Vacuum Heat Treat Furnace Technology

The Vacuum Team offers vacuum heat treating furnaces for a wide variety of processes.  We build some of the largest and most technically advanced vacuum furnaces in operation, developing advanced technologies like gas or high pressure quench, vacuum pre-nitriding and low pressure (LPC) vacuum carburizing.  

Our vacuum furnaces are designed to provide the flexibility, purity and process control necessary to meet exacting and diverse requirements. We build vacuum furnaces for hardening, tempering, annealing, brazing, sintering carburizing, carbon/carbon composites, graphitizing and degassing. Click here for a summary of vacuum processes and designs

SECO/WARWICK S.A. and Retech Systems LLC provide vacuum metallurgical equipment including induction (VIM), arc (VAR), electron beam (EB) and plasma (PAM) furnaces - dedicated for melting and refining processes of specialty metals.

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Vacuum Furnace Articles

Single Chamber
Gas QuenchPre-nitriding
Carburizing
25 Bar

"Single-Chamber HPGQ Vacuum Furnace with Quenching Efficiency Comparable to Oil"
This article discusses the new generation, single-chamber vacuum furnace with a high pressure gas-quenching system (HPGQ) that can quench with greater efficiency than a double chamber furnace with result comparable to oil quench systems. This article was published in the Sept. 2009 edition of Industrial Heating Magazine;

Click here to download

High Pressure Quench (HPQ)

LPC Vacuum Carburizing

FineCarb Process Controls

Simulation Software

"Next Generation HPQ Furnaces" published in the September 2008 edition of Heat Treating Progress (ASM Heat Treat Society publication) reviews the latest advances in HPQ - LPC Carburizing equipment and processes. State of the Technology issues are discussed, including:

• Radial Nozzle vs Axial Quenching
• Quenching Rates
• Quench media oil & HPQ up to 25 Bar Helium

Click here to read the complete article in .pdf format

The Controls: FineCarb™ Control System provides precision process control automatically reducing process time

Short Description - Click here

Technical Paper - Click here

SimVac™ Carburizing Simulation Software works with FineCarb process software as a professional tool to design vacuum carburizing process cycles: Users save time and reduce process errors by simulating steel carburizing  process cycles prior running actual trials. The system allows the user to choose the carburizing and diffusion specifications, process, temperature, pre-cooling and soak times. The user can then select the steel grade from a complete menu of pre-programmed US, European and Russian specifications along with the part geometry, radius and surface area. The system automatically computes the batch weight and surface area.

Click here for our new brochure

Steels for Vacuum Carburizing and Structure of the Carburizing Layer after Low Pressure Carburizing by R. Gorockiewicz, Ph.D. University of Zielona Góra, Poland. A. Adamek, M. Korecki. SECO/WARWICK S.A., Swiebodzin, Poland is a discussion of the application of low pressure carburizing technology for hardening steel in metallurgical terms.

Click here for the full text paper in .pdf format

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Vacuum Brazing

Successful vacuum brazing relies on using the proper techniques, correct materials and furnace capabilities to continuously control the brazing cycle. More than 90% of all brazing problems reportedly are a result of not paying close attention to basic brazing fundamentals. This article was originally published in Heat Treating Progress:

Click here for "Issues in Vacuum Brazing"

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Vacuum
Sintering

This article describes the process of manufacturing PM parts as applied in the Metal Forming Institute in conjunction with SECO/WARWICK S. A., Sweibodzin, Poland. The authors compare the effect of different sintering methods on the microstructure and hardness of three sample parts. This article was published in the International Powder Metallurgy Directory.

Click here for "The Impact of Sintering on Microstructure and Hardness"

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Vacuum Heat Treatment of H-13 Die Steel

Case Study: Therm-Tech of Waukesh, WI earns Ford AMTD-DC2010 Supplier Certification