Solar Atmospheres in Souderton, PA, recently commissioned a new vacuum furnace capable of utilizing high-pressure gas quenching at 20-Bar (about 300 PSI) to meet demanding cooling rate specifications for the heat treatment of nickel-based superalloys.
Solar Atmospheres hosted over 40 high school students enrolled in the Summer Engineering Institute (SEI) at Lehigh University. Under the guidance of Director Dr. Laura Moyer, the SEI program is a two-week residential program, running two back-to-back sessions.
Recently, Solar Atmospheres commissioned a new 25,000 square foot brazing facility aimed at high-volume, high-quality braze production. The facility boasts six vacuum furnaces dedicated to brazing, including a unique all-metal hot-zone furnace designed for brazing stainless steel to copper with silver and gold-based braze filler metal (BFM).
Quality control, EV components, energy consumption and material influences are just a handful of topics being discussed in heat treating today. New heat treat methods and global trends will be the topic of conversation later this year at Heat Treat 2023. Here’s a round-up of some stories circulating across key market segments.
Solar Atmospheres of California (SCA) successfully installed a brand new 14-foot-long car bottom Air Furnace with a total load capacity of up to 30,000 pounds. The furnace was surveyed in accordance with AMS2750 and is uniform within ±10°F (Class 2). The furnace has a working zone that is 60-inches square by 168 inches long and handles a workload up to 30,000 pounds. With a maximum operating temperature of 1450°F, this furnace accommodates not only the tempering of large tool steel components but also age hardening of 15-5 PH, 17-4 PH, 13-8PH and nickel-based alloys, and the annealing of Titanium Forgings.
Solar Atmospheres of Western Pennsylvania is pleased to announce the approval of a critical Boeing specification for the oil quenching of alloy steels in accordance with Boeing’s specification BAC 5617.
Solar Atmospheres of Western PA successfully vacuum heat treated two massive H13 extrusion dies at their Hermitage PA facility. Their newest high performing Solar Manufacturing 10-Bar 600 Horsepower high pressure gas quench vacuum furnace was able to fully harden two huge H13 extrusion dies in successive cycles.
Solar Atmospheres of Michigan, formerly Vac-Met, has recently purchased 18,000 square feet of plant space on four plus acres in Chesterfield Michigan. The new building is 20 miles Northeast of the two existing Vac-Met facilities which are currently located in Warren and Fraser Michigan.