Solar Manufacturing shipped two vacuum furnaces to an aviation-engine repair facility located in the western U.S. Each furnace is designed with energy-efficient graphite insulation and engineered to accommodate various part and load sizes. Both are tailored specifically to fit the needs of aerospace-engine component repair processing to the aerospace specification AMS 2750E.

One furnace has a work zone measuring 28 inches wide x 21 inches high x 36 inches deep with a weight capacity of 1,500 pounds, and the second furnace has a work zone measuring 42 inches wide x 42 inches high x 60 inches deep with a weight capacity of 5,000 pounds. They are equipped with mass-flow controllers for accurate, repeatable and recordable gas-flow control of argon, nitrogen and hydrogen partial-pressure gases. They also have high-vacuum capabilities in the 10-5 Torr range.

The furnaces incorporate the new SolarVac 5000 supervisory control and data-acquisition system (SCADA) with large graphic touchscreen overview programming. The system provides gas quench rate control utilizing a variable-frequency drive and precise temperature control from ambient to 2400°F (1316°C) utilizing digital power-trimming technology.