Xtek Focuses on Engineering Expertise

Xtek products can be found anywhere durability is needed for the most demanding applications in industries ranging from steel and aluminum production, to mining and energy, and more. The company, headquartered in Sharonville, Ohio, provides high-quality custom machined and heat-treated parts and component assemblies for heavy-duty industrial processes.

Founded in 1909, Xtek was known as the Tool Steel Gear & Pinion Company. A young inventor, Russell Bloomfield, was seeking a way to make cup and cone bearings for bicycles that could take the harsh pounding of the period’s cobblestone streets. Bloomfield’s work led to the development of a steel hardening process that eventually became known as the Tool Steel Process (TSP) because the metallurgical properties that it imparted to gears and bearings made them “as hard and as durable as tool steel.” 

The original focus of the organization was on gears for traction cars. Later, the company applied its metallurgical techniques to heavy-duty equipment applications in railroads, mines, and steel mills.

Through the decades, Xtek has evolved into a manufacturer of custom engineered components for a wide range of industrial applications. A recent blog on the company’s website detailed the variety of engineering expertise that makes the organization better with materials, customized heat treatment options, and finish machining techniques.

Xtek boasts a diverse lineup of engineering expertise with backgrounds in mechanical, manufacturing, materials science, electrical, aerospace, biomedical and industrial engineering. 

Application engineering: providing analysis (FEA, etc.) on parts and assemblies, analyzing application requirements, and offering design recommendations.

Design engineering: applying industry standards to product development, and creation of manufacturing and detail drawings.

Manufacturing engineering: developing manufacturing processes and programming for all CNC equipment.

Service engineering: reverse engineering application components, offering upgrade recommendations and determining repair specifications.

Metallurgical engineering: conducting material failure analysis and specifying material composition and heat treat process selection.

With such diverse expertise, it’s not surprising to hear that the company recently retired a mill pinion after 58 years of service. This set of carburized mill pinions for a major European hot strip steel mill was manufactured in 1964. Although it had some minor surface wear, it was still in great condition considering the timeframe.