SECO/VACUUM Technologies (SVT), a SECO/WARWICK Group company, sold four Vector vacuum furnaces in the first two months of 2020. Two high-pressure gas-quench (HPGQ) furnaces of different sizes were purchased by a Midwest tool-and-die manufacturer. The other two furnaces were purchased by a cutting-tool manufacturer, who will use it for tempering, and an aerospace components manufacturer.

SECO/WARWICK received an order from a machine-tool manufacturer for two vacuum heat-treatment furnaces. The manufacturer purchased a multi-chamber vacuum furnace with oil quench and a high-pressure gas-quench vacuum furnace for its recently created captive heat-treat department. All of the necessary auxiliary equipment, such as chilling water storage and pumping, were included in the package. As part of the sale, SECO/WARWICK will create and deliver process recipes for the company to make the transition to in-house heat treatment as efficient as possible.

Solar Manufacturing shipped a vacuum furnace to a company in Virginia that services the tool-and-die industry. The furnace, which has a load weight capacity up to 250 pounds and a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F (1315°C), will be used for solution annealing, aging and brazing. It includes a graphite-insulated hot zone and the SolarVac Essentials control system.

TAV Vacuum Furnaces supplied a vacuum furnace with rapid cooling in inert gas at high pressure to a company in the aviation industry. The furnace, which has useful dimensions of 400 mm (15.7 inches) wide x 400 mm (15.7 inches) high x 600 mm (23.6 inches) long and a maximum operating temperature of 2282°F (1250°C), is suited for hardening and annealing. An inert-gas circulation system combines high flow, high pressure and multidirectional flow distribution to ensure rapid and uniform cooling of the charge. The AMS 2750E-compliant furnace includes a SCADA supervisory system.

Solar Manufacturing built and shipped two furnaces to Tennessee for use in the medical and additive-manufacturing industries. The furnaces feature metallic-insulated hot zones, a load capacity up to 2,000 pounds and a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F (1315°C). Measuring 24 inches wide x 24 inches high x 48 inches deep and 24 inches wide x 24 inches high x 36 inches deep respectively, each furnace was designed with the SolarVac Polaris control system.

Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems built and installed a continuous vacuum furnace with 5-bar pressure-quench capabilities at a company in the Midwest. The five-zone furnace is rated to 2400°F. The independent load and quench modules allow the heat module to hold temperature and vacuum, creating an extremely pure environment. Workloads are indexed through the furnace as quickly as every six minutes. A pair of internal vacuum/pressure doors that seal against corresponding internal machined flanges means that no complex clamping mechanisms are required.

UCM 4D Quench is a vacuum heat-treatment system for individual quenching of component parts such as gears, shafts, bearing races and rings.

SECO/WARWICK delivered an all-metal high-vacuum furnace with a work-chamber size of 1,200 mm x 1,200 mm x 1,200 mm to Hauck Heat Treatment Group’s recently expanded plant in Eindhoven, Netherlands. According to the companies, it is the largest furnace of its type currently in operation in the Benelux region. It is also the third furnace SECO/WARWICK has delivered to Hauck’s Eindhoven facility. In addition, SECO/WARWICK has established a strong cooperation with Hauck’s plant in Poland, where new vacuum furnaces are scheduled to be delivered.

Ipsen USA installed a vacuum furnace at Stack Metallurgical Group’s site in Spokane Valley, Wash. Formerly known as Inland NW Metallurgical Services, Stack Spokane is one of the company’s four locations offering a range of metal-processing services. Installation of the 2-bar vacuum furnace, which will be used to process critical aerospace components, was completed in late 2019. Stack operates four Ipsen furnaces in Spokane and 12 more at its site in Portland, Ore.

Nitrex, a global provider of fully integrated heat-treating solutions and technologies, acquired G-M Enterprises, a manufacturer of vacuum furnaces. The acquisition is in line with Nitrex’s strategy to further expand its heat-treatment solutions while strengthening its products portfolio. For the past 30 years, Corona, Calif.-based G-M Enterprises has earned a reputation as a leading technological supplier of vacuum furnaces for customers in the aerospace, power-generation, energy, MIM and commercial heat-treating industries. According to Montreal-based Nitrex, the acquisition represents a great fit because both companies share the same goal of providing technologies that improve customer workflow and efficiency while maximizing the life span and quality of engineered parts and components.