Spectrum Thermal Processing

Reader Feedback: The Effectiveness of Furnaces

/ AEROSPACE HEAT TREAT, ENERGY HEAT TREAT, READER FEEDBACK, VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

Here is what readers are saying about recent posts on Heat Treat Today. Submit your comments to editor@heattreattoday.com.

Hello Heat Treat Daily,

I was surprised to see this bright red furnace on your daily email this past Friday. This is an old image of a furnace still in production at my company Spectrum Thermal Processing in Cranston, RI.

Now, like most of us, this furnace is showing some age, but is is still in production every day with an upgraded control panel and SSI controls.

I reflected on this particular email and want to add that what I find intriguing about heat treat is the longevity of some of the equipment. This furnace processes work for aerospace, automotive, commercial cutting tools and oil and gas refinery and has for nearly 30 years! Just to the left of this furnace in the photo is an older single chamber vacuum furnace that has process parts for the Apollo space program and has recently processed parts for SpaceX. Somehow this equipment just keeps going.

Thanks for your daily insight into the heat treating industry.

Rick Houghton
VP of Operations/Quality Manager
Spectrum Thermal Processing

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Spectrum Thermal Processing Retrofits with Super System, Inc.

/ FEATURED NEWS, HEAT TREAT NEWS INDUSTRIES

Spectrum Thermal Processing of Cranston, RI continues to update their “State-Of-The-Art Heat Treat” with Super Systems Inc (SSI) control technology.   Building on the technology path and a partnership with SSI, Spectrum recently retrofitted SSI’s Series 9220 Vacuum Controller on a CI Hayes Vacuum Oil Quench furnace.

The new controls provide an easy-to-operate interface that reduces operator error while providing the most sophisticated furnace cycles with complete process traceability.  The standard vacuum retrofit package from SSI includes recipe control, digital data recording, remote configuration/recipe building, touch screen interface and electronic connectivity to the existing SuperDATA SCADA package.

“The vacuum oil quench furnaces are an important part of our operation,” said Richard Houghton  of Spectrum. “SSi has been great to work with as we upgrade our equipment.  Our focus is delivering quality and repeatability throughout all our processes, and maintaining the latest controls and data acquisition technology provides the foundation for making that happen. This is the ninth furnace that we have upgraded using SSi controls, which has vastly improved our ability to automatically control all parameters of the process.”

For the last decade, Super Systems Inc., based in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been developing and manufacturing products for the thermal processing industry. SSi’s products include probes, analyzers, controllers, software solutions and engineered systems. With over 100 years of combined experience, SSi continues to satisfy industry demands with innovative technology, enabling customers to be more efficient and to produce higher quality products.

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