An international manufacturer has commissioned a vacuum oil quench furnace. The batch system, with isolated graphite heating chamber, is capable of processing 12” wide by 12” high by 36” long loads weighing up to 500 pounds, and is rated to 3000°F.
The supplier, Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems, notes that the modular furnace design will give the customer the capability of utilizing the 2 BAR gas quench in the heating chamber, or transferring through internal doors to the oil quench module.
A recent strategic partnership between a North American commercial heat treater and a hot isostatic pressing service provider will open up more immediate options for heat treating customers.
(Source: Solar Atmospheres, CA)
Solar Atmospheres of California, providing vacuum heat treating services, and Kittyhawk, offering hot isostatic pressing (HIP) services for the aerospace, commercial, military, medical, automotive, firearms and oil and gas industries, will partner to offer heat treating and hot isostatic pressing services.
Brandon Creason President Kittyhawk
“This partnership,” says Brandon Creason, president of Kittyhawk, “allows the customer to take advantage of hot isostatic pressing and heat treat without having to look further. I am very excited about the future, and more importantly, providing our customers with two of the best options in the service industry.”
Derek Dennis President Solar Atmospheres California
Derek Dennis, president of Solar Atmospheres of California, adds, “In response to the needs and requirements of our valued customers, Solar Atmosphere is delighted to partner with a high caliber organization like Kittyhawk to provide hot isostatic pressing services.”
(photo source: National Cancer Institute at unsplash.com)(photo source: NASA at unsplash.com)
One of the leading global power, aviation and renewable energy providers has selected a vacuum furnace hot zone replacement. The replacement and modernization of this hot zone is to be updated in a 20+ year old furnace. Once the furnace is updated, it will be installed at the client's facility in Hungary, Europe.
The supplier, SECO/WARWICK, replaced the hot zone of a horizontal vacuum furnace so that it could be integrated with the new, technologically advanced materials in the industry.
An aerospace and medical part manufacturer in Southeast USA recently purchased 5 vacuum furnaces. They will be used primarily to sinter and stress relieve stainless steel components.
Dan Insogna Southeast Regional Sales Manager Solar Manufacturing (photo source: solarmfg.com)
The furnaces were provided by Solar Manufacturing and are part of their Mentor® vacuum furnace series. The model HFL-2018-2IQ furnaces feature a graphite-insulated hot zone, a load weight capacity of up to 250 lbs, and maximum operating temperature of 2400° F.
“Our customer worked directly with our R&D team at our sister company, Solar Atmospheres,” states Dan Insogna, Southeast Regional Sales Manager for SolarManufacturing. “The customer received a line of brand new Mentor® furnaces with their custom recipe preloaded and ready to go.”
A leading, global manufacturer of metal injection molding (MIM) products is bolstering its manufacturing capacity with the addition of two large-size horizontal vacuum furnaces for sintering and debinding MIM products and components. The first of the two furnaces will be delivered this year and the second is scheduled for commissioning in March 2021.
The multimillion-dollar order from the global manufacturer was awarded to G-M Enterprises, a Nitrexcompany. The 2-Bar vacuum sintering furnaces will feature a work area of 36” wide x 30” high x 84” long (900 x 762 x 2100 mm), 4400 lb. weight capacity, a maximum operating temperature of 2600°F (1430°C), and uniformity of +/-10°F (+/-5.5°C).
Vacuum Furnace (Source: Nitrex.com)
Michel Frison, VP Global Sales, Nitrex and G-M Enterprises (Source: Nitrex.com)
Integral to the vacuum system configuration is a multistage debinder trap system designed to thermally extract binder from the parts. Sintering and debinding occur in a single cycle using a robust and unique system design that is optimized to handle the maximum load capacity the furnace is designed for. Consequently, there is never a need to operate below the rated load capacity to achieve the required part quality. The high-temperature sintering process also ensures a high-quality finished part surface in terms of density, porosity, mechanical resistance, and aesthetics.
“This latest order comes from a customer we have had a strong cooperation with," said Michel Frison, VP Global Sales, Nitrex and G-M Enterprise, "and which will be part of a series of multiple furnaces provided by G-M Enterprises over the past decades."
Dan Insogna Southeast Regional Sales Manager Solar Manufacturing (photo source: solarmfg.com)
A Southeast USA heat treater in the defense industry recently acquired a vacuum furnace. It will be used to age harden precipitation hardened stainless steels and beryllium copper.
