During the past few decades, fluidized-bed technology has not lost any of its importance for heat-treatment applications in terms of quality and has even become indispensable in some application niches due to its special properties.

Last month, my right rear-lower molar broke. As shown in Figure 1, the fracture event resulted in a chipped condition.

Solar Atmospheres purchased and commissioned a Hitachi scanning electron microscope (SEM). The FlexSEM1000 II will allow the commercial heat treater to meet customer needs, such as strict requirements for low-level contamination from carbon, oxygen and/or nitrogen post heat treating. In addition, the SEM will enable Solar to fulfill materials characterization and microstructural determination requests beyond basic metallography and hardness testing. This investment is a response to the changing needs of Solar’s customers.