About Solar Manufacturing

About Solar Manufacturing

Solar Manufacturing is a privately held, U.S.-based company providing technologically advanced vacuum heat treating furnaces designed and built to be the most energy efficient, cost effective, and highest performance furnaces on the market. With decades of experience as its foundation, our team offers unmatched expertise in solving our customers’ most difficult heat treating problems. Together with our affiliate Solar Atmospheres, we continually develop new solutions to vacuum processing applications and improve the science of vacuum furnace technology. Contact us to learn how you can benefit from our:

  • Wide ranging vacuum furnace models from compact size up to large car-bottom
  • High velocity, high pressure gas quenching up to 20 bar
  • Designs for heat treating processes such as hardening, brazing, stress relieving, normalizing, annealing, tempering, carburizing, nitriding, and sintering
  • Durable and energy-efficient graphite and molybdenum hot zones
  • SolarVac® Polaris advanced and interactive control system with remote access, preventive maintenance diagnostics, and ConserVac® energy management system

 


Our Hot Zones and Spare Parts can replace and improve your existing hot zone with one that is durable, energy-efficient and with improved heating and cooling performance. We also offer competitively priced vacuum furnace spare parts with quick deliveries to minimize your downtime including:

  • Graphite or molybdenum heating element kits
  • O-rings of assorted sizes and materials
  • Hearth rails and supports
  • High velocity gas cooling nozzles and partial pressure nozzles
  • Associated hardware including graphite and molybdenum all thread, wire, and washers

 


Solar Manufacturing focuses on prompt service to our customers’ requests to deliver practical and reliable solutions to our customers’ needs with:

  • Service engineers trained to analyze and service equipment
  • On-site preventive maintenance programs
  • Helium leak testing and residual gas analyzer capabilities
  • Comprehensive call-in Technical Support

 


Solar Manufacturing is affiliated with, and services and provides equipment for the largest vacuum-only commercial heat treating company in North America, Solar Atmospheres, a progressive company operating over 60 vacuum furnaces, where engineers, chemists and metallurgists perform research and development to keep Solar Manufacturing in the forefront of vacuum technology innovations. With Solar Atmospheres’ thermal processing experience and our extensive vacuum furnace engineering capabilities, Solar Manufacturing has gained a distinct advantage in the industry to assist you in choosing the right vacuum furnace or replacement hot zone for your needs.

 

Mission Statement

The mission of Solar Manufacturing is to design, build, and service technologically advanced furnaces for primarily vacuum thermal processing with the utmost quality in our equipment, responsive and knowledgeable customer service, and with an unwavering commitment to honesty in all relationships. We will strive to fulfill this mission while:

  • Performing our work with an emphasis on quality and responsiveness
  • Operating with an awareness and appreciation of the value of our customer’s vacuum furnace or service contract with us
  • Forever looking “forward” in the area of technical capabilities
  • Demonstrating a willingness to “accept the challenge”
  • Providing and maintaining a work environment that is safe, clean and reflects our respect for human dignity
  • Providing our employees with an opportunity for personal growth, challenge and reward
  • Maintaining a workplace that is environmentally friendly
  • Sustaining long-term growth and profitability

 

Our Facilities

Our state of the art, 65,000 square foot plant aids our engineers, mechanics, electricians and technicians in designing and building superior vacuum furnaces and replacement hot zones.

 


History

1983 – Solar Atmospheres Incorporated was founded by our Chief Executive Officer, William R. Jones

1992 – Major expansion moving into a new 24,000 square foot building built specifically for vacuum heat treating and brazing

1998 – Established an additional 10,000 square foot plant in Hatfield, PA devoted primarily to brazing and ion-nitriding

2001 – Opened a new facility, Solar Atmospheres of Western PA in Hermitage, Pennsylvania dedicated to large vacuum furnace processing – primarily for aerospace, titanium and electrical power generation components

2002 –Solar Manufacturing Incorporated founded, a producer of top of the line vacuum furnaces, designed to be the most energy efficient, cost effective, high performing, and technically advanced systems on the market

2002 – Acquired Magnetic Specialties Incorporated, a manufacturer of custom power supplies and transformers

2004 – Solar Manufacturing builds first 12′ car bottom furnace installed in Solar Atmospheres of Western PA.

2006 – Solar Manufacturing builds its first 24′ car bottom furnaces. Two furnaces were built simultaneously and installed at Solar Atmospheres of Western PA.

2007 – Solar Atmospheres in Souderton, PA and Solar Manufacturing co-operated to design and install an advanced vacuum carburizing furnace which has since proven to provide the most excellent and repeatable carburizing results

2008 – Solar Atmospheres in Souderton, PA and Solar Manufacturing worked together to design and install a new vacuum gas nitriding furnace – this furnace fulfilled the design objectives and has shown results capable of reducing cycle times by more than 50% when compared to other nitriding equipment

2008 – Solar Manufacturing builds its first 36′ car bottom furnace installed at Solar Atmospheres of Western PA.

2011 – Opened Solar Atmospheres of California,  a 25,000 square foot plant in Fontana, California, to bring a “Green Field” vacuum heat treating, vacuum brazing and vacuum carburizing facility to the West Coast, focusing on aerospace, titanium and super alloys

2012 – Solar Manufacturing builds there its first 20 bar furnace with a working zone size of 36″ x 36″ x 48″ installed at Solar Atmospheres of Western PA.

2015 – In May 2015, opened a 57,000 square foot facility, Solar Atmospheres Southeast, in Greenville, SC, focusing on the expanding aerospace development in the Southeast US.

2016 – Solar Manufacturing builds its first 48 foot car bottom furnace installed at Solar Atmospheres of Western PA.

2019 – Relocates into new brand new 60,000 square foot facility at 1500 E. Clymer Ave., Sellersville, PA