Solar Atmospheres in Souderton, PA, is currently commissioning two additional 2-bar vacuum furnaces, expanding its capabilities to meet increased demand in the aerospace, industrial gas turbine sectors, and for specialized hydride/de-hydride processing of Titanium, Tantalum, and Niobium. These vacuum furnaces, produced by Solar's sister company, Solar Manufacturing, feature large working hot zones (45” x 45” x 72”) and are rated for operations up to 2400°F with a precise temperature uniformity of ±10°F.
Automation in heat treating yields more consistent results with greater utilization. Surface Combustion has automated heat treat lines for batch processing. The automated production cell using the Allcase® atmosphere batch integral quench furnace is a great option for automating the harden, quench and temper processes.
Since I have had the privilege of visiting numerous gear plants and research centers in the U.S., as well as 170 in 33 countries, and I closely watch the progression of technology, I wanted to share my observations about some technological advancements. For the purpose of this article, I will focus on three key areas: Robotics, Machine Tools, and Heat Treating.
Solar Atmospheres Greenville, SC facility is pleased to announce it has been awarded Parker Aerospace approval. This achievement expands Solar Atmospheres' reach, offering five facilities able to assist customers with Parker Aerospace thermal processing requirements.
A major North American aerospace manufacturer has selected Nitrex Vacuum to support its growing production needs, placing an order for a seventh vacuum furnace to expand capacity. This new vertical, large-precision vacuum furnace, built by G-M Enterprises, a Nitrex company, is engineered to meet the stringent demands of aerospace manufacturing, delivering consistent performance and reliability for critical engine components.
ECM USA’s Vincent Lelong presented low pressure carburizing with vacuum furnace technology at Purdue University's School of Materials Engineering undergraduate seminar. This seminar regularly features industry speakers, some of whom are members of the Purdue Heat Treating Consortium.
As part of its strategy to better serve its North American customers, the SECO/WARWICK Group, the parent company of SECO/VACUUM and SECO/WARWICK USA, has committed to expanding its manufacturing capacity in Pennsylvania by relocating a portion of its manufacturing and a metallurgical lab for vacuum furnaces from its headquarters site in Poland to Crawford County.
Solar Atmospheres’ newest acquisition, Solar Atmospheres of San Diego, is pleased to announce the addition of Chris Constable as their new Vice President of Operations. Chris brings with him nearly 25 years of Heat Treating experience that includes quality, operations, management, plant safety, business development, and sales.
NGC Gears, one of the world’s largest wind power gearbox manufacturers, has completed the installation of two additional EndoFlex generators from UPC-Marathon, a Nitrex company, at its new facility in Jinhu, China location. This acquisition brings the total of generator sets to five since 2022, collectively generating an impressive 800 m³/h (22,252 ft3/h) capacity of endothermic gas supplied to carburizing and hardening furnaces used for processing various gear components. The latest installations in February and March of 2024 support the heat-treating operations of the company’s wind energy gearbox production.
Solar Atmospheres, Inc. is pleased to announce its most recent acquisition, Certified Metal Craft (CMC) located in El Cajon (an East County suburb of San Diego). With nearly 55 years of serving the Southern California region, CMC and the Wiederkehr Family have established themselves as a trusted and dependable source of heat treating and brazing services.
Attendees will gain familiarization with spur, helical, bevel and hypoid gear nomenclature, the use of various cutting methods in Gleason machines as well as the tooling and processes used in gear manufacturing. Topics include gear classification, cutting methods, blank tolerances and configurations, inspection, testing, and workholding.
Nitrex welcomes the newest member of the Nitrex Turnkey Systems Team: Marcin Krajdocha. Marcin steps into the new role of Technical Sales Manager responsible for Nitriding Systems in the DACH region and the Vacuum furnace product line in Europe.
