Georgia Southern University (GSU) in Statesboro, Georgia, recently purchased a horizontal front-loading vacuum furnace from a Pennsylvania based heat treat furnace manufacturer.
GSU plans to use Solar Manufacturing’s Mentor® furnace primarily for vacuum thermal processing research and development of various iron-based alloys, including additive manufactured parts.
The Mentor® includes a graphite shielded hot zone and heating elements, with a work zone size of 12″ wide x 12″ high x 18″ deep, and a weight capacity of 250 pounds. Solar Manufacturing reports that this furnace complies with aerospace specification AMS2750E to process in an argon or nitrogen atmosphere or in high vacuum in the 10-6 Torr range with a 6” Varian diffusion pump. The furnace incorporates a control system package with a large graphic touchscreen overview and can be programmed to control gas quench rate up to two bar pressure and achieve temperature uniformity up to 2400° F.
“We are pleased to provide a solution to GSU’s growing research and development efforts, and we know the Mentor® vacuum furnace will benefit the university with this research,” said Dan Insogna, Solar Manufacturing’s Southeast Sales Manager.
