Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will use a vertical vacuum retort furnace supplied by SECO/WARWICK for high-vacuum annealing of gyrotron components. The furnace will have a water jacket with a compact integrated cooling system. When open, it is 12 meters high, and the diameter of the usable space is 1.8 meters. KIT also required a specific level of high vacuum that will be achieved with the use of a cryogenic pump. According to SECO/WARWICK, the vacuum furnace will enable researchers at KIT to achieve a very clean process under vacuum and, thanks to its dimensions, will enable them to develop gyrotrons with larger dimensions.

Signature Vacuum Systems received an order from a United States defense contractor for a custom ceramic sintering vacuum furnace. The furnace, the fifth Signature furnace to be installed at this facility, will increase production capacity. Rated for 3362°F (1850°C), it has a graphite hot zone measuring 36 inches in diameter x 48 inches high.

Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems opened a 7,700-square-foot technical center in Livonia, Mich. The Livonia technical center will house engineering, sales and service personnel. Gasbarre is currently in the process of installing atmosphere and vacuum processing equipment to support product development, customer trials and demonstrations. With locations in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Michigan, the addition of the technical center allows Gasbarre to have qualified personnel to support the large customer base in the Midwest region.

Solar Manufacturing shipped a vacuum furnace to a medical device and implant manufacturer in the Southeast United States. It features an all-metal insulated hot zone, a load weight capacity of up to 250 pounds and a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F (1227°C). The Mentor vacuum furnace will be used to age harden and anneal medical devices and implants. According to Solar Manufacturing, the furnace was delivered along with a water system and a custom heat-treat recipe for the medical-grade components being processed.

Ipsen received two orders for vacuum furnaces at the start of 2021. A power-tool manufacturer based in the United States ordered a TurboTreater vacuum furnace to increase production capacity. It is the ninth Ipsen vacuum furnace at that facility. In addition, a medical implant manufacturer ordered a MetalMaster external-quench vacuum furnace. It will be designed with an all-metal hot zone for long high-temperature cycles. The furnace’s multi-staged pumping system is capable of providing low residual-oxygen levels for processing titanium components.

Solar Manufacturing shipped an external-quench vacuum furnace to a West Coast aerospace manufacturer. The furnace has an all-metal hot zone, load capacity up to 10,000 pounds and a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F. It also includes a 2-bar quench system optimized for argon with a 150-HP quench motor and variable-frequency drive. The AMS 2750F-compliant furnace, which has a work zone measuring 48 inches wide x 48 inches high x 72 inches deep, will be primarily used for vacuum heat treating investment castings.

AVS Inc. (AVS), a manufacturer of custom vacuum and pressure furnaces, announced the successful transfer of ownership from Steven Levesque to Jacob (Jake) Krashan. Since 1984, Levesque had committed his life’s work to the design, development and construction of quality vacuum and pressure furnaces. In 2005, he became CEO, president and owner. Levesque now confidently leaves Ayer, Mass.-based AVS in the capable hands of Krashan, a long-term employee who was promoted to COO in 2015. He became CEO, president and owner on Nov. 20, 2020.

Solar Atmospheres of Western Pennsylvania completed a hot-zone replacement on one of its larger horizontal car-bottom vacuum furnaces. This is the second hot-zone rebuild over 17 years of furnace operation. The furnace, which has a work zone measuring 54 inches wide x 54 inches high x 144 inches long and a load capacity of 50,000 pounds, has been in service since 2003 and is the first furnace built by our sister company, Solar Manufacturing. It has a maximum operating temperature of 2800°F (1538°C) and performs many different daily thermal cycles ranging from 500-2750°F (260-1510°C).

Solar Atmospheres of California (SCA) added additional large furnace capacity to its inventory of vacuum equipment. The furnace was specifically designed to process a variety of materials that require optimum performance during controlled heating, controlled cooling, vacuum processing, positive-pressure processing and differential-pressure processing. The furnace includes an 84-inch-diameter x 144-inch-long graphite and CFC hot zone. It has a maximum operating temperature of 2650°F, temperature uniformity ±10°F and a maximum load of 50,000 pounds.

Solar Manufacturing recently shipped a 10-bar gas-quenching vacuum furnace to a captive heat treater in New England. Featuring high-pressure gas quenching and vacuum carburizing, the furnace has a graphite-insulated hot zone with a work area measuring 24 inches wide x 24 inches high x 36 inches deep and a load capacity up to 2,000 pounds. The AMS 2750F-compliant furnace has a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F (1315°C) and temperature uniformity of ±10°F. The furnace is equipped with the state-of-the-art SolarVac Polaris control system with carburizing software.