Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How does the Patented COLDfire process work?

The computer controlled COLDfire machine cycles through different temperature ranges over specific periods of time based upon product-specific, programmed profiles. The COLDfire Process can improve the working characteristics of a wide variety of materials, such as ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys, carbides and abrasive materials. The COLDfire process usually takes between 18 and 30 hours, depending on the product being treated.

Is this simply a coating, or a method for applying a coating to a product?

No. The COLDfire Process is not a coating or a surface treatment. It actually affects the component being treated in its entirety, making the entire mass stronger with a higher ability to resist wear. This allows a single treatment to work for the life of a component. This is drastically different from standard coatings, which are no longer effective after the coating has worn off. Also, the treated item retains the performance improvement characteristics even after re-sharpening or a re-grind procedure.

Does the COLDfire Process eliminate the need for coatings?

Most likely, no. The COLDfire Process is complementary to coatings, and is used on many coated items to improve the items’ performance.

Does this process replace a heat treat process? If we already have a very high quality heat treat process, are there still any benefits from the COLDfire Process?

The COLDfire process does not replace, but rather complements, the heat treatment process. Even the highest quality heat treatment process does not fully optimize the wear characteristics of the material. The key innovation in the COLDfire process is our ability to regulate and cycle the temperatures in our cryogenic chamber. This allows us to create individual ‘profiles’ for different types of materials or applications. As the heat treatment operators have known for over 100 years, different metals will harden differently at different temperatures. In its own way, therefore, there are different profiles used during heat treatment based on type of metal and desired hardness level. In fact, there are well known industry temperature curves for the heat side of metal treatment that show where specific metal transformations occur. The COLDfire process does something similar on the cold side, but works in extremely negative temperatures. The COLDfire process allows for cycling up and down in a highly negative temperature environment, leading to transformation beyond what is achieved with heat treatment/ tempering alone

Does the COLDfire process change a material’s dimensional or geometric properties, surface finish or other similar attributes?

No, the COLDfire process does not effect these attributes. The hardness of the material treated is unaffected so there is no additional tendency to crack or chip, while its strength and durability is actually increased. A product’s color, dimensions, and all other properties stay the same. The COLDfire impact occurs at the molecular level within the product and cannot be externally viewed. As such, no MSDS is required with our process.

How does COLDfire do business? Who owns the COLDfire machine? Do you sell the COLDfire machine outright?

We do not sell our machines. We custom make machines for each customer’s unique operating environment, and place these machines on the customer’s site under a licensing contract. Each machine is loaded with the relevant processing profiles that are monitored remotely by COLDfire.

How much does the COLDfire treatment cost?

During the testing phase, the COLDfire treatment is free. Pricing varies depending upon the customer processing needs, capacity requirements, etc. Each licensing agreement is customized specific to that customer.

Are there any environmental risks? If so, what are they?

The COLDfire process, which uses liquid nitrogen, produces no environmental waste. The liquid nitrogen, which is converted into a gaseous state during the COLDfire process, evaporates into the air at the end of a cycle.

What materials does the COLDfire process have effects upon? What materials have been tested?

The COLDfire process has been extensively tested (application testing and microstructural analysis) and proven to be effective on many types of material including, alloys, carbides, aluminum, stainless steel, abrasive materials, as well as coated products and nano-engineered materials. COLDfire would welcome the opportunity to treat and test your material. During the testing phase, treatment is free.

What are the inputs needed in manufacturing for a proper COLDfire machine run?

There are three primary inputs into every COLDfire run: electricity for machine power, LN2 for the COLDfire process to be run, and labor to load/unload the machine and to initiate the COLDfire run.

We have tried cryogenics in the past and did not have success. How is this different than other cryogenic processes?

The COLDfire process is a unique, patented process that significantly improves upon the cryogenic technology that has been in the market for many, many years.

Deep Cryogenics is the process of taking a material from ambient temperature down to approximately -300°F (-184°C), then holding it there for approximately 24 hours, and finally bringing it back to ambient temperature. The entire process takes about three days. This is a one-size-fits-all approach to materials treatment. There is only one cycle (i.e. ambient → -300°F → back to ambient). There are hundreds of service providers who offer this product/service in the secondary market, each offering essentially the same thing, even if called by a different name. Our years of testing show that deep cryogenics works on some materials or some applications some of the time – i.e., it is inconsistent in the number of materials that can be effectively treated in the consistency of improvement from one cycle to the next. This state of operation does not provide a commercially viable offering for many companies and as such, is why many large manufacturers have deep cryogenic machines that simply gather dust in a warehouse.

Shallow cryogenics operates in a similar fashion but at much lower temperatures, e.g., -100°F. Shallow cryogenics is very different from the COLDfire process. It has its own role in the materials treatment space that is not necessarily comparable with either deep cryogenics or the COLDfire process.

The patented COLDfire process and apparatus improves on the existing cryogenic approach by enabling 1) consistency from treatment to treatment, 2) successful processing across a wide range of materials and, 3) accelerated processing time of ~24 hours (vs. 72 hours) making it more viable for regular use in manufacturing environments.