operates one of the most modern open-die forging plants in the world. The forging press operates with a pressure of up to 4,500 tons and has two rail-bound manipulators. The press receives its work pieces from certified preheating and reheating furnaces.

Bars, billets and shapes

For the surface working of round products (forged bars) made of nickel materials with a diameter of more than 120 mm (4.72 inches), state of the art turning lathes and peeling machines are used. Hot-rolled and forged bars with a diameter of less than 120 mm (4.72 inches) normally undergo peeling or grinding. With our drawing bench, we are also able to manufacture cold-drawn precision bars. In our U.S. sites, ingots and billets can be worked in a two-high blooming mill to round cornered squares in widths ranging from 127 to 51 mm (5 to 2 inches) or hot-rolled into slabs and flat/four-cornered forms. Alternatively, we also offer round, flat, square and hexagonal shapes/profiles that are hot-rolled in our 14 inch (355 mm) or 10 inch (254 mm) bar mills. As a matter of course, our finishing plants offer the possibilities of heat treatment, pickling or shot blasting according to customer specifications.

Sheet

At VDM Metals, sheets are hot-rolled on a four-high mill to a thickness of 3 mm (0.12 inches). With our Sendzimir reversing mill, we are able to cold-roll sheet in lengths up to 12,000 mm (472 inches) down to thicknesses of 1 mm (0.04 inches). After hot and/or cold rolling, the material will go through the finishing steps, for which we provide machines for annealing, shot-blasting, levelling, pickling, grinding and cutting.

Strip

At VDM Metals, strip is cold rolled on four-high and Sendzimir mills. Foil can be rolled down to a thickness of 0.025 mm (0.001 inches) on a special 20-high mill. Annealing, levelling and cutting equipment is available for finishing operations to meet customer specifications.

Wire and welding consumables

To complete our product portfolio, we also offer a wide range of wire products: VDM produces fine and ultrafine wires to diameters of as little as 0.1 mm (0.004 inches), in addition to profile wire and welding filler materials.

Powder

A vacuum inert gas atomization plant (VIGA) forms the core of the powder manufacturing facility. This plant is made up of a vacuum induction melting furnace (VIM) and the atomization unit, which comprises an atomization zone and