3ES – ECOLOGY, ECONOMY, EFFICIENCY – THIS IS HOW SECO/WARWICK’S VACUUM TECHNOLOGIES WIN THE MARKET

This past year, SECO/WARWICK recorded a very good year in the sale of vacuum technologies.

It is becoming more and more evident that these modern solutions are gradually displacing atmospheric furnaces due to their huge production efficiency, production economy and the ecology associated with vacuum processing.

The SECO/WARWICK Group has strengthened its position as a vacuum technology leader. The market is increasingly choosing vacuum furnaces: a single-chamber – Vector®, and two- and three-chamber furnaces from the CaseMaster Evolution family. They are mainly of interest to the aviation, energy, tooling, and automotive industries as well as to commercial heat treaters.

The Vector continues to be a leader in vacuum technology

In the wide range of SECO/WARWICK Group products, Vector® is by far the most versatile vacuum furnace and the most popular product in the company’s portfolio. Vector is a universal, single-chamber vacuum furnace used for annealing, brazing, quenching and tempering, as well as for low-pressure carburizing. It provides heating and cooling precisision temperature control, which allows for high quality, as well as economical and efficient furnace operation. Vector furnaces meet all international standards and the requirements of many heat treatment processes. In 2022, producers from dozens of countries took advantage of the wide possibilities offered by the Vector technology. The market is also increasingly choosing the Vector furnace with high-pressure gas quenching (HPGQ).

This solution was used in Europe by tire manufacturer Michelin, which purchased a Vector® compact vacuum furnace. It will be indispensable in the gas quenching process for tools in the premium tire production segment. Alberts Surface Technologies, a top SECO/WARWICK’s customer, decided to cooperate with the Group once again. In 2022, the commercial heat treater placed orders with SECO/WARWICK on two occasions – the Aaalberts Group already has 10 SECO/WARWICK solutions. This year’s contracts were related to the delivery of two vacuum furnaces to the Group’s Spanish branch – Aalberts Surface Technologies TEY, and to the expansion of the Group’s Polish hardening plant with an innovative AFT technology line based on two-chamber atmospheric furnaces. It is worth noting that Aalberts ordered the largest solution from SECO/WARWICK portfolio, a horizontal retort furnace for high tempering with vacuum purging.

In the USA, the heat treatment of the seventh and the last module of the world’s largest superconducting electromagnet has been successfully completed. A specialized vacuum furnace supplied by the American branch was used to implement the project. General Atomics is responsible for the project, being a part of the international ITER program.

CaseMaster Evolution – two and three chamber innovations

For SECO/WARWICK, 2022 is also a year of dynamic growth for the CaseMaster Evolution two- and three-chamber furnace solutions. Härtewerk Chemnitz GmbH, one of Germany’s largest heat treaters, has purchased the Super IQ model, a double-chamber vacuum furnace combining modern, low-pressure carburizing with traditional oil quenching. The furnace eliminates the need to use a classic carburizing atmosphere and the associated danger resulting from the presence of open fire and carbon monoxide. Instead, the Super IQ allows for clean treatment and can achieve carburizing at a higher temperature to speed up cycles and improve efficiency. Parts are also much cleaner and brighter. The Super IQ is a well-thought-out replacement for traditional IQ gas heated atmosphere furnaces. Technological progress allows the system to work at higher temperatures for vacuum carburizing and clean quenching without decarburizing effects.

“Customers choose this technology because it is green, productive and cost effective. 3E technologies (economy, efficiency, ecology) are definitely the future. We promote the CaseMaster Evolution group of products, because it is perfect for heat treatment facilities and can successfully replace obsolete and non-ecological atmospheric equipment with gas carburizing. Super IQ solves the pain points for hardening plants because the system can be switched on and off without additional time and energy expenditure. It is economical because it does not require maintainance at specific temperature parameters during standstill as is the case for traditional atmosphere furnaces. Vacuum treatment also increases the final product quality and the process safety. The work takes place in a non-flammable environment,” says Maciej Korecki, Vice President of the Vacuum Segment at SECO/WARWICK.

Vacuum solutions on the American market

The American market is an important recipient of these technologies in the vacuum solution segment,