VACUUM FURNACES NEWS

Magnetic Shield Manufacturer Commissions First Vacuum Furnace

A company that manufactures custom magnetic shields, precision sheet metal fabrication, and Hydroforming recently commissioned its first-ever vacuum furnace to accommodate expansions to better serve the magnetic shielding industry by providing material designed to protect sensitive electronics from magnetic fields.

Jason Davidson, Solar Manufacturing’s northeast regional sales manager

MuShield Company of Londonderry, New Hampshire, commissioned Solar Manufacturing to design the furnace, built with a SolarVac® Polaris control system, fully compliant to AMS2750E pyrometric specification, operating at a vacuum level of 10-5 Torr with the capability of maximum temperatures up to 2400°F, and featuring an external quench system designed for pressures up to two bar.

“What this means for us is that we’ll be able to offer quicker turnaround times on heat-treated products, fit larger shields into our furnace, and eliminate outside vendor work,” notes MuShield’s website.

“MuShield was already aware of our excellent reputation in the industry, and they were impressed with our facility when they visited earlier this year,” said Jason Davidson, Solar Manufacturing’s northeast regional sales manager. “They were also impressed with results of testing performed for them by Solar Atmospheres, so we’re pleased they have placed confidence in Solar Manufacturing to provide their first vacuum furnace.”

The new vacuum furnace will also allow MuShield to perform stress relief annealing cycles on hydroformed parts made from non-shielding alloys, which is a manufacturing requirement on most materials that the company hydroforms.

 

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Specialty Metals, Vacuum Furnace Group Finalizes Acquisition of Titanium Producer

A global company that produces specialty metals and provides related vacuum heat treating equipment and services recently announced the acquisition of assets of a leading titanium producer based in western Pennsylvania that supplies the aerospace industry.

AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V. finalized the acquisition of the assets of International Specialty Alloys (ISA) from Kennametal Inc. through its operating unit AMG Technologies, which, besides its production of titanium aluminides and titanium master alloys, also designs, engineers, and produces advanced vacuum furnace systems and operates vacuum heat treatment facilities under the ALD Vacuum Technologies brand name, primarily for the transportation and energy industries.

ISA, located in New Castle, Pennsylvania, is a leading U.S. producer of titanium master alloys and other binary alloys for the aerospace market.

“The acquisition of ISA provides an excellent opportunity for AMG Titanium Alloys and Coatings to increase its market position in these key products for the aerospace market in North America and Europe,” stated Guido Loeber, President of AMG Technologies.

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Vacuum Furnace Manufacturer Adds Advanced Firing Capabilities

A high-temperature vacuum and controlled atmosphere furnace manufacturer recently invested in new equipment for advanced firing capabilities.

Centorr Vacuum Industries recently announced it has added new furnace capabilities to its Applied Technology Center for customer use for process proofing, toll work, and process development runs.

The new furnace is based on Centorr’s successful Super VII platform and will join two smaller System VII furnaces, an induction melting furnace, and a continuous belt furnace already in use.

This newly updated 2nd Generation Super VII design comes with several innovative features to allow the processing of a wide variety of metals, hard metals, ceramics, and carbon/graphite composites. The furnace can be used for low temperature degassing, heat treating, annealing, brazing, and sintering of a variety of materials.

 

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Heat Treat Company Donates Vacuum & Brazing Furnace to Lehigh University

A thermal processing company donated a $300,000 commercial-grade vacuum heat treating and brazing furnace to Lehigh University’s materials science program to help increase opportunities for its students in the field.William R. Jones, Solar Atmospheres CEO and founder

The new addition, known as The Mentor®, was donated to Lehigh University by thermal processing company Solar Atmospheres and its CEO and founder, William R. Jones. Its sister company, Solar Manufacturing, designs and builds vacuum furnaces at its location in Souderton, Pennsylvania, just 23 miles from Lehigh’s campus.

Additionally, Solar Atmospheres built and donated a transformer and water-cooling system that was specifically designed for the application.

Wojciech Misiolek, professor and cha ir of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science
Wojciech Misiolek, professor and cha ir of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science

“This is a very powerful, advanced piece of equipment that will allow us to conduct important experiments in our metallurgy teaching and research, especially around additive manufacturing, which is a hot topic these days,” explains Wojciech Misiolek, professor and chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. “And we will challenge ourselves to use it up to its full capabilities for heat treatment of metals.”

“With this donation,” adds Misiolek, “suddenly you have the industry-grade equipment. It’s not a miniature version, it’s what you will see out in the field. Our educational system at Lehigh is very hands on, and we have a reputation for that. This furnace will increase opportunities for our undergraduate and graduate students and help them hit the ground running when they go into industry.”

The Mentor

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Construction Advances at PA Vacuum Furnace Manufacturing Facility

William Jones, owner, Solar Atmospheres

The new facility of an eastern Pennsylvania vacuum furnace manufacturing company is beginning to take shape as the next building phase is launched.

Construction at Solar Manufacturing’s new facility in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, advances toward completion with the exterior of the building now fully enclosed, including the nearly 20,000 square foot two-story office building situated in the front of the manufacturing area. The plant is expected to be operational by late summer or early fall 2019.

