Following foundation preparations, Solar Atmospheres will be installing a new titanium drop bottom water quench furnace at their Hermitage, Pennsylvania, location. The new addition will ensure consistent metallurgical results for demanding aerospace and industrial applications.
The new furnace is rated for a maximum operating temperature of 1850°F ±10°F and is designed to process titanium bar and forging loads of up to 7,500 pounds. Measuring 14′ by 54″ wide by 48″ high, workloads will be rapidly transferred into a 7,000-gallon, recirculated water quench tank within seconds.
This investment opens the door to expanded titanium solution treating capabilities and supports Solar Atmospheres’ commitment to innovative thermal processing solutions.
Press release is available in its original form here.
A U.S. heat treater has expanded their operations with the installment of a horizontal vacuum furnace. Stack Metallurgical Group announced the addition of a 6 bar quenching TurboTreater furnace at their Portland facility.
Stack services aerospace, medical, and cutlery industries, among others. The company shared, “Stack is continuing to show our commitment to excellence by investing in a brand new 6 Bar quenching, Turbotreater horizontal vacuum furnace from Ipsen. This is more than a purchase; it’s a substantial investment in our facilities and, more importantly, in our valued customers.”
The Ipsen vacuum furnace features internal quenching with 360-degree cooling uniformity, decreases cycle times up to 20%, and reduces gas consumption up to 40%. The furnace handles heavy loads and operates for multiple processes, including hardening, tempering, brazing, sintering, and annealing.
Press release is available in its original form here.
In thisHeat Treat Radio episode, Doug Glenn talks with Andrew Chan, sales and applications engineer, ALD Vacuum Technologies North America Inc, Kelly Peters, vice president of operations, and David Dillon, maintenance manager for ALD Thermal Treatment Inc.
Listen as guests share their experiences navigating the complex requirements, challenges, and organizational changes needed for Nadcap certification. Their journey discovering how multi-cell heat treatment furnaces can come into Nadcap compliance underscores the importance of technology, training, and continuous improvement.
Listeners will learn practical insights into achieving and maintaining Nadcap accreditation for advanced heat treatment processes.
Below, you can watch the video, listen to the podcast by clicking on the audio play button, or read an edited transcript.
Doug Glenn: In preparation for this episode, we discussed the situation that sparked our desire to engage in this conversation, which involved both ALD and some of your customers. We wanted to discuss people not knowing that a multi-cell heat treatment furnace could be Nadcap-certified. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Andrew Chan: ALD participates in all the major heat treatment trade shows, including the last two Furnaces North America events, and we noticed a lack of awareness that multi-cell heat treatment furnaces can be Nadcap certified. We found through interactions with visitors at our booth and conversations during the social hours that people really had it engraved in their minds that only single cell heat treatment equipment could be Nadcap certified.
This was true until about five years ago with the newest revision of AMS2769D. Therefore, the real impetus is just to bring awareness to the industry that you’re now able to certify and use multi-cell heat treatment equipment for aerospace applications. With that, you getvolume capacity, which historically has been associated with the automotive industry, both the OEMs and their suppliers, but we can bring that benefit to the aerospace market and lower heat treatment costs.
Understanding Multi-Cell Furnace Systems (05:15)
Doug Glenn: What are multi-cell heat treatment furnaces, how are they designed, and how do they work?
Andrew Chan: An example of a multi-cell furnace is our ModulTherm® or our SyncroTherm® furnace. As you can see in this image, these are individual vacuum chambers, which we call a treatment cell, and you can line up about fourteen of these in a row. Each one is dedicated to heat treating a single load.
ALD’s ModulTherm® system, an example of multi-cell furnaces
The treatment cell has its own insulation, heating elements, process, and gas; all of these are serviced by a single transfer car that you can see down at the end of the rail with the track. Then, our quenching cell is attached to that transfer car. We have this movable transfer car that loads and unloads the parts, and then we quench them immediately after pulling them out of each treatment cell. We can also do oil quenching, but the oil quench would just be a fixed tank — it would not be on this movable transfer car.
