Vacuum Furnace Systems (VFS), Souderton, Pa., sold a 2-bar argon internal gas quench vacuum furnace to Ethicon, a division of Johnson & Johnson. The furnace was delivered in late June and is expected to be operational by August. It is the third VFS furnace at Ethicon's facility in Cornelia, Ga. All of the furnaces are used to heat treat stainless steel surgical needles. This latest furnace purchased by Ethicon is a model HIQ-2624-2 with a graphite hot zone and VFS' patented Graform heating elements. It also incorporates the CompuVac workstation using Intellusion iFix software.