• TOPICS
    • Design
    • Manufacturing
    • Inspection
    • Heat Treating
    • Lubrication
    • Materials
    • The Gear Industry
    • Gears by Type
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Departments
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Advertise
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Subscribe
  • VIDEO
    • Gear Technology TV
      • Ask the Expert Live
      • Revolutions
    • Industry Videos
  • BLOGS
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • NEWS and EVENTS
    • Product News
    • Industry News
    • Events
  • ADVERTISING
    • Brand Awareness
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
    • Response & Lead Generation
      • Online: Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • Online: Buyers Guide
    • Print Advertising
      • Print: Display Advertising
      • Print: IMTS Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
      • Print: Specifications
    • Online Advertising
      • Online: Web Banners & Keyword Banners
      • Online: Native Advertising (Sponsored Content)
      • Online: Buyers Guide
      • Online: Specifications
    • E-mail Advertising
      • E-mail: E-Newsletters
      • E-mail: Newsletter Sponsored Content (Native Advertising)
      • E-mail: Custom, White Papers & Webinars
      • E-mail: Specifications
    • Special Promotions
      • Print: IMTS Showstoppers
      • Print: Buyers Guide
      • Print: Manufacturing sMart
  • CONTACT US
  • AGMA
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Education
    • Emerging Technology
    • AGMA Media
    • Standards
Subscribe
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Solar Achieves Impressive Results with Sintering Vacuum Furnace

Solar Achieves Impressive Results with Sintering Vacuum Furnace

January 4, 2022
In 2021, Solar Atmospheres of Western PA reported that they were retrofitting a vacuum furnace for use in a new Metal Injection Molding (MIM) and Additive Manufacturing (AM) binder removal technology application. The goal was to build a vacuum sintering furnace with a new innovative hot zone and pumping technology that would minimize and target the deposit of detrimental binders evaporating out of MIM and AM parts. The furnace has now been in production for over a month and has produced multiple high temperature sintering cycles and the results are impressive!

The hot zone, after repeated 2400°F sintering cycles, remains immaculately clean. The problematic binders coalesced exactly where they were targeted to consolidate - within a separate heated pumping port while keeping the primary pump and booster uncontaminated. Most importantly, the customer reported that their sintered parts processed in this new furnace never looked better. The MIM parts were extremely bright and met their critical density and dimensional requirements.

The anticipated maintenance savings on this dedicated furnace, versus processing sintering and AM work with binders in a traditional vacuum furnace, will be considerable. Processing this job in a conventional vacuum furnace required a scheduled monthly shutdown. Solar’s maintenance team had to extract the hot zone, replace the ceramics, clean, or replace the power feed through terminals, scrape the cold walls, clean the diffusion pumps, and scour all the pumping system pipes. The added labor and material costs coupled with the lost production time and degradation on the life of the hot zone cost the company more than $180,000 per year. The projected maintenance costs on this newly designed sintering furnace will be $10,000 per year. 

Bob Hill, president of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA reports, “Knowing the effects of what MIM and certain AM processing had done to our equipment in the past, Bill Jones and the engineers at Solar Manufacturing developed an innovative solution for us. Having this newly designed vacuum furnace will be an asset for our future in MIM and AM processing.”  
Manufacturing Heat Treating Processes Sintering Product News
  • Related Articles

    Solar Atmospheres and Solar Manufacturing Approach Finish Line for World's Largest Vacuum Furnace

    Solar Atmospheres Adds Vacuum Furnace to South Carolina Facility

    Solar Donates Vacuum Furnace to ASM

  • Related Events

    Eurotrans Gear Weeks 2022

    Eurotrans Gear Weeks 2022

    Eurotrans Gear Weeks 2022

Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
Free Gear Technology Subscriptions
Subscribe
FEATURED VIDEO
  • Kapp3
    Kapp Niles ZP 20 Set-up
May 6, 2022
RECOMMENDED
  • Kapp Niles Examines Intelligent Rolling Grinding for E-mobility

    April 25, 2022
    Opening Image.jpg
  • The New Age of Bronze

    April 25, 2022
    Barton1.jpg
  • Relationship Building — The Critical Component of Success

    April 25, 2022
    Depositphotos_80147336_XL.jpg
  • LPC Carburizing: The Affordable Alternative to Gas Carburizing

    April 25, 2022
    Nitrex2.jpg
  • Hardness Testing Gears — Know Your Options for Best Results

    April 25, 2022
    Starrett1.jpg
  • LPC Carburizing: The Affordable Alternative to Gas Carburizing

    April 25, 2022
    Nitrex2.jpg
  • Hardness Testing Gears — Know Your Options for Best Results

    April 25, 2022
    Starrett1.jpg
  • Kapp Niles Examines Intelligent Rolling Grinding for E-mobility

    April 25, 2022
    Opening Image.jpg
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • AGMA
Powered byAGMA
Copyright © 2022 Gear Technology
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact