The professional sports industry has played an integral role in the culture and history in America. Millions of people spend their evenings and weekends watching their favorite teams or athletes compete in the sports love. As a continuation to our “How Heat-Treating Effects Our Everyday Lives”, this month we will delve into the role it plays in your evening and weekend sports entertainment. From football and baseball to auto racing and tennis, the equipment used and the venues attended to watch these sports have required heat treating of products to come to life.

The helmets used in football, a vital piece of safety equipment, must withstand the impact and substantial wear and tear received during practice and game time. Design of football helmets has continually been improved upon over the years to increase the protection of the player. The multi-bar facemasks on the helmets are typically made with carbon steel but can also be made with titanium and stainless steel. One of the new manufacturing processes for the facemasks is using a molding and casting process instead of welding together different pieces of metal to create the mask. A mold is designed and the molten metal is poured into it to cast the facemask. This process results in a single continuous piece of metal that is strong and absorbs the energy of a hit.

Sports stadiums across the country serve millions of people each season. With the high usage of seating over the lifetime of a stadium, manufacturers want to make sure those seats are going to last. Using a casting process, steel is molded into the sides of seats and armrests. This cast steel provides a durable option for the stadium seating. Once the parts are cast and heat treated they are powder coated to add an additional layer of protection. Another area that has seen the heat are the roofs of stadiums that utilize cast steel connectors in their structural support. The casting and heat-treating process ensures that the connectors meet the strength specifications for the design.

So, as you take in the crisp fall weather and enjoy a Friday night football game, think about how heat treating is effecting everyone on and off the field. Lindberg/MPH offers a variety of custom and standard heat treat furnaces and non-ferrous melting equipment that provide consistency, uniformity and reliability for your application. Visit our website to learn more or contact us!