In the wide array of additive-manufacturing technologies (AM) available today, binder jetting stands on its own for the ability to combine the flexibility and part complexity typical of AM processes with a productivity rate unmatched by other AM technologies. 

SECO/WARWICK received an order from an international organization in the field of industrial automation for a heat-treatment system. The company aims to establish a captive hardening plant within its machine park. The comprehensive technological line for hardening applications will consist of two vacuum furnaces, one atmosphere furnace and a washer. The furnaces will be used for hardening and vacuum carburizing the elements used in motor reducer production. These parts are used in the production process for automation applications in industries such as automotive, aviation and printing. The vacuum furnaces on order have compact dimensions that meet the customer’s requirements for hardening and carburizing parts, specifically gears, pinions and shafts.

Solar Manufacturing built, shipped and installed a vacuum furnace for a commercial heat-treating and brazing facility in eastern Pennsylvania. The Mentor has stainless steel chamber, a work zone measuring 12 inches x 12 inches x 18 inches and a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F (1315°C) with a workload capacity of 250 pounds. The furnace includes a VHS 6-inch diffusion pump for vacuum performance in the 10^-6 torr range, a high-performance 7.5-HP fan motor for internal gas quenching up to 2 bar and the SolarVac fully automated and programmable controls package with a Eurotherm digital recorder.

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.

If you’re at all like me, you wonder which articles get the most attention on our website. Every year we publish over 40 feature articles, and at the end of the year we gather statistics to see which ones get the most page views. So, without further ado, here are the five most-viewed articles on www.industrialheating.com based on page views in 2022. This ranking applies only to articles published in 2022.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA successfully vacuum heat treated two massive H13 extrusion dies at its facility in Hermitage, Pa. A new 10-bar, 600-HP high-pressure gas-quench vacuum furnace from Solar Manufacturing was able to fully harden the two H13 extrusion dies in successive cycles. The dies, received from two different customers located in Ohio, resulted in an as-quenched hardness of HRC 50-52 using nitrogen as the quench gas. The hollow die was 30 inches OD x 15 inches ID x 103 inches long and weighed 16,000 pounds. The solid die, belonging to a different customer, was 34 inches OD x 64 inches long and weighed 14,000 pounds. Post-quench each component was triple air tempered, resulting in a final hardness of HRC 46-48.

Plasma nitriding, also called ion- or glow-discharge nitriding, is an advanced surface-engineering technique that allows for treatment of many different engineering components made of ferrous and titanium alloys.

“The Bright World of Metals,” the slogan for the joint staging of four technology trade fairs – GIFA (15th International Foundry Trade Fair with Technical Forum), Metec (11th International Metallurgical Trade Fair), Thermprocess (13th International Trade Fair and Symposium for Thermal-Processing Technology) and Newcast (6th International Trade Fair for Castings) – will be held June 12-16 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany. Every four years, these trade fairs are the meeting place for companies from around the world. The exhibits will be complemented by a versatile ancillary program consisting of seminars, international congresses, symposia and lecture series.  

Solar Atmospheres of Michigan, formerly Vac-Met, recently purchased 18,000 square feet of plant space on over 4 acres in Chesterfield, Mich. The new building is 20 miles northeast of the two existing Vac-Met facilities in Warren and Fraser. The over $5 million investment gives Solar Atmospheres of Michigan the space to locate its employees and equipment under one roof while continuing to grow. In addition, two new vacuum furnaces were purchases from Solar Manufacturing for the move.

SECO/VACUUM received an order from an electric-vehicle (EV) manufacturer for a two-chamber vacuum furnace that will be used in the company’s R&D lab to low-pressure carburize (LPC) and oil quench prototype gears. The CaseMaster Evolution (CMe) has a working hot zone of 16 x 16 x 24 inches (400 x 400 x 600 mm) and a load capacity of 440 pounds (200 kg). It has a separate heating chamber, where product is heated and carburized, and a quenching chamber, where the load is immersed in an oil bath for rapid quenching. Both chambers are isolated with a vacuum door.