Solar Atmospheres Adds New Climate Controlled Room

An operator loads a furnace in the new climate controlled room in our Souderton, PA facility.

Souderton, PA. January 20, 2015 – In today’s modern production environment requirements seldom stay the same. In 2015, a prime example is a new third-party accreditation program called MedAccred in the medical industry. This program is going to be the equivalent of the Nadcap program in the aerospace arena. In addition to MedAccred, medical prime contractors are demanding that environmental conditions are controlled, processes validated, and the risk of exposure to foreign object debris (FOD) reduced. Solar Atmospheres has taken preemptive action to develop and build a new area to meet these upcoming requirements.

In mid-2014, Solar Atmospheres installed a new area within the existing shop at our 1983 Clearview Road address. The area is approximately 1500 square feet and incorporates temperature and humidity controls, as well as a slight positive pressure environment. These features will minimize water vapor and dust/debris in the heat treating area. One unique feature of the space is the addition of a brand new, state-of-the-art, all-metal hot-zone vacuum furnace with an oversized pumping system, ability to isolate the quench system during the heat cycle, and all stainless steel chamber. The furnace is capable of maintaining a vacuum level of 5×10-6 torr or lower and has successfully processed the most sensitive materials unshielded without any surface contamination. The furnace is positioned outside of the room, and only the door protrudes through the wall into the climate controlled room. This is a very unusual arrangement in the commercial heat treating industry. Early in 2015, an existing furnace will be modified and updated with state-of-the-art controls and added to this new area as well. Currently two laboratory furnaces also reside within the room bringing the total number of furnaces in the area to four.

This new climate controlled room will add significant value to our customers’ operations, a core component of Solar’s mission statement, by lowering the risk of discoloration and FOD, and by the time-saving elimination of the need to shield parts during heat treating.