Solar Manufacturing Awarded Order For R&D Vacuum Carburizing
Souderton, PA- Solar Manufacturing has received an order for a top loading
Model VTC-714 R&D furnace for the process development of low pressure
vacuum carburizing (LPVC) of new alloys for aircraft gearing. The customer is a
large manufacturer located in the mid-Atlantic US in the aircraft industry. The
furnace will be shipped in the second quarter of 2009.
Pete Reh, Vice President of Sales for Solar Manufacturing stated, "The customer
and the Solar Development Team have been collaborating for nearly 3 years to
develop the process for LPVC. The furnace will help prove out LPVC to optimize
the vacuum carburizing process with positive pressure gas quenching as
opposed to atmospheric carburizing with oil quenching."
The development team was headed by Don Jordan, Vice President and
Corporate Metallurgist, with the assistance of Trevor Jones, Research Engineer,
both of Solar Atmospheres, Inc., the parent company of Solar Manufacturing, Inc.
The carburizing process will be designed around US Patent Application no.
11/235,739, filed September 26, 2005 using a mixture of hydrogen and acetylene
as the carburizing gas.
To achieve consistent results, Solar Manufacturing's state-of-the-art, interactive
control system, the SolarVac 3000, will perform monitoring and controlling during
the LPVC process. The controls will consist of a Honeywell UDC2500; an Allen-
Bradley Micrologix 1500 PLC for all aspects of temperature and process control;
multiple Porter Instrument absolute gas flow controllers; a MKS absolute vacuum
gauge; and a Eurotherm Graphic Display video recorder for data acquisition.
The new, top loading furnace will feature a high efficiency, graphite insulated hot
zone for operation up to 2650°F. Ultimate vacuum capability will be 10-5 Torr,
and a high pressure radial fan will re-circulate nitrogen gas at two atmospheres
(2 bar). The 10 HP quench motor will be controlled by an Allen-Bradley variable
speed drive for optimum gas quenching.
Solar Manufacturing is part of Solar Atmospheres, Inc., one of the largest and
most progressive, independent commercial heat treaters in the USA. To learn
more about Solar Manufacturing's diverse product line of vacuum heat treating,
brazing, and carburizing furnaces, contact Peter Reh, Vice President of Sales, at
267-384-5040 x 509 or pkr@solarmfg.com. More information can also be found
on www.solarmfg.com.
