There is a constant need throughout the industry to produce the highest quality parts to the most stringent product specifications. Both long-established and new materials are being employed to meet the needs of lighter, stronger, smaller and more efficient designs, and the use of vacuum technology in manufacturing is of paramount importance in achieving these goals.
The strategy being adopted by manufacturing to meet these needs relies heavily on vacuum processes and equipment through:
- Process development – New materials, new products, and new applications demand absolute cycle repeatability, flexibility, and control, and as such, designers are specifying vacuum processing over other heat treatment methods.
- Process substitution – Older process technologies and the equipment associated with them are being replaced by vacuum equipment. The justification lies in reduced unit cost achieved by lowering the overall cost of manufacturing and/or through material and efficiency savings.
- Process replacement – Product-performance demands are forcing designers to look toward vacuum processing and its ability to offer a superior product for the same or very similar cost.