Doug Glenn: Are you talking about a high pressure gas quench?
Andrew Chan: Yes, this is a high pressure gas quench. Historically it’s been helium, but we can also do nitrogen, since helium costs have started to increase over the last couple decades.
Doug Glenn: Is that transfer car under vacuum during the transfer?
Andrew Chan: Yes, everything is done under vacuum. We transfer between the red doors, which are basically like isolation doors.When we pull the load out to quench it, it’s done very quickly, also under vacuum, we quench up to 20 bar.
Doug Glenn: Is this your ModulTherm model?
Andrew Chan: Yes, this image is of our ModulTherm. This second image is of our SyncroTherm model, which is like a mini ModulTherm.
Nadcap certification is possible for multi-cell furnace systems, like the SyncroTherm®
We describe this model like a pizza oven. We have multiple hot zones stacked on top of each other, and the footprint for the hot zone is approximately 500 x 600 millimeters. It is a smaller footprint than the ModulTherm model. Everything is under the same vacuum environment, and then similarly, we have a transfer — a telescopic loader that moves the load between the hot zone and the quench — and then a single quenching chamber, which also functions as the inlet and outlet for the load.
What is Nadcap Certification? (8:25)
Doug Glenn: What is Nadcap certification?
Kelly Peters: Nadcap certification is a comprehensive approach to aerospace and specifications. It covers maintenance, pyrometry, heat treater training, quality control, and even contract review. It focuses more on the process, not so much on the product, and it is audited by a third-party organization called PRI (Performance Review Institute).
PRI will review your processes, supporting data, and entire management system. The accreditation process involves an internal audit completed by the organization with some corrective actions. Then, you can complete your initial audit with PRI.
You must complete that internal audit first, and then once you go through the initial audit, you’ll be assigned a staff engineer. This person will review the findings from that initial audit, as well as your corrective actions and supporting data.
If the staff engineer approves, you’ll move on to the next stage, which is actually going in front of an engineering team where they vote on whether you’ll be accredited.
When it comes to heat treatment specifically for Nadcap, however, the audit really covers all of your AMS specifications, processes, relevant instrumentation, pyrometry, etc.
Doug Glenn: Is the team of engineers that you mentioned internal or through PRI?
Kelly Peters: They are through PRI.
Doug Glenn: Is this certification and audit exclusively for the aerospace industry or is it applied to other industries?
Kelly Peters: Nadcap is primarily foraerospace and defense.
Process of ALD’s Nadcap Journey: Challenges and Timeline (10:25)
Doug Glenn: Once you realized that you could Nadcap certify your equipment that Andrew and his team build, how did your Nadcap process go? Can you tell us how you got started and the timeline?
Kelly Peters: The process was definitely very intimidating at first. In general, I would say the average time period in the industry is about 18 months of preparation before you find yourself goingthrough the actual PRI audit.
In our case, it took us about a year. We had a lot to do within that year. There were four months that it was all initial procedure revision. This step involves reviewing maintenance, production, and quality control processes and procedures to ensure they meet Nadcap requirements.
You also have to go through commercial compliance. Therefore, you want to ensure that you’re meeting those specifications from the commercial side, specifically during contract review and processes.
The largest portion of preparing was data collection and organizationalchanges, which took us about six to seven months to accomplish because you have to gather all the data necessary, implement changes, and then make those changes daily to ensure you’re actually in compliance.
By the time you do your self-audit, you’re already zoning in on those items and initiating corrective actions to prepare for accreditation. About two months later, we scheduled our actual PRI audit and had them on-site.
Doug Glenn: What do you mean by “organizational changes”?
Kelly Peters: I’m implying changes to operational organization, for example, your management system.
Overcoming Doubts and Technical Hurdles (14:28)
Doug Glenn: Dave, I assume you were involved with this process from the beginning.
Dave Dillon: Yes, I was involved quite a bit.
Doug Glenn: Were there any major potholes that occurred where you had to change a flat tire after you hit it?
