Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA) received Nadcap accreditation for its new, fully integrated vacuum oil quench (VOQ) furnace. Designed and built by Solar Manufacturing, this two-chamber VOQ furnace is completely sealed, meaning a significantly cleaner and safer oil-quenching process. The entire VOQ system is much “greener” than traditional integral quench or open-pit quench furnaces, according to SAWPA. With a maximum load weight of 2,000 pounds, the furnace can successfully quench alloy steels and martensitic stainless steels to the most stringent of aerospace industry standards. Near-net shapes and finished products can be hardened by quenching in oil with minimal risk of surface contamination.

The Nitrex Heat Treating Services (HTS) facility in Franklin, Ind., received the Nadcap (National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) accreditation for the following processes: heat treating for multiple alloy families, stress relieving, carburizing, nitriding, vacuum heat treating, hardness and metallography. Nadcap is known as the highest level of quality certification when it comes to heat treating and is particularly valuable in the aerospace sector. Nadcap has also approved the operations of the Nitrex HTS facility in Queretaro, Mexico.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently took occupancy of a new 15,000-square-foot connector building that joins the 80,000-square-foot workspace, which houses some of the largest vacuum furnaces in the world, to the 10,000-square-foot Nadcap laboratory, testing building and vacuum oil quenching building. The primary purpose of the new building is to create a clear and defined flow of work using a pull-push system rather than having incoming and outgoing jobs combined in front of heat-treating equipment. All incoming jobs will now be “pulled” from this building, and completed jobs will be “pushed” back to a designated outbound area. The new space will serve as a conduit for transfer of materials from production to final testing.

Peters’ Heat Treating Inc. recently earned Nadcap certificates in Heat Treating and AC7004 Aerospace Quality Management System at its Meadville, Pa., facility. The company is focused on continuing to improve its processes and services in order to service all customer needs. Nadcap provides a standardized approach to quality assurance for the aerospace industry. Accredited companies must have a stringent quality system in place and be able to pass annual audits to keep the certifications active.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA) successfully achieved Nadcap AC7101/4 accreditation for its captive metallography laboratory and became an approved Boeing Process Source (D1-4426). The accreditation will allow SAWPA to test for microhardness, surface contamination, intergranular oxidation and grain size in accordance with various aerospace specifications, including many Boeing process specifications. Furthermore, the accreditation will reduce SAWPA’s dependence on outside testing facilities and provide its customers with a single-source supplier capable of meeting all testing needs internally. Along with the laboratory accreditation, SAWPA continued the 24-month merit status for Nadcap heat treating.

This coordinated Nadcap system results in a standardized approach to quality assurance and a reduction in redundant auditing throughout the aerospace industry.