Solar Manufacturing has received an order from a medical-tubing manufacturer in eastern Pennsylvania for a horizontal-loading vacuum heat-treating production furnace. Used for the heat treating and annealing of medical-tubing coils, the round hot zone measures 12 feet deep with a working diameter of 5.5 feet. The furnace has a maximum operating temperature of 2500°F.

A .040-inch Flex Shield hot face is backed by four layers of .5-inch graphite felt insulation. Thin graphite heating elements are mounted cylindrically in the hot zone and are divided into multiple trim zones. The vacuum furnace will consist of an external gas-quenching system utilizing a 100-HP motor for high-velocity gas quenching.