Solar Atmospheres of Western PA breaks ground to make way for the world's largest production vacuum furnace

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA recently had a groundbreaking ceremony for a facility to house their newest addition - a brand new 6-1/2 foot diameter by 48 foot long vacuum furnace with a load capacity up to 150,000 lbs. In the beginning of the new year, the behemoth furnace will be assembled within the newly constructed 18,000 square foot building. The furnace will be uniform to within +/- 10°F per AMS 2750 E between the production temperature ranges of 300°F to 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” Varian diffusion pumps. Fast and uniform cooling will be achieved by using three 300 HP variable speed drive blower motors. Finally, a unique insulation pack will be installed into both load cars which will ultimately help reduce normal atmospheric (dew point) contamination.

This $10 million dollar plus project will complement the other large US patented dual bottom load car vacuum furnaces (one 36 foot long vacuum furnace, three 24 foot long vacuum furnaces, and one 12 foot long vacuum furnace) that are currently in production along with ten mid-size vacuum furnaces. Bob Hill, President of Solar Atmospheres of Western PA, states, “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 PA 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.”