Specialty Steel Treating of Fraser, Mich., completed the installation and start-up of an Ipsen AvaC™ (acetylene vacuum carburizing) low-pressure furnace. The single-chamber furnace has a 24-inch x 36-inch x 24-inch workspace with a 2-bar gas quench. Specialty Steel Treating is a commercial heat treater with three plants in Michigan and one in Connecticut. The company specializes in the vacuum carburizing of gears for the aerospace and automotive markets.

Ipsen designs and manufactures a variety of furnace configurations for the acetylene-based vacuum carburizing process, providing customers the flexibility to process a variety of materials. The equipment can be provided in a two-chamber combination utilizing both oil and gas quench with cooling-gas pressures to 20 bar.