Dave Dillon: The biggest issue initially was how new the process was to us, which felt overwhelming — we didn’t know what to expect. As such, we had self-doubt. When we overcame that and started getting into the nuts and bolts of the process, the biggest challenge was reviewing our existing requirements from customers and our controlling standards, ensuringthey met the Nadcap requirements. If they didn’t, we had to bring them up to that standard.
Heat Treat Radio Episode #122 Andrew Chan, Kelly Peters, and David Dillon sharing their Nadcap experience
Doug Glenn: What was the most intimidating piece of the process or that stood out as a really difficult step?
Kelly Peters: From my perspective, this goes right back to what Andrew said at the beginning of our discussion where there was a time when you didn’t believe you could get this accreditation for these ModulTherm systems. Because we were so ingrained in that thought process — that this was going to be such a hard, difficult challenge to get through — that we had to break through the barrier and realize that most of the challenge is in you, not so much in the system.The specifications are out there. Your job is to follow them. Your job is to implement them. It can be done.
Dave Dillon: The biggest challenge for me was all the pyrometry requirements from AMS2750. We were doing it all on the fly, and we didn’t hire any additional staffing, so it was very challenging at first. Then eventually we determined that we needed to have our own pyrometry technician to make sure the testing was completed within the time allotted.
Doug Glenn: When we discussed this before, you mentioned that you guys had engaged C3 Data to help you along the process. Can you tell us about that?
Dave Dillon: Our pyrometry technician is an internal guy, but we started out by doing everything by hand — all of the paperwork, documentation, etc. Someone had recommended C3 Data to us, and after we reviewed their software, we realized it was a perfect process for us. The software allows us to eliminate human error. It gives you automatic checks, and then it provides a digital record for the auditors — great software.
Doug Glenn: Kelly, what was your experience with C3 Data?
Kelly Peters: Dave is definitely the one taking care of the groundwork, so I don’t have personal experience with C3 Data. However, I did notice that our internal findings were less driven by human error, as Dave was saying, because we were no longer using manual Excel spreadsheets and so didn’t have the ability to accidentally hit the wrong number. The data became more reliable.
Doug Glenn: When it finally came time to do the actual PRI audit, how intimidating was that and how did it go?
Dave Dillon: To be honest, it was terrifying. We were all nervous becauseit was allso new to us — it seemed very overwhelming. But the auditors, to their credit, are very good, and they help you through it. The most surprising part of the audit was that we were able to get accredited on our initial audit.
Doug Glenn: I also understand you earned Nadcap merit. Can you tell us what that is?
Kelly Peters: A unique aspect of the Nadcap accreditation is that once a company meets a certain criteria, that company can enter a merit program, which means you can go up to 24 months between your audits. Currently,Port Huron is at our 18-month mark, and that happened just after our last audit, so we’re very proud of that.
Lessons Learned and Ongoing Improvements (19:46)
Doug Glenn: What are some lessons learned from this experience?
“When it comes to lessons learned, ensuring that your new hires and your current staff are continually getting training, which is true with any type of process in manufacturing and business.” Source: Canva Pro
Kelly Peters: When it comes to lessons learned, ensuring that your new hires and your current staff are continually getting training, which is true with any type of process in manufacturing and business. For pyrometry, we need to make sure we have a contingency. Dave knows it all, but if Dave wins the lottery tomorrow, we need someone to be able to step in and take over that process. Therefore, continual improvement, training, and reinforcing are critical because it’s all about maintaining a system, just like any other system that you have in place. I certainly would say that is not necessarily a challenge, but something to keep an eye on.
Doug Glenn: Andrew, were you involved with the Nadcap approval process on the equipment side?
Andrew Chan: I was not involved with the process for their specific equipment at Port Huron. However, from an equipment supplier perspective, it’s been challenging to help people understand that it’s possible to certify this equipment in the first place.
We’re starting to see more interest in this now. Since we have this long history with our specific design, it doesn’t require many changes to make the equipment Nadcap certified. We have a comprehensive control system that does everything automatically, including data recording and being able to interrogate the data historically. With a couple tweaks to the equipment, like making sure the gas is dry and clean, and adjustments on the pyrometry side, it’s possible to be certification-ready. You just have to find someone that’s willing to take the equipment and go through the process that the equipment at Port Huron went through.
