L&L Special Furnace Co. Inc. received an order for two atmosphere-controlled retort box furnaces. They will be used for debindering ceramic composite matrix (CMC) parts, powder-metal processing and hot isostatic processing (HIP). The main function of the furnaces is to remove all organics and other materials used in the product prior to placing in a high-fire vacuum chamber. The debindering process is extremely important and allows for a finished product that is very strong and light. The furnaces have a work zone measuring 23 inches wide x 23 inches high x 36 inches deep. They have a single zone of control with a temperature gradient of ±20°F at 1100°F (595°C) using four zones of temperature control with biasing to balance any temperature gradients.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems purchased a vacuum titanium casting furnace from SECO/WARWICK for UPC Precision Castings, an investment casting foundry in Israel. According to the furnace manufacturer, this is the first furnace of this type on the Israeli market. The single-chamber furnace is equipped with a hot (ceramic) and cold (copper) crucible. Melting processes of up to 40 kg of superalloys, mainly nickel-based, can be carried out in the ceramic crucible. The copper crucible melts 10 kg of titanium at a time. The furnace’s three-stage vacuum system allows it to obtain high vacuum in the range of 10^-5 mbar. The solution is also equipped with a mold heater.

Watlow, a designer and manufacturer of complete industrial thermal systems, signed an agreement to acquire Eurotherm from Schneider Electric. Eurotherm provides temperature, power and process control, measurement and data management equipment, systems, software and services for global industrial markets. The company’s headquarters are in Worthing, United Kingdom, with core manufacturing operations in Lędziny, Poland.

IHEA has a new member company. MP Combustion is a regional leader in the supply and support of industrial combustion equipment for process-heating applications.

Can-Eng Furnaces International Ltd. has been awarded a contract to deliver a second mesh-belt furnace line to a commercial heat treater in the Midwest. Can-Eng commissioned a 4,000-pound/hour mesh-belt furnace system for this customer in 2020. This duplicate 4,000-pound/hour high-capacity furnace line will be installed alongside the previous furnace line in the company’s recently expanded plant. It will be used primarily for processes including carbonitriding and carburizing. The furnace line includes: an automated bin dumping and vibratory part-feeder system; dunk and spray pre-washer; protective atmosphere-controlled mesh-belt hardening system; oil quench; dunk and spray post-wash system; forced recirculation temper furnace; in-line post-cooling system; and Can-Eng’s PET Level 2 SCADA system.

Quintus Technologies supplied a hot isostatic press (HIP) to Israel’s T.A.G. Medical Products Corp. The HIP, which was installed in May 2022, will ensure the production of implants and surgical tools with the optimal material properties required by the exacting environments in which they are used. Proprietary features such as high-pressure heat treatment (HPHT) and uniform rapid quenching (URQ) enable the press to produce finished MIM parts with maximum theoretical density, ductility and fatigue resistance. According to T.A.G., the Quintus press will serve for implants and minimal cutting tools production, where high material uniformity and good mechanical properties are required.

Tata Steel awarded PSNERGY LLC of Erie, Pa., a contract to install its Total Combustion Solution (TCS) on all of the steelmaker’s industrial furnaces. The TCS is designed to reduce emissions and increase furnace throughput by measuring, maximizing and maintaining energy input through the combustion process. The project will be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2022. 

Yazici Transfer Makina Co. of Turkey added a Nitrex nitrocarburizing system to its Istanbul facility to increase the manufacturing capacity of tooling and machinery components for its precision CNC machines. The company started production with the new system in fall 2021. It is used for Nitreg-C nitrocarburizing and ONC in-process oxidation treatments. According to Yazici Transfer Makina, these processes improve the wear and corrosion properties of alloy and carbon steel parts. This is the company’s second Nitrex furnace. The first went into operation in 2019.

Ford Motor Co. announced plans to invest $3.7 billion and add more than 6,200 new union manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. The company will also convert nearly 3,000 temporary UAW-Ford workers to permanent full-time status. These actions are part of the company’s Ford+ growth strategy and include plans for an all-new global Mustang coupe and Ranger pickup for North America, as well as an all-new electric commercial vehicle for Ford Pro customers. 

A vacuum oil quench (VOQ) furnace purchased by Solar Atmospheres of Western PA entered into full production after passing start-up protocol. The initial temperature uniformity survey, compliant to AMS 2750F, produced +/-10°F results at all setpoints. The critical lift-and-place transfer mechanism worked, and the system delivered hot 2,000-pound loads to the internal oil-quench tank. With a quench system that is entirely self-contained and vacuum-tight, the typical positive-pressure “flare and smoke-ups” during each quench cycle were nonexistent. The furnace, which was designed and built by Solar Manufacturing, has a hot zone measuring 36 x 36 x 48 inches.