The Mentor® vacuum furnace is a model HFL-2018-2IQ, built by Solar Manufacturing. It features a graphite-insulated hot zone, a load weight capacity of up to 250 lbs., and a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F.
"We provided a complete turnkey solution," states Dan Insogna, Southeast Regional Sales Manager for Solar Manufacturing. Along with the furnace, the heat treater received "a water system, and the recipes for the heat treat cycles their materials require."
The Mentor® vacuum furnace from Solar Manufacturing (photo source: Solar Manufacturing)
"The global dental 3D printing market is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period... Dental 3D printing is a form of modern dentistry and is considered to be wide-spreading in the dental industry. Dental 3D printing involves creating three dimensional solid dental models such as dentures, surgical guides, dental implants, crown, and bridges." From Market Research Future Report: Dental 3D Printing Market
For this Heat Treat TodayTechnical Tuesday, we are featuring a Best of the Web that highlights cutting edge applications of additive manufacturing (AM). For many in the world of heat treat, AM and 3D are things of the future, oftentimes foreign to the heat treater's processes. What this article reveals is that AM can be utilized in essential and beneficial ways within heat treating.
An excerpt: "...This research and development project managed to optimize the process of making a dental prosthesis using a vacuum furnace. The additive manufacturing allows to create shapes, weights and dimensions customized on different needs and with a precision that has no equal. Strengthened by these peculiarities, the research team worked to further refine and complete the process chain of dental prostheses. Let's see step by step how this process happened."
North American commercial heat treater installs their sixth all-metal hot zone furnace at their Souderton plant in Eastern PA. This is Solar Atmospheres' sixth all-metal hot zone furnace installation, and the fourth for their climate-controlled room.
The furnace is a new Mentor model, built by sister company Solar Manufacturing, has a working zone of 12” x 12” x 18”, and is the first of its kind. The additional furnace increases the heat treater's capacity for processing sensitive materials such as PH stainless, nickel-based superalloys, titanium, and ferritic/austenitic stainless steels, yet focuses on smaller lots and one-off items. The furnace makes it possible to reap the benefits of an all-metal furnace while minimizing the overall cost.
Nine furnaces were shipped to six states in America, Canada, and the United Kingdom this past July from an international supplier of heat treat equipment. This same supplier will be providing five vacuum furnaces to four customers within the aerospace, defense, and commercial heat-treating industries. The products are all uniquely designed to meet the customers' specific heat treating requirements.
The ability for the international supplier, Ipsen USA, to deliver these products reinforces their transition into the Vacuum Center of Excellence within Ipsen.
Ipsen Vacuum Furnace (photo source: ipsenusa.com)
"Ipsen has worked with international operations teams for decades," said Patrick McKenna, president and CEO of Ipsen USA, "shipping equipment from the US to countries all over the world[...] With the identification of Ipsen USA as the Vacuum Center of Excellence, we can continue servicing those companies with the level of quality they expect and deserve."
Super IQ® Gas Carburizing furnace from SECO/WARWICK Group
REX Heat Treat, a commercial heat treater specializing in the aerospace market, has bought and installed a hybrid model -- conventional and vacuum -- furnace system from a European supplier. This technology will allow the company to improve their through-hardening and carburizing capabilities alongside their legacy harden and temper furnaces, while using their existing loader, baskets and washing system.
REX Heat Treat has become the first company to install and commission this hybrid model called Super IQ® Gas Carburizing furnace from SECO/WARWICK Group. Designed to eliminate endogas, the furnace allows clean processing and can even achieve higher temperature carburizing to speed cycles and improve yields in certain steels in a clean and cool manner.
Jonathan Rex, General Manager, Rex Heat Treat (photo source: LinkedIn)
“The technological advances," says Johnathan Rex, general manager at REX Heat Treat, "allow us to run at higher temperatures, vacuum carburize, and clean harden with no decarburizing effects. The fact that our existing systems fit perfectly with this new addition helps to minimize the overall investment and accelerate successful integration. We expect the Super IQ to reduce operating costs, improve safety, and enable more environmentally friendly processing."
An international manufacturer has commissioned a vacuum oil quench furnace. The batch system, with isolated graphite heating chamber, is capable of processing 12” wide by 12” high by 36” long loads weighing up to 500 pounds, and is rated to 3000°F.