Solar Atmospheres Greenville, SC facility is pleased to announce it has been awarded Lockheed Martin Space Systems approval. With this approval, now all five Solar Atmospheres facilities are an option for our customers with Lockheed Martin requirements for thermal processing services.
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently commissioned their third car bottom air furnace manufactured by Heat Treat Equipment Inc. This large Class 2 air furnace with a maximum operating temperature of 1350°F measures 60-in. wide x 38-in. high x 168-in. deep. The newly installed equipment joins two other HTE car bottom furnaces that are 14-ft. long and 20-ft. long respectively.
Solar Atmospheres of Michigan has successfully relocated from the old Fraser and Warren facilities to a new, state-of-the-art location in Chesterfield, MI. All ten furnaces (both new and existing) are fully operational at the Chesterfield plant, heralding a new era of efficiency and productivity.
The American branch of Seco/Warwick has decided to expand its presence on the continent. Mexico is an important market for Seco/Warwick USA; hence, the decision was made to open a sales and service office in Monterrey. The new Seco/Warwic, Mexico division will occupy about 2,000 square feet of office space in a high-rise business park, including garage parking and controlled-access reception.
With 100+ technical sessions and more than 300+ individual presentations, AISTech attendees can plan their day around the conference schedule and learn about the latest products and processes happening in every aspect of the steelmaking process. Sessions include safety/health, environmental technology, cokemaking, ironmaking, sheet rolling, metallurgy, MRO, lubrication, material handling and more. Join this steel industry event in Columbus, OH from May 6-9, 2024, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Solar Atmospheres in Souderton, PA, recently commissioned a new vacuum furnace capable of utilizing high-pressure gas quenching at 20-Bar (about 300 PSI) to meet demanding cooling rate specifications for the heat treatment of nickel-based superalloys.
ASM is the only society that unites different market segments that cross the entire materials world. IMAT, the ASM International annual meeting focused on the membership and materials community needs, will offer an industry-oriented conference and exposition targeting a broad range of materials, processes, and their applications, with an emphasis on advanced materials and advanced manufacturing technologies.
Surface Combustion is a leader in controlled atmosphere heat treating furnaces and atmosphere generators. Learn detailed information about heat treat atmospheres including, descriptions, compositions, generation methods, and applications. This is a fantastic resource for heat treat operators, metallurgists, and maintenance technicians
ECM USA is excited to announce the addition of Dave Wolfe to our team as a Senior Sales Engineer. Formerly serving as an East Coast representative based in Pennsylvania, Dave brings a wealth of experience to our organization. His extensive sales background encompasses not only ECM vacuum furnaces but also spans 30 years of technical sales expertise, demonstrating a consistent track record in delivering customer-focused solutions for a diverse range of thermal processing equipment, including Photovoltaic/PV applications.
Solar Atmospheres is pleased to announce the order of a new 10-bar vacuum furnace for our Greenville, SC facility.
The roots of heat-treating run deep within ASM (American Society for Materials) International, as its society was founded in Detroit in 1913 as The Steel Treaters Club. The heat-treating constituency of ASM created the Heat Treating Society (HTS) to provide focused leadership, communications, and service development to its network of worldwide membership of captive and commercial heat treaters, equipment manufacturers, researchers, governments, and technicians. To discuss Heat Treat 2023, the 32nd annual HTS Conference and Exhibition, Gear
Technology took a moment to catch up with conference chair Andrew Banka, vice president of Airflow Sciences Corporation. Heat Treat 2023 is colocated with IMAT and Motion + Power Technology Expo in Detroit, October 17–19.
Nitrex and Linde are celebrating their 13-year collaboration, which today covers Europe and North America. This partnership emphasizes both companies’ positioning in terms of technology, digital, and green footprints. It also solidifies the strong synergy between them, increasing the value that they bring to their customers and each other.
