TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS Archives

Large Vacuum Furnace Supports Aerospace Titanium Heat Treatment

A large high-vacuum furnace has been ordered for the heat treatment of titanium alloys used in aerospace applications. Designed for loads approaching 10,000 pounds, the system will provide a carbon-free processing environment and controlled thermal conditions for large aerospace components.

Aichelin ST Vacuum GmbH, a joint venture of the Aichelin Group and Sistem Teknik, will supply the furnace to an international aerospace company. The system will feature a usable work zone measuring 1,500 x 5,000 x 1,500 mm (59 x 197 x 59 inches) and accommodate loads up to 4,500 kg (9.921 lb).

The furnace will operate at temperatures up to 2282°F (1250°C) and achieve vacuum levels in the 10⁻⁶ mbar range. A molybdenum and stainless steel insulation and heating system will provide the carbon-free environment required for processing titanium alloys. The system will also provide quenching pressures up to 1.49 bar and is designed to meet AMS2750 requirements.

Aichelin ST Vacuum develops and manufactures vacuum heat treatment systems for applications including aerospace, energy, automotive, medical, and commercial heat treating. The broader Aichelin Group also has a North American vacuum heat treatment presence through U.S.-based GM Enterprises, which develops and manufactures vacuum furnace and coating systems with a particular focus on aerospace, medical, additive manufacturing, and industrial applications.

The Group’s North American operations also include AFC-Holcroft in Wixom, Michigan, which is responsible for industrial furnace systems and thermal processing solutions in the Americas.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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Titanium Processing Capacity Expands with New Water Quench Furnace

October 16, 2026 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, ATMOSPHERE AIR FURNACES NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA is commissioning a new water quench furnace designed to solution anneal large titanium components, adding capacity for rapid quenching of workloads serving aerospace, defense, medical, and other critical applications. The system is expected to enter production in November 2026.

The furnace, manufactured by Heat Treat Equipment Inc. of Canton, Michigan, is being installed at Solar Atmospheres’ Hermitage, Pennsylvania, facility. The system is designed to process titanium components weighing up to 7,500 pounds while maintaining temperature uniformity within ±5°F (±2.8°C) and achieving water quenching within seven seconds.

The furnace measures 14 feet long by 54 inches wide by 48 inches high and is positioned directly above an 11,000-gallon, multidirectional, highly agitated water quench tank. The configuration is designed to minimize transfer time between the furnace and quench tank to meet aerospace requirements for rapid quenching of titanium components. A closed-loop cooling system maintains the water quenchant at a temperature not exceeding 100°F (37.8°C).

RObert (Bob) Hill PresidentSolar Atmospheres Michigan Source: Solar Atmospheres — Robert (Bob) Hill
President
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA

The system will allow Solar Atmospheres to thermocouple the actual workload for monitoring and control throughout the heat treatment process. An in-process camera will also monitor workloads while they are heated above critical beta transus temperatures.

“This equipment finally gives us the opportunity to solution anneal critical titanium alloys that our titanium [clients] have continuously asked for over the years,” said Bob Hill, president of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA.

Once operational, the furnace will add large-component titanium solution annealing and water quenching capabilities to the company’s existing vacuum and air heat treatment services.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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Vacuum Furnace Expands Titanium Castings Capacity

September 25, 2026 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

A British foundry technology center is adding a large-scale vacuum furnace to expand its annealing capabilities for oversized titanium castings used in the aerospace and energy sectors. The system will increase capacity for large components requiring high process cleanliness and uniform temperature distribution while relieving existing heat treatment equipment at the facility.

SECO/WARWICK, a global manufacturer of industrial heat treatment equipment with operations in North America, will supply its Vector vacuum furnace with a work zone measuring 1,600 x 1,500 x 2,000 mm (63 x 59 x 79 in). The furnace is designed to accommodate oversized parts and new types of castings being developed by the client.

The system features a round heating chamber with additional heating elements installed in the door and rear wall to support temperature uniformity. It also includes gas cooling up to 6 bar and a high-vacuum system consisting of two mechanical pumps, a Roots blower, and a diffusion pump.

Grzegorz Głuchowski
Sales Manager
SECO/WARWICK

“The system was designed for heat treating large, demanding cast components. A key advantage of the furnace is its spacious work zone and very good temperature distribution in the heating chamber — achieved in part thanks to additional heating elements installed in the door and the rear wall of the chamber,” said Grzegorz Głuchowski, sales manager at SECO/WARWICK.

