After surviving one of the hottest and most humid summer seasons on record, Solar Atmospheres of Western PA decided to construct a climate-controlled environment for the daily operation of its brand new all-metal hot zoned vacuum furnace. The critical climate within this room is controlled utilizing a high quality HVAC system and is equipped with dehumidifiers and customizable thermostats. A heavy duty insulation package was installed, which ultimately helps to manage and stabilize temperature and humidity around the clock. The space also was constructed to produce a slightly positive pressure environment, which will help eliminate dust and debris from entering the set-up and fixturing areas.

Kevin Bekelja, vice president of operations, states, "With the new third party accreditation programs such as MedAccred gaining momentum, and knowing how detrimental high levels of humidity can be in the vacuum thermal processing of certain critical materials, we believe this venture is well worth the investment."

Both medical and aerospace contractors are continuing to demand that environmental conditions be controlled, processes validated and the risk of foreign object debris (FOD) be totally eliminated. This newly constructed environmentally controlled room will enable Solar Atmospheres of Western PA to pristinely thermally process critical components, which in turn will add even more value to the customer's operations.