“This plant will be one of the most advanced facilities in the United States for the assembly of vacuum furnaces,” said Bill Jones. Jones and his wife Myrtle own the Solar Atmospheres family of companies, which includes:

  •         Solar Manufacturing, Sellersville, PA
  •         Solar Atmospheres of Souderton, PA
  •         Solar Atmospheres of Hermitage, PA
  •         Solar Atmospheres of Greenville, SC
  •         Solar Atmospheres of Fontana, CA
  •         Vacuum Pump Services Corp., Hatfield, PA
  •         Magnetic Specialties, Telford, PA

 

Photo caption: Bill and Myrtle Jones, owners of the Solar Atmospheres family of companies, stand in the center of the 40,000 square foot manufacturing area during the most recent site inspection.

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New Vacuum Furnace to Stress Test Defense Vessel Parts

 

A new vacuum furnace will be tasked to stress test parts for the LM2500 turbine, which is used by the U.S. Navy to power Spruance and Kidd-class destroyers, Olive Hazard Perry-class frigates, Ticonderoga-class cruisers, and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

Ashleigh Burke-class destroyer

Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) commissioned the $1.9 million furnace from SECO/Warwick Group, which manufactured the 2,800°F unit to specification for technicians to test the engine’s components after the heat treat process. It will not be used for the heat treating or plating of LM2500 parts.

“The furnace was custom made for our use and took almost a year to manufacture,” said Martha Hoffman, project manager for FRCSW’s Capital Investment Program (CIP), which invests in new technologies and equipment to improve production efficiencies. “The equipment arrived May 15, and the sign off (acceptance) was July 2.”

The new unit replaces a model that was more than 50 years old with a four-year history of sporadic operation. Difficulty in maintenance and increasingly obsolete replacement parts often resulted in a 60-80 percent down time, causing some LM2500 work to be contracted out.

Sailors check a gas turbine engine. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Brian M. Brooks/Released via Wikimedia)

Hoffman said that the new unit will save the command about six months in turn-around time per part vice contracted workload and that 12-15 components will be tested weekly.

FRCSW is scheduled to overhaul about 15 LM2500 engines annually.

 

Photo caption:

FRCSW teammates who were instrumental in the procurement, installation and acceptance of the Seco/Warwick Group furnace are, from left, materials engineers Michael Schutt and Jessica Porras, CIP project manager Martha Hoffman, metrology calibration Hung Pham, and material engineers David Arenas and Blake Whitmee. (U.S. Navy photo)

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Aerospace Giant Secures 15-year Agreement for Heat Treating Services

Engineering giant Rolls-Royce has entered into a 15-year contract with a UK-based thermal processing services specialist to secure specialized vacuum heat treatment and hot isostatic pressing (HIP) to support its civil aerospace production.

Bodycote, which provides heat treatment services that protect and improve the properties of metals and alloys, extending their operational life and making them safer, will work with Rolls-Royce’s turbine blade casting facilities in Derby and Rotherham.

The agreement, which is expected to be worth over £160 million ($227.3 million US) in incremental revenues over the 15-year period, ensures the provision of specialist thermal processing capacity utilizing Bodycote’s high performance, quality-focused approach to support the growth of Rolls-Royce’s large civil engine programs, including the Trent XWB, Trent 1000, Trent 7000, Trent 700 and Trent 900.

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Vacuum Brazing, Quench and Temper Furnaces Part of Heat Treat Expansion

A Polish heat treatment provider recently announced the startup of vacuum brazing processes at its newest plant in Kalisz for the power generation and aerospace industry. The new facility houses vacuum furnaces as well as borescopes, spectrometer, welding systems, hardness testers, selective plating equipment and a sandblasting cabinet.

In addition, Hauck Heat Treatment has invested in the installation of new heat treatment equipment at their Dzierżoniów location, including new sealed quench furnaces (batch size 910mm x 760mm x 1220mm), one tempering furnace and one endogas generator.

The company also reported that its services to the Eastern European market have expanded with the addition of thermo-chemical treatment, carbonitriding.

 

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Aeronautic Supplier Purchases Sintering Ovens

A new sintering line suitable for PTFE insulation has been designed and installed by a manufacturer for a producer of aeronautic cables. This machine is suitable for the thermal treatment of the insulation on conductors with diameter 1-7 inches.

In order to guarantee the uniformity of the process, WTM, which specializes in the application of materials for aircraft and aerospace cables and devices particular attention, focused on the definition of the temperature profile to be applied to the cable passing through the sintering ovens. Considering the maximum cable dimension, WTM, which is located in Austria and Italy opted for the induction preheating in the first part of the equipment. The sintering process occurs successively by means of three infrared ovens, equipped with independent control zones, each of them with a maximum temperature of 1022°F.

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Twin Vacuum Furnaces for Energy-Optimized Heat Treating

The first set of twin furnaces working on a single pumping station have recently been developed and commissioned to a leading designer and manufacturer of vacuum furnaces for the heat treatment of metal parts.

BMI, a Tenova company, headquartered in Lyon, France, commissioned the B54R-TWIN – vacuum furnaces for tempering – to meet the customer’s specific request for equipment that optimizes energy consumption.

During a heat treatment cycle of the B54R-TWIN, the pumping phase lasts only 30 minutes. Therefore, it is more efficient to use only one pumping group for two furnaces, working alternatively on one furnace or the other. This not only reduces electricity consumption but also minimizes the maintenance costs of the pumps.

Earlier in this quarter, Tenova announced key contracts from Chinese steel producers for six electrical arc furnaces (EAF) Consteel® Evolution in response to Chinese steelmaking industries converting their steel shops plants with EAF technology. In order to improve the reduction rate of CO2 emissions promoted by Chinese government, Chinese steelmakers are starting to increase the share of electrical steel production in comparison to manufacturing using blast or basic oxygen furnaces.

 

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