The furnace also incorporates dew point control to prevent water vapor condensation and a partial pressure system designed to limit the evaporation of alloying elements during vacuum processing. These features support process stability and help protect hot zone components from contamination.

The equipment will be used for processing large titanium castings, which require high process cleanliness because titanium can react oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen at elevated temperatures. Vacuum heat treatment helps prevent surface oxidation and material degradation during processes such as annealing.

The new system will be the second furnace supplied by SECO/WARWICK to the British company, which develops material technologies and produces castings for the aerospace, energy, and heavy industry sectors. The additional furnace will increase its production capabilities for advanced metal castings.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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Vacuum Arc Remelting Supports Aerospace Casting

July 10, 2026 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, FOUNDRY CASTING NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

A titanium casting manufacturer is expanding its vacuum melting capacity with the installation of a vacuum arc remelting consumable casting furnace, increasing capacity for near-net-shape titanium components serving the aerospace industry. The investment is intended to improve production lead times while supporting growing demand for titanium castings used in high-performance applications.

Castings Technology chooses Retech VAR. | Image Credit: SECO/WARWICK Group

Castings Technology, the United Kingdom’s only commercial titanium casting specialist, selected a VAR Consumable Caster (VAR-CC) furnace from Retech, a global vacuum metallurgy company within the SECO/WARWICK Group based in North America. The furnace will be installed at the company’s new 18,000-square-meter facility, where it will be used to cast titanium ingots into ceramic molds.

Richard Cook
Managing Director
Castings Technology

“The delivery of the new VAR furnace will help us fulfill the growing needs of our exacting client base,” said Richard Cook, managing director of Castings Technology. “Due to dynamic growth and significant constraints within our current facility, we are in the process of relocating to a new site of about 18,000 square meter just a short distance away. The relocation is on plan, with a period of parallel operation continuing throughout 2026 to fully mitigate any risk to our clients’ programs.”

The new furnace is expected to support increased demand for titanium, especially from the aerospace sector, where backlogs have now surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Titanium’s high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance have made it a widely used material across many sectors, including aerospace, motorsport, medical prosthetics, restorative dentistry, and high-duty rotating equipment. Near-net-shape titanium casting also provides mechanical properties comparable to forged or wrought material while increasing fatigue resistance.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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Defense Funding Backs US Titanium Production

July 6, 2026 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS

Federal funding will support expanded domestic production of titanium plate and large-format titanium components for defense applications, helping strengthen U.S. manufacturing capacity for mission-critical materials. The initiative supports efforts to scale advanced titanium processing technologies that reduce reliance on conventional production routes while increasing supply chain resilience for aerospace, defense, and other strategic industries.

IperionX, an American titanium metal and critical materials company, has been awarded up to $6.8 million through the U.S. Department of War’s Office of the Secretary of War-Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base (OSW-SWIB) program to expand manufacturing capabilities at its Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia. The award is part of a broader, multi-organization effort to increase domestic production of high-performance titanium alloy products, including ballistic-grade titanium plate for land and maritime defense platforms.

The project will be completed in two phases. An initial $200,000 will fund project scoping and testing. Pending successful completion of Phase 1, IperionX expects to receive an additional $6.4 million to expand the manufacturing capacity and purchase capital equipment for its Virginia facility.

Conventional titanium plate production involves multiple thermal and metallurgical processing steps, including sponge production, vacuum melting and remelting, ingot or slab casting, breakdown forging, hot rolling, repeated annealing, and final surface conditioning. These processes contribute to long production lead times, high capital and energy requirements, and material yield losses.

IperionX’s patented titanium technologies are designed to simplify and shorten this production route. Its proprietary HAMR™ process can produce low-cost titanium powder from titanium materials or recycled titanium while its HSPT™ and THRM™ technologies processes hydrogen-enabled thermodynamics and powder metallurgy processing to deliver high-performance, wrought-like titanium properties without reliance on conventional melt-remelt-forge pathway.

