Increased usage of refractory metals, titanium and their alloys in the aerospace and electronics industries has led to the use of the hydride/dehydride (HDH) heat-treating process for recovery of spent materials. The HDH process has been known for many years in the manufacturing of transition-metal powders.

Vacuum carburizing has become one of the hottest topics in the heat treat industry and the development of low-torr range carburization is an important advancement for metallurgical applications.