Advanced Engineering (Birmingham) has rebranded to celebrate the evolution and new developments in the industrial manufacturing. Sectors include aerospace, automotive, defense, composites, marine, rail, energy, medical and more. To ensure that visitors and exhibitors can still easily find relevant contacts, Advanced Engineering exhibitors will now be categorized by the services, products and solutions offered. They will have the opportunity to highlight all of the sectors they work in, removing any limitations created by the specific show zones. Advanced Engineering will welcome back a full speaker program with representatives from some of the leading companies in UK manufacturing including GE, Shell, ZF, Bosch, Siemens, 3M, IBM, Airbus and more.
Heat Treat 2023 is the Heat Treating Society’s 32nd conference and expo for heat treating professionals featuring three days of face-to-face networking opportunities with approximately 200 heat treat exhibitors/companies. All the top heat-treating companies will offer the latest research and industry insights during more than 100 technical programs. This year’s show includes a VIP-guided industry tour, as well as student/emerging professionals initiatives, including free college student registration, Fluxtrol Student Research Competition, and the ASM Heat Treating Society Strong Bar Student Competition. Heat Treat 2023 is colocated with Motion + Power Technology Expo 2023 with access to additional exhibitors. The event takes place October 17–19, 2023 at Huntington Place in Detroit.
Solar Atmospheres Eastern Pennsylvania facility is pleased to announce the addition of Boeing BAC-5613 approval for the processing of titanium for Boeing aircraft. With this approval, all five Solar Atmospheres facilities are approved to process Boeing end-use titanium components requiring vacuum heat treatment.
Solar Atmospheres hosted over 40 high school students enrolled in the Summer Engineering Institute (SEI) at Lehigh University. Under the guidance of Director Dr. Laura Moyer, the SEI program is a two-week residential program, running two back-to-back sessions.
Recently, Solar Atmospheres commissioned a new 25,000 square foot brazing facility aimed at high-volume, high-quality braze production. The facility boasts six vacuum furnaces dedicated to brazing, including a unique all-metal hot-zone furnace designed for brazing stainless steel to copper with silver and gold-based braze filler metal (BFM).
ECM USA has partnered with the prominent global manufacturer, SEW-EURODRIVE, to commission a modular NANO vacuum furnace system completely integrated with advanced automation for their Lyman, South Carolina facility.
SECO/WARWICK, a manufacturer of industrial furnaces for metal heat treatment, proves that heavy industry can be green. The SECO/WARWICK Group is the Winner of the Social Responsibility Program Leaders and the Emblem in the category of ECO Company (Polish: EKO Firma) 2023, once again proving that care for the natural environment is in its DNA.
Solar Atmospheres of California (SCA) is pleased to announce we are now Airbus approved for heat treating.
VBN Components AB in Sweden manufactures extremely wear-resistant materials and is known for "the world's hardest steel," Vibenite 290, and "the world's first 3D-printed cemented carbide," Vibenite® 480. VBN's new heat treatment machine, a so-called URQ-HIP (Uniform Rapid Quenching-Hot Isostatic Pressing), was recently inaugurated at the company.
Produced by AGMA, Motion + Power Technology Expo (Detroit) is a three-day show that connects professionals looking for motion power solutions with manufacturers, suppliers, and buyers. Attendees will find new power transmission parts, materials, and manufacturing processes. Buy, sell, and get business done with organizations in aerospace, automotive, agricultural, energy, construction and more.
Quality control, EV components, energy consumption and material influences are just a handful of topics being discussed in heat treating today. New heat treat methods and global trends will be the topic of conversation later this year at Heat Treat 2023. Here’s a round-up of some stories circulating across key market segments.
Press quenching is a tried-and-true process for the controlled hardening of flat, circular close tolerance parts. The process ensures good dimensional control and uniform hardening, thus allowing for seamless processing post heat treatment.
