| The Monthly Newsletter of Vac Aero International Inc. | If you are having trouble viewing this e-mail, click here. To log on to the VAC AERO web site, please click here. |
November 2009 |
905-827-4171 |
| VAC AERO Receives Large European Union Grant for Expansion in Poland | |
VAC AERO International's Polish subsidiary, VAC AERO Kalisz Sp. z o.o, has been awarded grants totaling 6.4 million PLN (approximately 2.4 million CDN dollars) through the European Union's New Innovative Investments Program.
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The grants will support 60% of the company's investment to establish a new special processes facility in the Aviation Valley region of southeast Poland, specifically in the Free Economic Zone (FEZ) near Rzeszow. The Rzeszow-area FEZ is a burgeoning center for aerospace manufacturing. In March 2010, VAC AERO Kalisz will begin construction of a 2,000 m2 (20,000 ft2) building and expects to be in operation at the new site by January 2011. Services offered will include vacuum and atmosphere brazing and heat treating, robotically controlled thermal spray, inorganic paint coatings and a recently developed cold spray process. Within two years, the new facility expects to employ a workforce of 35 people. |
The new grants are in addition to the 1.7 million PLN (approximately 660,000 CDN dollars) in EU grants awarded earlier this year to VAC AERO's Kalisz, Poland facility to support the purchase of new heat treating and coating equipment.
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| Vacuum Pumping Systems | by Dan Herring | This is the third in a series of articles in our Vacuum Heat-Treatment Series. Here we will begin to discuss vacuum pumping systems, explore the operating characteristics of mechanical pumps and blowers, and consider what we can do to make the pumps we choose work better.
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In order to create a vacuum within a closed container, or vessel, we need to remove the molecules of air and other gases that reside inside by means of a pump. The vacuum vessel and pumps (mechanical, booster, diffusion, holding) together with the associated piping manifolds, valves (mechanical pump, high vacuum isolation, vacuum (brake) release, backing), vacuum measurement equipment (molecule counters) and traps comprise a typical vacuum system.
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The Importance of Properly Sized Vacuum Pumps: The Ideal Gas Law allows us to calculate the multiplying factors that we must deal with as the pressure drops in our vacuum system. One can immediately see the large throughput necessary in the pumping equipment in order to carry off these huge gas volumes as a consequence of lowering the overall pressure of the system. Read more >> |
NEXT TIME - Part four of this series continues to talk about vacuum pumping systems by discussing diffusion pumps as well as offering troubleshooting tips for all types of vacuum pumping systems.
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| Braze Joint Design Considerations | by Dan Kay | There are basically two types of joint designs used in brazing: butt-joints and lap-joints. All other joint designs are modifications of these two. There are a number of important considerations when designing such joints in order to insure proper service life. This article looks at just a few of those considerations.
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For successful brazing to occur, the joints to be brazed have to be designed properly, and then properly manufactured to attain and maintain those shapes and dimensions. This brief article looks at the first of some important design considerations to insure that brazed joints will work. Next month we'll look at joint clearance considerations in more detail. |
Types of brazed joints: There are basically two types of joint designs used in brazing: butt-joints and lap-joints. All other joint designs are modifications of these two. The illustration shows both good and bad ways to assemble such joints. A number of brazing shops today unfortunately take shortcuts or overlook important fit-up considerations in an effort to quickly make parts and braze them so that they can get them back to their customer as quickly as possible. Read more >> |
NEXT TIME - Next month I'll discuss the issue of braze gap clearance for some different base-metal and brazing filler metal (BFM) combinations, and how that affects joint strength and hermeticity. In succeeding months we'll address issues such as dissimilar metal brazing and how that affects joint design.
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| Understanding Quenchants and Their Effects | ||
| by Michael Edens | ||
Quenching is an integral part of any metal alloy heat treating application. It helps define the metal's microstructure and is a critical step in determining whether a part will meet specifications and properties after tempering. Having a full understanding of the types of quenchants available and in what applications they are best used will improve a heat treater's overall operation.
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Everyone who has ever seen a movie about medieval life is likely familiar with the image of a sweaty, soot-covered blacksmith pounding away with his hammer on a sword. When finished, he lifts the bright red, heated blade from the anvil and plunges it into a nearby bath. Most audiences probably think the water was meant just to cool the hot blade. But as any metallurgist or heat treater knows, the blacksmith was forging and heat treating the sword and using the water bath to quench it. |
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