Solar Atmospheres of Western Pa., Hermitage, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a facility to house its newest addition, a 48-ft long vacuum furnace with a diameter of 6.5 ft. and a load capacity up to 150,000 lb. In the beginning of the new year, the behemoth furnace will be assembled within the newly constructed 18,000 sq. ft. building. The furnace temperature will be uniform to within +/- 10°F (per AMS 2750 E) between the production temperature ranges of 300 and 2250°F with a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F. Rapid vacuum pump down to the low 10-6 Torr range will be attained by utilizing three Edwards booster pumps, three Stokes roughing pumps, and three 35-in. Varian diffusion pumps. Fast and uniform cooling will be achieved by three 300 HP variable speed drive blower motors. Finally, a unique insulation pack will be installed into both load cars, to help reduce normal atmospheric (dew point) contamination.
This $10 million dollar plus project will complement the other large U.S. patented dual bottom load car vacuum furnaces (one 36 ft. vacuum furnace, three 24 ft. vacuum furnaces, and one 12 ft. vacuum furnace) that are currently in production, along with ten mid-size vacuum furnaces.
According to Bob Hill, President of Solar Atmospheres of Western Pa., “It is truly hard to believe that only 15 years ago we bought an empty 16,000 square foot building with a vision to expand Solar’s customer base into western Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio. After three building expansions, extensive investment, and hiring 50 extremely talented and dedicated employees, Solar will soon be operating within an 80,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility. The markets served will continue to be primarily quality aerospace and nuclear vacuum heat treating and brazing of large components.”
