Solar Atmospheres Inc., Souderton, Pa., recently installed a state-of-the-art Solar Manufacturing horizontal internal quench vacuum furnace that is 74 inches in diameter by 72 inches deep at its Clearview Road facility. The investment totals over $1.8 million, including additional utilities and installation.
The goal of the massive quench system is to be able to quench larger batches of power-generation castings by increasing the cooling rate and eliminating the supplemental use of helium and operating in 100% argon, which has proved successful in operation. The furnace incorporates Solar Manufacturing’s latest SolarVac 5000 control system, which allows for complete process automation.
The furnace is designed to quench with argon at 10 bar, while utilizing a 600-horsepower motor running at 460 volts from a variable speed drive, and rear head movable gas baffle doors.
“This furnace is a real game changer,” says Solar’s Director of Sales Mike Moyer.
For general purpose heat treating, pictured are two Leadar Roll Inc., 2200-pound rolls, 4400 pounds total, heated to 2150°F and quenched in 10-bar nitrogen and then tempered at 1000°F. The core material is 4140 with outer case CPM9V, and the as-quenched hardness is greater than Rockwell C 60.
