RE: Re: "Cryogenic Freezing"

["Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>]

> improvement for all of the above evils that plague mankind.
> Second, any ideas re: the sophistication required of the 
> service provider.
> Is there for example a "recipe" book for how to cure?
>  Does it vary from material to material?  I.e. do you have to do your
> aluminum head separate from your pistons?  How long does the tempering
> process generally take?  Is it one freeze thaw cycle or a dozen?
> And finally, where or how is one going to see the proof of 
> the pudding?

... given that small internal stresses are a commonly found to be the seed
that causes a failure ... the statement that cryogenic treatment is a cure
for all evils might not be too far off ... :-)

I'm pretty sure that the chambers run automatically, so it might not matter
too much which vendor you choose.  You might want to ask for references and
more info about the equipment they use.  There is a lot of info available on
the web.  I did a bit of a search about a year ago and found a guy not too
far away from where I live that had a fairly small chamber.  I am going to
have my exhaust manifold treated soon ... it is pretty cheap insurance.  The
guy I've talked to is pretty up front ... he's told me that he's never heard
of anyone having an exhaust manifold treated before ... but he's more than
willing to treat mine if I'm convinced I want to try it ... :)

If you want to have something like an engine treated you have to have it
completely disassembled.  This is partly due to size limitations of the
chambers, but also that you want to keep the assemblies as small as possible
to minimize thermal gradients (which can cause stress).  

The "proof of the pudding" is going to be difficult, as in normal service
your part would have lasted a long time ... and you're not likely to notice
that the EM _didn't_ warp ... :-)

My recommendation to you is to do a bit of your own research and decide for
yourself if it is worth the expense ...

Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)