Vacuum/Surface Treatments

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As additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, continues to evolve, many challenges still plague this exciting new technology.

When large industrial vacuum brazing furnaces begin to produce customer parts that show discoloration instead of a pristine stainless steel finish or joints where the brazing material has refused to flow properly, production is quickly halted. Easy-to-find-and-fix leaks can take the furnace down for a half of a day, and more downtime is likely.

SECO/VACUUM Technologies supplied a precision gas nitriding vacuum furnace to a large North American heat treater. The horizontal, front-loading furnace is designed specifically for precision gas nitriding, ferritic nitrocarburizing and post-oxidation in a retort-style furnace with vacuum purge. The ZeroFlow furnace complements a prior SECO/WARWICK gas nitriding furnace already in production at the facility.

TAV Vacuum Furnaces shipped a vacuum furnace that offers an advanced solution for aluminide coatings of aerospace engine and industrial gas turbine components. The furnace has dimensions of 39.5 inches (1,000 mm) in diameter x 39.5 inches (1,000 mm) high and a maximum operating temperature of 2102°F (1150°C). Parts are placed inside the loading fixture, which is positioned, with an overhead crane, on the base supports. A retort is then placed on the base, evacuated and then flushed with inert gas to obtain a clean, pollution-free environment. The retort is transferred inside the furnace, where it is heated up to the process temperature.

The VARODRY vacuum pump series is designed for industrial vacuum processes.

Zenith Cutter, a manufacturing company based in Loves Park, Ill., purchased an Ipsen TITAN H6 vacuum furnace with 2-bar gas quenching that will be used at its Metkraft facility in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The furnace has a graphite work zone measuring 36 x 48 x 36 inches with a 3,000-pound load capacity. It is capable of operating at temperatures of 1000-2400°F (538-1315°C) with ±10°F (±6°C) temperature uniformity. The furnace is also equipped with a closed-loop water system and Ipsen’s PdMetrics predictive-maintenance software.

Solar Manufacturing Inc. held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new $8 million manufacturing facility at the Sellersville Business Campus in Sellersville, Pa. Due to substantial growth in recent years, the furnace manufacturer expanded into two separate manufacturing facilities located a few miles apart. The new property will allow Solar to combine its nearly 50 employees under one roof for more efficient production and triple its current space. Construction is expected to be complete in early 2019.

Solar Manufacturing shipped a large, horizontal, front-loading vacuum furnace to a titanium manufacturer and fabricator located in the Midwest. The furnace includes a molybdenum-shielded hot zone and heating elements, with a work zone size of 54 inches wide x 54 inches high x 144 inches deep and a weight capacity of 7,500 pounds. It is specifically designed for processing titanium alloys for the aerospace and medical industries, and it is fully compliant to aerospace specification AMS 2750E.