Happy Holidays from Hotfoil-EHS

"This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays!”

D.M. Dellinger

New Corporate Headquarters for Hotfoil-EHS

Hotfoil-EHS is pleased to announce the opening of a new corporate headquarters in Hamilton Township, NJ.  The new 15,000 square foot building accommodates administrative personnel and is the fabrication facility for all EHS products.

The former headquarters, located at 2960 East State Street Ext., Hamilton, NJ, is now the primary metal fabrications and welding facility.

New Hotfoil-EHS Headquarters 6 Black Forest Road 

NEW HOTFOIL-EHS CONTACT INFORMATION

6 Black Forest Road
Hamilton, NJ 08691
Phone #: 609-588-0900
Fax #: 609-587-0134
Email: dap@hotfoilehs.com

The IceStar 6 or 12 Point Welding Heat Treatment Controller

The IceStar ISQ is a panel-mounted controller, which can easily be connected to thyristor and contactor driven power sources. It has 6 or 12 controlling measurement points, and up to 36 monitoring measurement points. If more measurement points are needed, it's possible to connect up to 14 controllers to same heating process with cables or via wireless. All units can be controlled from a single PC. The IceStar ISQ has several communication capabilities with PC: WiFi/internet, Bluetooth radio, Zigbee radio, ISM modem, USB, Serial ports (RS232, RS485).

All process profiles are made with ISPort software. After the process is started the profile and the

process will be saved to PC's and also to controller's memory. This enables the controllers independent working if there is no connection between unit and PC. ISQ includes process display so it's easy to control and monitor processes directly from ISQ. There are also LEDs for TC/ process status and alarms.

For more information about the Icestar ISQ contact Hotfoil-EHS by calling 609-588-0900 or by visiting https://hotfoilehs.com.

Today We Celebrate Our Veterans

Veterans Day is a day of observance and celebration for those who have served in the United States military. Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day because of the November 11 Armistice that ended World War I. In 1954 it was officially changed to Veterans Day to include Veterans of all wars. This holiday honors those who took an oath to defend the United States and our Constitution, from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Through the observance of Veterans Day, we remind ourselves of our Veterans patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

Hotfoil-EHS thanks our Veterans, past and present, for serving our country and protecting our freedom.

The Importance of Pre-Weld Heating

Pre-heating and metal prep before welding a large section of pipe.

The process of pre-heating steel prior to welding is important to understand. In general, there are two primary reasons to heat treat prior to welding.

First, it increases the temperature of the target material, resulting in a controlled (slower) cooling rate of the target material, as well as that of the weld. Thicker areas of steel, typically 1/2 inch or greater, and high-strength low-alloy steels (HSLA) are prone to the formation of weakened crystalline microstructures if the weld cools too quickly. These weakened crystalline microstructures are called martensite.  Martensite is a steel crystalline structure critical to the steel's hardness and strength; too much martensite leaves steel brittle; too little leaves it soft.

When welding, martensite can form in the newly deposited weld metal, the base target material, or
the HAZ (heat-affected zone). Applying the proper amount of pre-heat prior to welding will assist in preventing the formation of martensite. Pre-heat temperatures and soak times are dependent on the target materials type, thickness, grade, and carbon equivalency. There is ample temperature and time pre-heat information available on the Internet and from industry associations, and one should refer to this information prior to welding.

Ceramic mat heaters used to pre-heat pipe spool piece.

Second, preheating also results in the elimination of condensation (moisture) prior to the welding procedure. The presences of moisture is problematic because the water will change phase (from liquid to gas) during welding. This phase change can releases trace amounts of hydrogen, and lingering hydrogen can be absorbed into the weld. When hydrogen molecules are trapped in the newly welded metal, they affect the metals grain boundaries and impose a risk of higher weld failure. As a result, removing moisture before welding is strongly recommended.

Uniformly preheating the target material prior to welding, and then insulating the target area after welding, provides an adequate cooling rate allowing hydrogen to diffuse out of the weld joint, preventing hydrogen cracking.

For more information about the equipment and processes required for weld pre-heating, contact Hotfoil-EHS, a world leading manufacturer of heat treatment equipment. They can be reached by calling 609-588-0900 or visit their web site at https://hotfoilehs.com.

Happy Independence Day from Hotfoil-EHS

US Power Grids, Oil and Gas Industries, and Risk of Hacking

A report released in June, from the security firm Dragos, describes a worrisome development by a hacker group named, “Xenotime” and at least two dangerous oil and gas intrusions and ongoing reconnaissance on United States power grids.

Multiple ICS (Industrial Control Sectors) sectors now face the XENOTIME threat; this means individual verticals – such as oil and gas, manufacturing, or electric – cannot ignore threats to other ICS entities because they are not specifically targeted.

The Dragos researchers have termed this threat proliferation as the world’s most dangerous cyberthreat since an event in 2017 where Xenotime had caused a serious operational outage at a crucial site in the Middle East. 

The fact that concerns cybersecurity experts the most is that this hacking attack was a malware that chose to target the facility safety processes (SIS – safety instrumentation system).

For example, when temperatures in a reactor increase to an unsafe level, an SIS will automatically start a cooling process or immediately close a valve to prevent a safety accident. The SIS safety stems are both hardware and software that combine to protect facilities from life threatening accidents.

At this point, no one is sure who is behind Xenotime. Russia has been connected to one of the critical infrastructure attacks in the Ukraine.  That attack was viewed to be the first hacker related power grid outage.

This is a “Cause for Concern” post that was published by Dragos on June 14, 2019. 

“While none of the electric utility targeting events has resulted in a known, successful intrusion into victim organizations to date, the persistent attempts, and expansion in scope is cause for definite concern. XENOTIME has successfully compromised several oil and gas environments which demonstrates its ability to do so in other verticals. Specifically, XENOTIME remains one of only four threats (along with ELECTRUM, Sandworm, and the entities responsible for Stuxnet) to execute a deliberate disruptive or destructive attack.

XENOTIME is the only known entity to specifically target safety instrumented systems (SIS) for disruptive or destructive purposes. Electric utility environments are significantly different from oil and gas operations in several aspects, but electric operations still have safety and protection equipment that could be targeted with similar tradecraft. XENOTIME expressing consistent, direct interest in electric utility operations is a cause for deep concern given this adversary’s willingness to compromise process safety – and thus integrity – to fulfill its mission.

XENOTIME’s expansion to another industry vertical is emblematic of an increasingly hostile industrial threat landscape. Most observed XENOTIME activity focuses on initial information gathering and access operations necessary for follow-on ICS intrusion operations. As seen in long-running state-sponsored intrusions into US, UK, and other electric infrastructure, entities are increasingly interested in the fundamentals of ICS operations and displaying all the hallmarks associated with information and access acquisition necessary to conduct future attacks. While Dragos sees no evidence at this time indicating that XENOTIME (or any other activity group, such as ELECTRUM or ALLANITE) is capable of executing a prolonged disruptive or destructive event on electric utility operations, observed activity strongly signals adversary interest in meeting the prerequisites for doing so.”