Solar Atmospheres gains approval for vacuum oil quench furnace

The furnace can quench alloy steels and martensitic stainless steels to stringent aerospace standards. Near-net shapes and finished products can be hardened by quenching in oil with minimal risk of surface contamination.

Solar Atmospheres of Western PA (SAWPA) has received Nadcap accreditation for its new, fully integrated Vacuum Oil Quench (VOQ) furnace.

Designed and built by Solar Manufacturing, the two-chamber VOQ furnace is completely sealed, meaning a significantly cleaner and safer oil quenching process. The entire VOQ system is much "greener" than traditional integral quench or open-pit quench furnaces.

With a maximum load weight of 2,000 pounds, the SAWPA VOQ furnace can successfully quench alloy steels and martensitic stainless steels to the most stringent of aerospace industry standards. Near-net shapes and finished products can be hardened by quenching in oil with minimal risk of surface contamination. SAWPA Plant Metallurgist Greg Scheuring says: “I admit I was nervous the first time we ran low alloy steel parts for a military contract. I assumed there would be a minimal partially decarburized layer. But when the low alloy steel parts came out with no decarburization with zero intergranular oxidation I knew the VOQ was going to open up a whole new market for SAWPA.”