Solar Atmospheres of California (SCA) successfully installed a brand new 14-foot-long car bottom Air Furnace with a total load capacity of up to 30,000 pounds. The furnace was surveyed in accordance with AMS2750 and is uniform within ±10°F (Class 2). The furnace has a working zone that is 60-inches square by 168 inches long and handles a workload up to 30,000 pounds. With a maximum operating temperature of 1450°F, this furnace accommodates not only the tempering of large tool steel components but also age hardening of 15-5 PH, 17-4 PH, 13-8PH and nickel-based alloys, and the annealing of Titanium Forgings.
Solar Atmospheres of Western Pennsylvania is pleased to announce the approval of a critical Boeing specification for the oil quenching of alloy steels in accordance with Boeing’s specification BAC 5617.
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA successfully vacuum heat treated two massive H13 extrusion dies at their Hermitage PA facility. Their newest high performing Solar Manufacturing 10-Bar 600 Horsepower high pressure gas quench vacuum furnace was able to fully harden two huge H13 extrusion dies in successive cycles.
Solar Atmospheres of Michigan, formerly Vac-Met, has recently purchased 18,000 square feet of plant space on four plus acres in Chesterfield Michigan. The new building is 20 miles Northeast of the two existing Vac-Met facilities which are currently located in Warren and Fraser Michigan.
If you are experiencing reduced cooling, increased cycle times and/or dirty, contaminated parts then your vacuum furnace's heat exchanger might be the cause. Over the course of time and production, materials will deposit on the fins of the heat exchanger, which can result in a number of issues. In this video, we examine what a heat exchanger is supposed to look like vs. what it looks like after it has collected layers of contaminants. We also discuss how often the heat exchanger, and its cooling coils should be inspected so as to ensure optimum performance and part quality.
For the 2014 Orion launch, NASA introduced the Launch Abort System (LAS). This large manifold housing made from 6AL-4V titanium is designed to rapidly propel astronauts away from the main rocket in case of a catastrophic explosion or any other unexpected event. Once fired, the LAS will accelerate the astronauts away from the main rocket at forces up to 10 to 15 times normal gravity (“G’s”). This critical part of the safety system was once again vacuum heat treated by Solar Atmospheres of Western PA for their most recent launch.
The AGMA Aerospace Gearing committee is seeking new committee members to revise AGMA 926-C99, Recommended Practice for Carburized Aerospace Gearing. Specifically, metallurgy and heat-treating experts are needed. This information sheet recommends material case properties, microstructure, processing procedures, and other critical parameters for carburized aerospace gears. Due to the unique requirements of aerospace gearing, such as typically smaller lot sizes, demands for higher precision, and stringent quality requirements, this information sheet aims to provide deeper, aerospace-specific information than other already published metallurgical specifications such as AGMA 923, Metallurgical Specifications for Steel Gearing or AMS2759/7, Carburizing and Heat Treatment of Carburizing Grade Steel Parts.
Furnaces North America 2022 (FNA 2022), presented by the Metal Treating Institute (MTI), in partnership with its media partner, Heat Treat Today, is the heat-treating industry’s go-to event every other year. FNA 2022 attracted attendees from across North America, including Fortune 500 companies. For three days attendees took part in networking, connections, and learning about the vast changes taking place in emerging technologies, industry trends, and advances in equipment.
Nitrex Metal Inc. (“Nitrex”) is pleased to announce that it has been selected for the “American Dream” series airing on Bloomberg and Amazon Prime. The series explores the inspiring entrepreneurial stories of the men and women who founded and built incredible companies from the ground up.
Explore gear grinding processes, machine kinematics and set-up, pitfalls, failures and expectations related to finish ground gearing. Learn definitions of gearing component features, process steps from blanking, through heat treatment to finished part ready to ship. Study aspects of Quality Assurance, Inspection Documentation and corrective actions for measured non-conformances. Understand pre-heat treat, heat treatment and post-heat treatment operations including the hows and whys to produce finished gears that conform and perform to end user expectations.
On September 27–29, 2022, the SECO/WARWICK Group will host the third annual e-Seminar 4.2, the largest online event for the metal heat treatment and metallurgy industry.
