The biennial WMM (Workshop Magnetism and Metallurgy) scientific conference is the place to be to keep abreast of the new developments regarding the production of electrical steels and their applications. All major worldwide electrical steel producers were present, as well as stampers and motor producers. This year's highlights were the industrialization of new production technologies for electrical steels, like thin strip casting or new annealing lines, and the focus on new grades for high efficiency industry machines and electric traction.
Sigrid and Tom's presentation was about our iCAReTM product family, which is designed especially for applications in automotive traction motors. They demonstrated the benefits of our new continuous annealing line in Saint-Chély d'Apcher and presented our project aiming at reviewing the entire downstream processing route. The presentation focussed on texture and structure optimisation, which is the state of the improvement method, used also by the upcoming Chinese producers.
Apart from their oral presentation, Sigrid and Tom also presented a poster about the Cu/AIN production technology for grain oriented electrical steels, a cost effective technology used by ArcelorMittal Frýdek Místek that has an inherent high induction. They demonstrated that nitriding before decarburization allows a further increase of the induction levels.