Vacuum/Surface Treatments

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Solar Atmospheres of Western PA and Neota Product Solutions, a custom metal injection molding (MIM) manufacturer located in Loveland, Colo., developed an exclusive sintering partnership. Neota provides comprehensive MIM solutions from early-stage prototyping to full-scale manufacturing. Solar and Neota developed a sintering thermal profile that not only densifies their complex geometric shapes but also controls shrinkage. This results in a solid and strong metallic part, with near 100% density, while maintaining the tight tolerances that are required in their precision components.

An international metal injection molding (MIM) manufacturer ordered two vacuum furnaces capable of both debinding and sintering from Ipsen. With this latest order, the company’s partnership with Ipsen has resulted in a total purchase of 18 TITAN DS6 2-bar vacuum furnaces. While most MIM parts producers rely on lab-size furnaces for post-processing, this manufacturer requires a furnace that can handle demanding, large-volume applications. The furnaces supplied by Ipsen have a work-zone volume of 36 x 36 x 48 inches (915 x 915 x 1,220 mm), a load capacity of 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg) and a right-sized filtration system.

Thermal-processing companies around the world are feeling pressure to lower the environmental impact of their operations and make them more sustainable. These pressures are coming from both governmental regulations and societal expectations, resulting in increasingly stringent requirements that are expanding globally. Many companies are accelerating their own “green” initiatives and programs to leap ahead of these regulations and lead this transformation for their industry. Join this free webinar, sponsored by Honeywell, on June 3 at 11:00 a.m. (EDT) to learn more about the solutions that are available today to help achieve your sustainability goals.

Mike McConkey of Surface Combustion discusses the Allcase^® batch integral quench furnace and RX^® endothermic gas atmosphere generator.  With the largest installed base in North America, our dedicated customer service engineers support our customers every day.

Solar Atmospheres’ Greenville, S.C., facility has been awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne approval, their second aerospace prime approval of 2021. With the ability to support vacuum thermal-processing needs ranging from development cycles to 50,000-pound loads at temperatures of up to 2400°F, Solar Atmospheres provides AS9100 and Nadcap-quality accredited heat treatments.

In addition to classroom-style training at its manufacturing facility, Ipsen offers on-site Ipsen U courses to accommodate large groups at customer facilities. Ipsen U is a course designed to teach heat-treatment fundamentals, best practices and new methods. Attendees receive an extensive overview of vacuum furnace equipment, processes and maintenance.

SSI Sintered Specialties invested in a high-temperature refractory metal-lined vacuum furnace from Elnik Systems to expand its services into powder-metallurgy processes. The furnace, which is scheduled for installation in September 2021, will join a growing fleet of new equipment at SSI’s technology center in Janesville, Wis. Along with providing customers advanced powder-metallurgy processing, this investment positions SSI to immediately target the addition of metal 3D printing to its portfolio and the expansion of its current metal injection molding (MIM) operations. The furnace will also allow SSI to develop sintering profiles for both technologies.

SECO/WARWICK will deliver a vacuum furnace to SonFlow’s facility in Kolding, Denmark. The furnace is designed for copper brazing of large-dimension plate heat exchangers for industrial, HVAC and offshore applications. A work area of 35.5 x 35.5 x 47 inches (900 x 900 x 1,200 mm) will enable the SonFlow plant to perform in-house brazing without the need to outsource work to third parties. A graphite chamber ensures power savings, and shortened cycle times are guaranteed due to the vacuum level of 10^-3 mbar. As part of the contract, SECO/WARWICK also designed the external water-cooling system. This portion of the project will use SonFlow’s pumps and heat exchangers for fabrication.

Solar Manufacturing shipped a vacuum heat-treating furnace to NexGen Advanced Fuel Systems, an Allied Power Group Company, based in Houston, Texas. NexGen, a gas turbine component overhaul facility, ordered the furnace to help increase capacity and reduce turnaround time for its heat-treating and brazing operations. Built specifically to heat treat land-based turbine equipment, with attention to specific cooling requirements required by NexGen’s customers, the furnace includes a Solarvac Polaris control system and a graphite hot zone that can accommodate loads up to 48 inches wide x 48 inches high x 72 inches deep. It has a maximum load weight capacity of 6,000 pounds and a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F.

Vacuum thermal processing is vital for automotive and aerospace component manufacturers due to industry demands for the highest possible quality. Brazing and surface treatment are two process areas where vacuum technology is used.