Solar Atmospheres of Western PA announced the approval of a critical Boeing specification for the oil quenching of alloy steels in accordance with Boeing’s specification BAC 5617.

“The approval for our new vacuum oil quench furnace, the NEO, represents a massive addition to Solar’s heat-treat capabilities,” said Michael Johnson, Solar Atmospheres’ sales director. “The NEO’s vacuum chamber is designed to thermally heat parts with the use of work thermocouples, transferring into a vacuum-protected vestibule within 20 seconds, and finally immersing a maximum 2,000-pound load into a hot agitated 3,000-gallon oil quench bath. Additionally, the inert processing and fast, reliable transfer times provide our customers with superior metallurgical properties. Maximum through-hardness is achieved, and the surface contamination of flight-critical components is totally eliminated.”