ALD Vacuum Systems of Wixom, Mich., received an order from a North American-based aerospace manufacturer for a SyncroTherm vacuum heat-treating system. The system will primarily perform low-pressure carburizing (LPC) and is a direct replacement for two batch IQ atmosphere carburizing furnaces. In addition to LPC, the unit will also perform austenitizing, vacuum brazing, gas quenching, cryogenic treating and tempering. The fully integrated, compact heat-treating cell will be among the first known captive LPC operations west of the Mississippi River.

This will be the third SyncroTherm system to support the needs of Nadcap. It will be comprised of five independently controlled hot zones, each rated for load sizes of 24 x 20 x 9 inches and up to 110 pounds. The system operates using recipe-selectable high-pressure gas quench and incorporates support processes such as cryogenic and temper sequences in a fully automated, lights-out fashion. Individual part tracking and complete process history retention are key functions within the system.