The company has chosen to retire its 9 SECO/WARWICK sintering furnaces after 40 years of reliable service.
Built on a Legacy From Day One
SECO/VACUUM has only existed since 2017, but its legacy goes back a lot further than that. Parent company SECO/WARWICK had been building a variety of CAB, aluminum, atmosphere and vacuum furnaces for decades, but by 2017 it was apparent that vacuum heat treating had become so prominent in the heat treating industry that it deserved its own division. That is how it came about that this heat treat Partner trusted a 7-year-old SECO/VACUUM to replace their 40-year-old sintering furnaces.
The 1980s-era furnaces are still working, long after they’ve earned their return-on-investment many times over, but even with proper maintenance and upkeep, they are showing their age. They will be replaced with 6 new furnaces from SECO/VACUUM.
The new furnaces will be Vector furnaces configured as vacuum sintering furnaces with 2-bar gas cooling. The sintering is a critical process used to fuse metals together without reaching melting temperature. Is generally used for fixing the strands of wire mesh in place, consolidating powder metals, or any application where the objective is fusing metals together while remaining below melting temperatures.
The furnace hot zones will be 26” wide, 30” high, and 62” deep (660 x 760 x 1575 mm), which is the same size as the retiring furnaces, allowing them to continue using their existing heat-treat fixtures.
The modern controls and improved cycle time will be appreciated, and the SECO/VACUUM reliability means they can depend on these furnaces for another 40 years of sintering.
