Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA) will install a 36-inch x 36-inch x 48-inch vacuum oil-quench (VOQ) furnace capable of safely quenching 2,000-pound loads without carbon-potential concerns. Designed and built by Solar Manufacturing, the furnace will be operational in early 2021. 

Reliable vacuum technology is essential in many metallurgical processes to produce high-quality products in a repeatable manner.

Youngstown Tool & Die, a manufacturer of aluminum extrusion dies based in Youngstown, Ohio, upgraded its in-house heat-treatment capabilities with two high-pressure gas-quench (HPGQ) vacuum furnaces from SECO/WARWICK. Youngstown Tool & Die, which has been in business since 1961, is moving into a larger facility to accommodate increased production needs. The new furnaces are part of the expansion project. According to the company, upgrading its existing atmosphere furnaces to HPGQ vacuum furnaces will significantly improve performance and increase throughput as it expands.

SECO/WARWICK received an order for a three-chamber vacuum furnace from a global manufacturer of automotive components. It will be the first furnace utilizing low-pressure carburizing (LPC) technology for the Indian company. It was chosen to solve a problem with intergranular oxidation present in the company’s traditional atmosphere heat-treat furnaces. The LPC furnace will be dedicated to small and large gear, pinion and other types of automotive gears.

Nitrex, a Novacap portfolio company and a global provider of fully integrated heat-treating solutions and technologies, unveiled a new corporate brand identity. A new logo will be adopted by all the Nitrex business units. For now, the names of the legal entities will not change so customers, suppliers and stakeholders can continue to use the existing names and addresses in all official communication. The new wordmark for United Process Controls leverages its well-known trade name, the UPC initials, in combination with the company’s best-known brand asset, Marathon Monitors, to form UPC-Marathon. G-M Enterprises, the newest addition to the Nitrex Turnkey Systems portfolio, traded its metallic graphic for a single-color wordmark using the same typeface as the other logos with the addition of the tagline, “A Nitrex Company.”

To support an increasing demand for high-value gas nitriding, Solar Atmospheres in Souderton Pa., installed a vacuum gas-nitriding furnace. Built by sister company Solar Manufacturing, the front-loading furnace incorporates the latest nitriding and recipe system from the furnace manufacturer. The automated controls meet AMS 2759/10, Automated Gaseous Nitriding Controlled by Nitrogen Potential, in addition to the standard AMS 2759/6, Gaseous Nitriding of Low-Alloy Steel Parts. The automated control system is useful for single-stage and two-stage (Floe) processing. All hot-zone components are made completely of graphitic materials inert to the anhydrous ammonia used during the nitriding process.

OAO Belaz, a Belarusian dump-truck manufacturer ordered an electric roller furnace for the heat treatment of large bearing rings. The furnace is designed to heat treat bearing rings with a diameter of 980-1,180 mm. These rings are used in the production of dump trucks used in the mining industry. The entire line, which will be supplied by SECO/WARWICK, includes: a transport system with a set of manipulators, an electric roller furnace, a hardening press with matrix instrumentation and a control system with data visualization and archiving.

Bodycote will open a new heat-treatment facility in Elgin, Ill. The purpose-built facility, which is scheduled to be operational in June 2020, has been designed as a replacement for Bodycote’s aging plant in Melrose Park, Ill. It will support manufacturing supply chains in the Midwest region. The Melrose Park facility will be closed once the transfer of customers’ work has been completed. According to Bodycote, the investment allows it to expand capacity and improve its ability to deliver high-quality heat-treatment capabilities.

This article reviews the developments that have taken place, particularly for surface treatments, within the heat-treatment processing industry.

Ipsen received an order for two 2-bar vacuum furnaces from a rapidly emerging global automotive component manufacturer with locations in Asia and the U.S. The company awarded Ipsen this order as part of a series of eight furnaces over the last two years. The TITAN H6 was selected because of its inherent process flexibility and ease of installation, as well as the local regional support provided by Ipsen’s sales and service teams in both Asia and the U.S.