Uses of Multi-Cell Furnaces (22:34)
Doug Glenn: What would the ideal company profile be that could benefit from knowing about this certification and having this equipment?
Andrew Chan: This is dependent upon the parts that a company is producing. The ModulTherm is geared more towards larger pieces. The SyncroTherm is more of a competitive product and we have seen it used for aerospace before. The SyncroTherm is probably the right solution for most of our customers looking to get into this process.
The ModulTherm is for high throughput, component heat treating.The automotive industry was one of the first industries to adopt it. In a way, they are more advanced than the aerospace industry, as they were able to adopt multi-cellular heat treatment into their industry.This is one of innovations that the aerospace industry is catching up on.
We haven’tquite seen the demand on the ModulTherm side yet, but the SyncroTherm is probably the right furnace — something small that heat treats aerospace components with a small footprint and a very rapid turnaround time.
Doug Glenn: Well, that’s great guys. Thanks very much. Kelly, Andrew, Dave, thanks for being with us. Hopefully it’s going to be helpful to some of our listeners, so appreciate you being here.
About the Guests
Andrew Chan sales and applications engineer ALD Vacuum Technologies North America Inc
Andrew Chan has a background in Materials Science & Engineering and has been with ALD Vacuum Technologies North America Inc since 2020. Andrew supports ALD’s vacuum heat treatment customers to specify new equipment builds and heat treatment process troubleshooting. In addition, Andrew is responsible for EB-PVD technologies and assists with the vacuum metallurgy portfolio.
Kelly Peters vice president of operations ALD Thermal Treatment Inc
Kelly Peters has been with ALD Thermal Treatment Inc since 2007, throughout her career at ALD she has held different job responsibilities primarily within R&D and Quality. Kelly Peters is a Heat TreatToday40 under 40 Class of 2020 nominee.
David Dillon maintenance manager ALD Thermal Treatment Inc.
David Dillon has been with ALD Thermal Treatment Incsince 2006, working on equipment installations and maintenance locally in Port Huon. Dave now not only manages local maintenance activities but assists the parent company in equipment installations and services when needed
In today’s News from Abroad installment, we highlight processing and initiatives that aim to improve operations and improve sustainability. Read more about a method used in the production of parts with complex geometries; a venture to create the world’s first fossil-free, ore-based steel with renewable electricity and green hydrogen; and a production plant that will generate around 9,000 tons of green hydrogen a year to be used for the production of carbon-reduced steel.
Heat TreatTodaypartners with two international publications to deliver the latest news, tech tips, and cutting-edge articles that will serve our audience – manufacturers with in-house heat treat. Furnaces International, a Quartz Business Media publication, primarily serves the English-speaking globe, and heat-processing, a Vulkan-Verlag GmbH publication, serves mostly the European and Asian heat treat markets.
Press Hardening Prevents Part Deformation
Press hardening neccessary due to part deformation during the rapid cooling phase induced by quenching
Source: Thermi-Lyon
“Press hardening serves a very specific purpose: to prevent part deformation during the rapid cooling phase induced by quenching. This process improves the performance of steels by giving them a martensitic structure without the need for reworking. Designed for high volume production of parts with complex geometries, press hardening is both highly effective and economical….
This process was initially developed for automotive manufacturers, to process large series of parts with complex geometries. In fact, this method is perfectly suited to the processing of large numbers of parts on a production line: since the cooling cycle is automatically programmed, it can be repeated ad infinitum. What’s more, the circulation of quenching fluid around the part held in the press results in uniform, controlled cooling that can easily be reproduced many times over.”
An electricity-based process gas heater for the hydrogen-based direct reduction process developed by HYBRIT (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology)
Source: Kanthal
“Launched in 2016 as a joint venture owned by SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall, with support from the Swedish Energy Agency, HYBRIT aims to create the world’s first fossil-free, ore-based steel with renewable electricity and green hydrogen.
