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.

Bill Gornicki has been named director of sales at ECM USA Inc. in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Gornicki has 30 years of heat-treat industry experience and has previously worked at Diablo Furnaces, ALD Vacuum Systems and Ipsen. His experience in low-pressure vacuum carburizing will further company equipment sales with project forecasting, development and management. He will also contribute market analysis, technical papers and advertising for the U.S. and Canada markets.

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.

North Star BlueScope Steel will add a melt shop to its steelmaking facility in Delta, Ohio. Danieli will supply a 195-ton electric-arc furnace (EAF), two ladle metallurgy furnaces (LMFs) and Pulse-Jet fume-treatment plant. The EAF will be equipped with Danieli’s Q-Melt heat suite for adaptive melting process control. It will also include pressurized water-cooled roof and panels and injection technology. The first heat at the melt shop is expected by the end of 2021.

ALD Vacuum Technologies GmbH will build a heat-treatment services center in China, the company’s fourth such plant worldwide. Officially registered as ALD Thermal Treatment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., the facility will be equipped with ModulTherm, ALD’s heat-treatment system, and will serve the domestic industry with heat-treatment services. The new production hall will be build next to subsidiary ALD-C&K Vacuum Technologies (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. The start of production is scheduled for autumn of 2020. 

Lindberg/MPH shipped a gas-fired nitriding pit furnace with built-in retort to a company in the welding industry. The furnace is designed for single- and two-stage nitriding processes and post-oxidation applications. The design accepts either one-piece work baskets, retort baffle or nest trays. The gross load capacity is 5,000 pounds at 1200°F, and the furnace chamber has dimensions of 38 inches in diameter and 90 inches high. The furnace is designed to produce laminar airflow to obtain the required +/-15°F temperature uniformity.

Samuel, Son & Co., a metals distributor and industrial products manufacturer, acquired all remaining shares of Burloak Technologies. Oakville, Ontario-based Burloak provides engineering and designs for additive manufacturing, materials development, high-precision CNC machining, post-processing and metrology. The company works with companies in the space, aerospace, automotive and industrial markets to rapidly transition their most challenging part designs to be additively manufactured at scale. Samuel originally acquired a minority stake in Burloak Technologies in 2017.

Global automotive parts manufacturer NTN will invest approximately $58 million to expand its facility in Anderson, Ind. The expansion will create 140 new jobs and allow for heat treatment in the plant.

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.