Hydrogen Heat Treat

Orange

• Heats the assembly in a furnace filled with H2 (molecular Hydrogen) which reduces oxides and removes hydrocarbons
• Ensures clean, oxidation-free joints that require little in the way of post-brazing cleaning or adjustment
• Permits precise control of the heating cycle making it better suited for more exotic or highly engineered applications
• Hydrogen may be applied either wet or dry
• Thermal-Vac’ss Hydrogen Brazing Furnace is designed for economical, high-volume/high quality production, is belt-fed for continuous operation, and contains two retorts so that one is always in use while the other is being loaded

Induction Heat Treat

Orange

• Thermal-Vac has induction heat treated Molybdenum/Rhenium at 3000°F in an atmosphere bubble and has induction hardened gear teeth in specialized water quenching tools
• Our induction machines are setup with microprocessors that can provide for a specific heat treating profile to be run to a specific program which can be cycled, having endless set point opportunities
• Custom fabricated induction coils and tooling accommodate many parts configuration
• Our coils and tooling can be tested and verified on sample parts to assure a smooth transition to production capabilities
• Thermal-Vac commonly joins carbon alloy and stainless steels, copper alloys, and nickel alloys

Atmosphere Heat Treat

Orange

• Perfectly suited for smaller production volumes or unusual designs
• Atmospheres include Nitrogen, Hydrogen, and Argon
• Employs a torch to heat the joint and melt the filler material
• The joint is protected from oxidation by using filler materials that melt well below the oxidizing temperatures of the parent materials
• Versatile technique which produce consistently high-quality connections
• With the exception of a few metals such as titanium, zirconium and certain stainless steels, most can be torch brazed

Annealing

Santa Fe Springs

Annealing is a process involving heating and cooling, usually applied to produce softening of the metal to facilitate machining or forming operations. The term also refers to treatments intended to alter mechanical or physical properties, produce a definite microstructure, or remove gases. The temperature of the operation and the rate of cooling depend upon the material being annealed and the purpose of the treatment.

Normalizing

Santa Fe Springs

Normalizing is a process in which steel is heated to a temperature above the transformation range and then cooled in still air. The purpose of the treatment is to obliterate the effects of any previous heat treatment and to insure a good result on re-heating for hardening or full annealing.

Hardening

Santa Fe Springs

Hardening and Tempering are used to provide the best combination of hardness, strength, and toughness in a steel for a given engineering purpose. This treatment consists of heating the steel above the transformation range, holding for a long enough time to insure uniform temperature and solution of the carbon and alloying elements in an austenitic microstructure, followed by rapid cooling (quenching) to a fully martensitic structure. The cooling medium can be air, oil, water, molten salt, fluidised bed, or a gas such as argon or nitrogen. Upon completion of hardening, the steel is in it’s hardest but most brittle condition. It is necessary to perform a subsequent tempering or drawing or process to produce a softer but much tougher condition.

Tempering

Santa Fe Springs

Tempering, sometimes called Drawing, is the process of re-heating hardened steels to reduce hardness and increase toughness. The tempering temperature depends upon the desired properties and the purpose for which the steel is to be used. Increasing the tempering temperature will reduce the hardness of the steel while increasing the toughness.