Bonal Technologies, Inc. is a Leading Provider of Equipment and Processes for Sub-Harmonic Vibratory Stress Relief

Bonal Technologies, located in Royal Oak, MI, provides stress relief consulting, training, and metal stress relief services to various industries including: automotive, aerospace, defense, die casting, machine tool, mining, mold making, power generation, racing, shipbuilding, welding.

Bonal's patented technology offers 15 different models of Meta-Lax stress relief equipment. Meta-Lax is sold throughout the U.S. and in over 64 other countries.

Major Accomplishments

The development of the technology that could produce successful (effective and consistent) stress relief results in comparison to heat treat stress relief.

Receiving patents on its sub-harmonic vibratory stress relief process.

Seeing the Meta-Lax process written into manufacturing specifications and being single-sourced by many major organizations, including automotive companies, aerospace components manufacturers, and government defense branches.

Seeing Meta-Lax processed work pieces set new quality records for accuracy and performance in almost every sector of the metalworking industry.

A Brief History

In the late 1960s, August G. Hebel Jr. and A. George Hebel III of Bonal Corporation developed the Sub-Harmonic technology that Meta-Lax utilizes. At the time, the Bonal Corporation was a planermill machine shop.

The Hebels found that all available vibratory stress relief equipment was only reliable from 40-50% of the time. These findings were very discouraging to other companies who had the same results. However, the Hebels did not give up on the concept altogether. They researched and experimented with vibratory processing, searching for a way to achieve 100% reliability.

The Hebels discovered that to get successful stress relief results when using vibrational energy two key principles must be followed: Sub-Harmonic energy must be used, and the harmonic curve of a stressed part would “shift” frequency from an unnatural frequency to its natural frequency as the part is relieved of stress.

Through several inventions, innovations, and patents, Bonal developed a process that would measure the harmonic curve and provide the 100% success rate that the Hebels originally envisioned. They named their Sub-Harmonic process "Meta-Lax:" (Metal Relaxation). Meta-Lax quickly became the leader in vibratory stress relief and provided the industry with its first attractive alternative to heat-treat stress relief for widespread use.

Soon after, Meta-Lax technology brought about a new breakthrough for the fabrication industry. Through a specialized process called Meta-Lax Weld Conditioning, welders were able to do something they could never do before: weld a part while inducing negligible stress. It was also found that Meta-Lax Weld Conditioning yielded several other benefits to welders and their products.

To manufacture and market Meta-Lax, a separate company, Bonal Technologies, Inc. was formed. Later it became a public company as a subsidiary of Bonal International.

Today Meta-Lax equipment is sold throughout the U.S. and in 64 foreign countries through a network of national and international distributorships.

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