This involves shifting from coal-powered blast furnaces that use coal as a reduction medium to a direct reduction process using hydrogen produced via renewable energy. The first HYBRIT pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden, began operations in 2020, with commercial-scale production targeted by 2027.
Kanthal is proud to have contributed to HYBRIT’s groundbreaking journey by developing an electricity-based process gas heater for the hydrogen-based direct reduction process under the name Prothal®. This project showcased the feasibility of fossil-free industrial heating solutions and laid the groundwork for scaling up these technologies to meet the steel industry’s future needs.”
Largest Green Hydrogen Production Facility Underway
From left: Andrea Prevedello, Global Director Project Management of Green Hydrogen, at ANDRITZ; Walther Hartl, Project Manager of Electrolysis, at ANDRITZ; Sami Pelkonen, Executive Vice President of Green Hydrogen, at ANDRITZ; Gerd Baresch, Managing Director of the Technical Division, SZFG; Thorsten Hinrichs, Head of Pipeline Infrastructure, SZFG
Source: Andritz Group
“On February 12, 2025, the cornerstone was laid for one of the largest production plants for green hydrogen in the whole of Europe.
[Beginning in] 2026, the plant will generate around 9,000 tons of green hydrogen a year to be used for the production of carbon-reduced steel. This will mark the start of the industrial use of hydrogen in SALCOS®-Salzgitter low CO2 steelmaking. SALCOS® is aiming for virtually carbon-free steel production. The 100 MW electrolysis plant will be supplied on an EPC basis by the international technology company ANDRITZ, using the pressurized alkaline electrolysis technology of HydrogenPro.”
A commercial heat treating company recently added new furnaces and process improvements to its operations in order to serve manufacturers in advanced industries, including aerospace and defense. The improvements include a high-temperature oxidation furnace, a fully rebuilt furnace, and the expansion of marquenching capabilities.
Phoenix Heat Treating, based in Phoenix, AZ, has introduced a high-temperature oxidation furnace specifically designed for space components. This equipment has a maximum operating temperature of 1975oF and operates in an air atmosphere, providing the thermal stability and precision needed for the demands of aerospace applications and to serve the evolving needs of the space industry.
A fully rebuilt furnace has been reactivated in the company’s production lineup. This furnace is tailored for processing primary long Inconel 718 and A286 age cycles. With a maximum weight capacity of 2000 lbs., it handles heavy and complex loads with a goal of ensuring consistent and reliable results for critical nickel-based alloy applications and improving efficiency and capacity by increasing the number of Inconel 718 cycles per week.
Marquenching operations are also seeing an upgrade as materials have been ordered to increase load sizes from 25 lbs. per load to 250 lbs. per load. Expected to be complete by mid-February, this enhancement represents a tenfold increase in capacity, allowing Phoenix Heat Treating to achieve faster turnaround times and larger batch processing capabilities.
Additionally, a state-of-the-art freeze/temper unit has been brought online. This equipment is capable of reaching temperatures between -270oF and 200oF and will be a part of the company’s aluminum thermal cycling processes, enabling precise control over temperature profiles for optimal material performance. The new unit’s capacity is roughly double that of the previous maximum reached and will allow Phoenix to handle significantly larger loads and meet growing customer demand.
The press release is available in its original form here.
Two different specialty automotive components manufacturers have expanded their heat treating processing lines in order to meet the growing needs of their clients. The new furnace equipment will replace existing systems and bolster oil quench hardening and salt quench austempering capabilities.
CAN-ENG Furnaces International Ltd, based in Niagara Falls, ON, Canada, will supply mesh belt furnace systems, oil quench and salt quench systems, post quench wash systems, CAN-ENG PET™ SCADA system, and integrated controls. The automotive parts manufacturers chose designs that provide low energy consumption, reduced part mixing, reduce part damage and part distortion potential, and high uptime productivity.
The press release is available in its original form here.