Anastasios (Taso) Arima
CEO
IperionX
Source: IperionX

Together, these technologies support IperionX’s powder-to-plate titanium manufacturing platform, which aims to reduce process steps, improve material utilization, lower energy consumption, and strengthen domestic supply-chain resilience. “By combining lower-cost titanium feedstocks with our patented HAMR™, HSPT™ and THRM™ technologies, we are developing a more efficient domestic manufacturing platform for high-performance titanium plate and components,” said Taso Arima, CEO of IperionX.

The project is a systematic metallurgical study to demonstrate how THRM/HSPT microstructural engineering can be used to achieve ballistic performance. It complements separately DoW-funded IperionX programs for powder-to-plate production. Together, these DoW-funded activities provide an alternative pathway that has the potential to reduce the U.S. dependency on imported titanium sponge.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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12-Foot Vacuum Furnace Expands Titanium Processing Capacity

June 3, 2026 / MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

Solar Atmospheres, a North American commercial heat treating company, has expanded its vacuum heat treating and titanium processing capabilities with the commissioning of a new vacuum furnace designed for hydriding and dehydriding (HDH) of titanium as well as a range of thermal processing applications. The addition is expected to increase capacity for titanium processing and vacuum heat treating operations, including annealing, stress relieving, solution treating, and aging.

The company recently commissioned the a new 12-foot horizontal vacuum furnace at its Eastern Pennsylvania facility. The furnace was designed primarily for HDH processing of titanium but can also perform the vacuum heat treating processed commonly used throughout the company’s client base.

The furnace features a 54″ x 54″ in x 144″ in working zone and is equipped with a 15,000-pound conventional load car arrangement. Additional features include a 300 HP external forced cooling system with variable frequency drive (VFD) control, Solar Manufacturing‘s Polaris control system, and dual mechanical pumping systems.

Michael A. Moyer
Vice President of Sales
Solar Atmospheres

“This new furnace adds much-needed capacity to support growing HDH demands,” said Mike Moyer, vice president of sales at Solar Atmospheres. “With dual mechanical pumping systems, we are able to more efficiently process larger degas loads and improve our delivery metrics.”

Moyer added that the furnace is also equipped to support the company’s existing vacuum heat treating operations. “From annealing and stress relieving to solution treating and aging, the new furnace adds considerable capacity to meet [clients’] growing demands.”

Press release is available in its original form here.

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Powder Metallurgy Press Strengthens Titanium Component Production

June 1, 2026 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS

IperionX has commissioned new powder metallurgy equipment to expand U.S. titanium component manufacturing capacity, supporting the production of near-net-shape parts for defense, aerospace, and industrial applications. The technology forms titanium preforms that can be sintered and forged into finished components, increasing production flexibility and supporting high-volume manufacturing pathways.

The company announced the commissioning of a 300-ton, six-axis SACMI powder metallurgy press at its Titanium Manufacturing Campus in South Boston, Virginia. The press triples IperionX’s existing powder metallurgy capacity and expands the range of titanium components that can be manufactured domestically using its powder metallurgy technologies.

SACMI powder press at IperionX’s titanium manufacturing campus, Virginia, and examples of complex parts that can be produced by powder metallurgy using IperionX titanium metal powder. | Image Credit: IperionX

The SACMI press provides higher compaction force, multi-axis movement, improved repeatability, and enhanced geometry control compared with conventional uniaxial pressing systems. These capabilities are intended to support programs requiring more complex component designs, tighter process control, and higher-volume production.

The press utilizes titanium powder produced through IperionX’s HAMR^TM titanium process and forms neat-net-shape titanium preforms that can then be sintered and forged using the company’s HSPT^TM process. Components targeted by the manufacturing platform include fasteners, gears, brackets, actuators, and other titanium parts used in defense, aerospace, industrial markets.

The six-axis press is capable of up to 24 pressing cycles per minute, equivalent to approximately 11 milion single-cavity parts annually under operation assumptions. The system is also designed to integrate with additional HSPT furnace capacity expected to arrive in June to support customer qualification, low-rate initial production, and the continued scale-up of titanium component manufacturing.

“Titanium is a critical material, but its use has often been limited by cost and supply chain challenges. By combining our U.S.-sourced titanium powder, patented HAMR^TM process, powder metallurgy pressing, and HSPT^TM sintering and forging, IperionX is building a more scalable platform for domestic titanium manufacturing,” said Anastasios (Taso) Arima, CEO of IperionX.

