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.

Now the heat-treat world is seeing another groundbreaking technological advancement, the introduction of the next generation of integral-quench furnaces.

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SECO/WARWICK designed, manufactured and commissioned a 25-kg (55-pound) single-crystal furnace and a 50-kg (110-pound) vacuum melting and casting furnace for the production of high-quality, premium castings for a producer of aviation engines in China. The order includes a high-temperature vacuum gas-quench furnace that will be used for scale- and pollution-free thermal treatment of metals. SECO/WARWICK will also provide professional technical services to ensure smooth start-up and operation of the equipment.

Ipsen USA was awarded an order to supply a West Coast aerospace customer with four 2-bar vacuum furnaces that will be used for heat treating additively manufactured parts in full-scale production. The furnaces have a load size of 36 inches wide x 36 inches high x 48 inches deep and can process up to 3,000 pounds. Ipsen shipped two of the furnaces in November and will ship the remaining two in January.

The heart of the vacuum furnace system is just as critical as the heart of the human body. Just as it is important to keep your heart healthy and pumping, it is crucial to keep your vacuum furnace system healthy and pumping.

The MuShield Co. of Londonderry, N.H., commissioned Solar Manufacturing to build its first vacuum furnace. The furnace is designed to accommodate loads up to 36 inches wide x 36 inches high x 72 inches deep and a maximum weight of 5,000 pounds. MuShield, which is undergoing an expansion, serves the magnetic shielding industry by providing material designed to protect sensitive electronics from magnetic fields. The additional space will house the new furnace, which has a maximum temperature of 2400°F.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA completed construction of a new brazing and assembly room. Though built primarily to accommodate a large aluminum brazing project for a specific customer, the room will be used for other brazing and assembly work. The temperature- and humidity-controlled room provides a clean environment for the critical assembly and alloying methods employed by Solar. All inventories of the clean components for final assemblies will be safely stored within the new space.