On Saturday, July 20, a new vacuum furnace, donated by the Solar Atmospheres, Inc. companies, was dedicated in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at ASM headquarters in Materials Park, OH. This lab-sized furnace was designed and built by Solar Manufacturing for use in ASM’s Teaching Lab and is named “The Mentor.” This $250,000 gift was made by Solar in commemoration of ASM International’s 100th anniversary.

Roger Jones, corporate president of Solar Atmospheres and several other company representatives attended the celebration which was a part of ASM’s Annual Chapter Leadership Days and the ASM Materials Education Foundation’s Eisenman Materials Camp. Thomas Passek, managing director of ASM presented a plaque to Solar and stated, “ASM is indebted to the Solar Atmospheres family for your generosity in helping us advance the ‘life- long learning’ of young people and materials professionals. It is these types of partnerships that will help us fulfill our mission and insure that there is a sustainable and qualified workforce moving forward.”

As part of the 2013 Materials Camp, attending students were excited to have the honor of being the first people to work with “The Mentor” which they used to learn about failure analysis.  They expressed their appreciation in a thank you letter with comments that included, “Your contribution to the materials camp made a significant impact on my amazing experience here. Without your donation, it would not have been the same. Thank you.” and “…thank you for investing in the future of science and in today’s youth.”

Jones states, “This was certainly an exciting time for me. Seeing the furnace installed, all the fantastic comments from ASM and staff, and the comments by the students, was breathtaking. It will certainly be an honor as I become President of the ASM Heat Treating Society in September, and have the opportunity to celebrate ASM International’s 100th Anniversary with you.”

“The Mentor” is a horizontal, internal quenching furnace with a hot zone that measures 12” wide x 12” high x 18” deep and is capable of operation to 2400oF. The hearth will accept a load of 250 pounds. Featuring state-of-the-art vacuum furnace technology, this furnace will allow students to perform a wide variety of tests and experiments relating to vacuum heat treating, brazing and sintering processes. It will also give them a hands-on understanding of the value and advantages of using vacuum over other heat treating equipment