Expertise, vision, information management, success, ethical conduct, human competence, and diversity: Ayla Busch had convinced the jury in all these categories and therefore received the German Leadership Award 2022.
Furnaces North America 2022 (FNA 2022), presented by the Metal Treating Institute (MTI), in partnership with its media partner, Heat Treat Today, is the heat-treating industry’s marquee event every other year. FNA 2022 will attract attendees from across North America, including Fortune 500 companies. For three days attendees take part in networking, connections, and learning about the vast changes taking place on emerging technologies, industry trends, and advances in equipment.
The heat treat industry comes together at FNA to deliver the latest technology on maintenance, equipment, energy, compliance, quenching, productivity, metallurgy, cleaning and more. Top suppliers will be on-hand in the exhibition hall to answer questions and discuss the future of heat treating.
AddUp, a major player in the field of metal additive manufacturing and the ECM Group, creator of innovative thermal solutions, have signed a partnership to develop high value-added solutions for the thermal treatment of 3D printed metal parts.
A newly designed Vacuum Oil Quench (VOQ) furnace, purchased by Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, recently entered into full production after passing a vigorous start up protocol.
Ipsen recently installed the second Turbo2Treater vacuum furnace at Temprasud, a commercial heat treater in Fresagrandinaria, Italy.
The International Forging Congress (IFC) is a global event that brings together key players from the international forging community to exchange information and experiences. IFC features forging industry technical and business-oriented presentations. In addition, exhibitors display their forging-related products and services to IFC attendees.
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA) was recently awarded three years merit status for SHARP Accreditation. The Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) is designed to recognize employees and employers for their effort in establishing and maintaining all elements of an effective safety and health program.
Gas carburizing has been around for a long time. One could argue that gas carburizing is the most common heat treating process. Heat treaters performing gas carburizing are often characterized by a dirty environment, hazy surroundings, and that “smell.” While the product quality may be acceptable, gas carburized parts do come with some challenges, like excessive intergranular oxidation (IGO) or intergranular attack (IGA), which is often ground off. Low-pressure carburizing (LPC) has proven to be a much cleaner and very capable alternative process. Most furnace companies have combined LPC with high pressure gas quenching, which moved carburizing from the dark back room to a relatively “clean room” environment. However, there is still a strong need for oil quenching, which is the common feature of the long used standard integral-quench (IQ) furnace.
This course provides the heat treat operator and operations team, the means to perform the heat treatment of steel gears in a manner that meets the AGMA and customer requirements in a safe and efficient manner.
A Chinese company has ordered a horizontal vacuum furnace from Seco/Warwick. The furnace will help in producing highly specialized cast parts used in the aerospace industry.
Summary
Many techniques have been developed over the years to control heat treatment distortion, including the use of different quenching medias, optimization of heat treatment cycles, altering the material chemical composition and even press quenching. Now, learn about Quenching in the 4th Dimension!
SECO/VACUUM's white paper discusses the new 4D Quenching technology, a safe and simple hands-off heat treatment process, minus the challenges of press quenching.
The complete Product News section from the January/February 2022 issue of Gear Technology, with new technology from Marposs, Solar Atmospheres, Mahr, Kennametal, Kapp Niles, Southern Gear, SMW Autoblok, WFL Millturn, Doosan Robotics and LK Metrology.
A combination of green electricity and renewable energy certificates in the US and India have enabled Seco to reach its 2030 emission tar...
There has been renewed discussion of the “Buy American” mandates recently. AGMA has a long history on this topic and succe...
Solar Atmospheres announced a number of personnel changes and promotions within the organization.
KISSsoft AG and GEARTECH Software are pleased to announce the introduction of a new and updated version of GEARCALC, a gear design pro...
Solar Atmospheres’ new Low Torr Vacuum Carburizing furnace and services are now operating at Solar’s Eastern Pennsylvania ...
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