Newton Heat Treating might be located in California, but their impact is out of this world — literally. Serving a niche section of the aerospace industry since 1968, Newton Heat Treating is a company with 52 dedicated employees, working to complete highly specialized processes while retaining a merit-level of service and quality, empowering them to heat treat parts for outer space.
These highly specialized processes include cold stabilization, thermal cycling, stress relief, and the straightening of aluminum alloys. Also known as uphill quenching, cold stabilization is a cyclic thermal shock process which is used to reduce the detrimental effects of residual stresses on aluminum alloys. The use of custom fixtures and high-velocity steam instead of boiling water is what sets this process apart and makes it more efficient and cost effective. Newton is the only heat treater to perform this process, and because of that, they are working with a prime aerospace company to write an industry-standard specification for cold stabilization; this information will be available to the aerospace industry in 2024.
The primary equipment used in their processes includes the automated drop-bottom furnaces and quench
line. These furnaces process the bulk of clients’ products and have great efficiency. Though the company might not have the largest furnaces (working zones are 14’ x 5’ x 5.5’), they are nimble and will heat treat customer-supplied parts that other heat treaters do not want to touch — plus, they do it quicker than other, larger companies.
But they won’t just do jobs quicker, they will do them with five-star quality service. Newton is ITAR registered, as well as AS9100 and Nadcap certified with merit status since 2020. To ensure this standard of excellence, the last step in any process is a trip to the Final Inspection Department. There, dedicated employees inspect parts for hardness, conductivity, and cleanliness to verify the conformance of the heat treated material. This ensures success for the company’s partners: their clients.
Their clients need this star level of quality since the atmosphere where many parts are headed is quite unforgiving: outer space, to be exact. The most interesting parts the company has treated are now orbiting in space and roaming on Mars. Parts on Voyager, an interstellar probe which is now beyond our solar system, underwent Newton’s cold stabilization process. Their thermal cycling process — a delicate process that can take up to 48 hours depending on the ramp rate, target temperatures, and number of cycles — is used on parts on Mars Rovers. With high stakes like these, keeping quality at the forefront is Newton’s goal and will continue to be into the future.
In the coming 5–10 years, the company will take small steps to become more energy efficient, environmentally friendly, and cybersecure, which will give them a giant leap into the future. Plans include replacing old equipment with new, investing more in information technology infrastructure to minimize cybersecurity issues and better protect their clients, and continuing to provide their clients with high-quality service that one might call “stellar.”
For more information:
Newton Heat Treating Co., Inc.
19235 E. Walnut Dr.
City of Industry, California 91748
United States
jrico@newtonheattreating.com
newtonheattreating.com