An electrically heated drop bottom furnace with a traveling quench tank and a maintenance platform has been shipped to an aerospace company for the solution heat treatmentMike Grande Vice President of Sales Wisconsin Oven Corporation Source: Wisconsin Oven Corporationof aluminum parts.
Wisconsin Oven designed the drop bottom furnace with sufficient capacity to heat 600 pounds of aluminum per load and provide a quench delay that does not exceed 5 seconds. The system also includes a slow drop speed program to be used for heating applications that do not require a quench.
“This drop bottom furnace was designed with a 5 second quench delay, and a temperature uniformity of +/- 5°F at the set points 850°F and 1,100°F. In addition, the system was tested to be in compliance with AMS2750F, Class 1 furnaces and instrumentation Type C prior to shipment from our manufacturing facility,” said Mike Grande, vice president of sales at Wisconsin Oven.
The press release is available in its original form here.
Mike Moyer Vice President of Sales, Solar Atmospheres, Eastern PA
Solar Atmospheres of Souderton PA commissioned a new vacuum furnace capable of utilizing high pressure gas quenching (HPGQ) at 20-Bar (about 300 PSI) to meet demanding cooling rate specifications for the heat treatment of nickel-based superalloys in the aerospace and power generation industries.
The vacuum furnace, manufactured by sister company Solar Manufacturing, has a working hot zone of 24” x 24” x 72” and utilizes unique hot zone design features to increase the quench rate. The furnace is rated for operation to 2400°F and temperature uniformity plus/minus 10°F.
Mike Moyer, vice president of Sales at Solar Atmospheres comments, “The furnace utilizes a 600-HP cooling motor and fan with a creative gas nozzle design to maximize gas flow as it moves through the hot zone and the heat exchanger and back across the workload.”
The full press release from Solar Atmospheres is available upon request.
Effective November 30, 2023, Joe A. Powell has sold his remaining shares in Akron Steel Treating Company, his family’s commercial heat treating business for over 80 years in Akron, Ohio, USA, to a fourth generation of new “family” ownership.
The team at AST will continue to deliver ISO and Nadcap aerospace heat treating and related metallurgical services to part making customers.
Joe A. Powell, AST’s Chairman of the Board, will remain active in the heat treating and metallurgical services community as president ofIntegrated Heat Treating Solutions, LLC. (IHTS). IHTS is a “heat transfer” consulting company for product development teams to enable more sustainable heat treating equipment and practices to be integrated into their new product designs. IHTS and its team of part making consultants enable their part making clients to deliver more “total added value” from heat treating and forging per BTU expended in making their products for their end users; including the design of the associated heating and quench cooling equipment for "leaner + greener, more sustainable, manufacturing" and for greater recyclability of metal alloys.
Pictured in the image above: AST’s new shareholder team, and Joe A. Powell, Chairman of the Board, are pictured from left to right: Matt Moldvay, President; Steve Powell, Vice President of Quality, Christina Powell Somogye, Vice President of Administration; Joe A. Powell, Chairman; and Joe N. Powell, Vice President of Sales. (Source: AST)
A precision heat treatment company Vacu Braze recently partnered with a U.S. furnace manufacturer to procure new equipment to expand its processing capabilities.
The TM8 is the first high-pressure gas quenching furnace to be installed in Vacu Braze’s clean processing room. This high-purity furnace from TM Vacuum Productsexpands the heat treater’s high-pressure gas quenching capacity for large and small jobs, while offering increased processing cleanliness.
The TM8 is equipped with a molybdenum all-metal hot zone and a cryogenic pump capable of helping the furnace reach the 10-7 vacuum scale. With a qualified work zone of 12” x 12” x 24”, small batches of parts made from a wider array of materials can be processed more quickly than with traditional atmospheric methods.
The new furnace is fully compliant with AMS 2750 class 2 pyrometry and fit for processing critical parts for aerospace applications. As clean processing capabilities expand, Vacu Braze is proud to provide innovative solutions to industries requiring precision, purity, and cleanliness from their heat treatment provider.
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A precision heat treatment company Vacu Braze recently partnered with a U.S. furnace manufacturer to procure new equipment to expand its processing capabilities.