Press release is available in its original form here. For additional context, watch a short video from IperionX discussing the newly commissioned powder metallurgy press and its planned role in scaling titanium component production embedded above.

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Heat Treating Supports Aerospace Components for Artemis II Mission

April 8, 2026 / AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS

Solar Atmospheres has provided thermal processing services for materials and components used in the Artemis II mission, supporting aerospace applications that require precise control of material properties and performance under extreme conditions.

The heat treater specializes in thermal processing of a range of materials, including raw stock, nickel-based tubing, and other aerospace components that play a vital role in bringing next-generation space technology to life.

Click on the image above to learn more about high-temperature materials used in space applications.

At the core of some of these components is the 6AI-4V titanium Launch Abort System (LAS), which is a complex safety system. The LAS aboard the Orion spacecraft functions as a rocket capable of outrunning another rocket in an emergency. In the event of a catastrophic launch anomaly, its manifold enables the abort motor to ignite and safely propel the crew module away from the rocket.

Components used in these applications must meet strict requirements for precision and reliability, with little margin for error in performance.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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IperionX To Produce Titanium Components for Military Vehicles

January 29, 2026 / MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS

IperionX has received a prototype order for lightweight titanium components intended for U.S. Army heavy ground combat systems. The order directly supports U.S. Government priorities to reshore and secure critical materials supply chains, reduce reliance on foreign titanium sources, and expand domestic manufacturing capacity using recycled feedstock.

The prototype order from American Rheinmetall calls for approximately 700 components, with a potential to lead to a significantly larger agreement upon successful delivery of this initial scope of work. IperionX will manufacture the parts in the U.S. using 100 percent recycled titanium through its patented HAMR™ (Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction) and HSPT™ (Hydrogen Sintering and Phase Transformation) technologies. These technologies enable the domestic production of high-performance titanium components at materially lower cost relative to conventional titanium production routes.

Replacing steel with titanium is expected to reduce component weight by roughly 40–45 percent, improving vehicle mobility and operational performance.

“This purchase order demonstrates the practical application of IperionX’s recycled titanium technologies on important U.S. ground combat platforms. As the only domestic producer of commercial primary titanium, IperionX is uniquely positioned to support domestic defense priorities with secure, low-carbon, and cost-competitive titanium products manufactured in the United States,” says Anastasios (Taso) Arima, CEO of IperionX.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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Accelerated Titanium Component Production Targets Naval Shipbuilding Bottlenecks

December 17, 2025 / FOUNDRY CASTING NEWS, MANUFACTURING HEAT TREAT NEWS, SINTERING POWDER METAL NEWS, TITANIUM PROCESSING NEWS

IperionX continues to advance domestic titanium manufacturing and thermal processing capabilities in a recent commitment to reduce long lead times for critical pump components used for naval shipbuilding. This addresses supply chain constraints that have slowed ship construction and maintenance. By shortening production timelines, the initiative supports improved fleet readiness while reinforcing domestic manufacturing capacity for mission-critical naval systems.

The effort is being demonstrated through a project with Carver Pump Company, a U.S.-based manufacturer of mission-critical pumps for naval applications. Carver Pump has placed an initial purchase order with IperionX for prototype titanium components. Leveraging domestically produced titanium metal powder and integrated in-house manufacturing, the project will focus on producing and testing cost-competitive replacements for traditionally cast pump components.

Titanium components are essential in naval pump systems due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance, and ability to withstand extreme marine environments. However, traditionally cast titanium parts often face supply chain bottlenecks, with lead times exceeding 12 months, contributing to equipment and vessel downtime.

IperionX’s approach is designed to deliver step-change improvements in production efficiency. Each titanium component is expected to be produced in less than one week using the company’s low-cost domestically produced titanium metal powder and advanced manufacturing capabilities, significantly reducing reliance on conventional casting routes.

“Transitioning from lead times measured in years to timelines measured in days allows us to better support on-time naval shipbuilding and sustainment, directly enhancing fleet readiness,” said Anastasios (Taso) Arima, CEO of IperionX.

The purchase order covers the development of four prototype pump impellers, with manufacturing anticipated to be complete in May 2026. Successful completion of the prototyping and testing phase could lead to larger-scale production agreements supporting additional naval components.

Press release is available in its original form here.

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