SECO/WARWICK will deliver an integrated heat treatment line for aerospace forgings to a global aerospace manufacturer as part of an investment programme to expand production capabilities in Poland. The project combines atmosphere and vacuum heat treatment technologies within a single automated processing system designed to meet the stringent requirements of aerospace component manufacturing.
The equipment will be installed at a new production facility currently under construction in Poland. The investment is linked to the launch of local production of components that are currently manufactured in the United States.
The complete line will comprise 12 industrial furnaces, five cooling stations, a quench tank, automated material handling and transport systems, and supporting infrastructure. By integrating multiple heat treatment processes under a unified management system, the solution is designed to ensure consistent process parameters, precise temperature control and repeatable results.
The scope of supply includes 10 chamber furnaces for atmosphere heat treatment, six of which will be equipped with cooling systems. The line will also feature an oil quench tank, a spray washer and five cooling stations to support the processing sequence.
The vacuum heat treatment section will consist of two single-chamber Vector vacuum furnaces, each equipped with a high-pressure gas quenching system operating at up to 20 bar absolute. The combination of atmosphere and vacuum technologies will enable the manufacturer to address different heat treatment requirements within one integrated production line.
“This is a project in which we are not simply supplying individual equipment; we are co-creating a complete processing line for highly demanding aerospace production. Combining atmosphere and vacuum technologies, automated transport, and precisely defined process parameters requires close cooperation among multiple engineering teams,” said Piotr Skarbiński, Vice President of the Aluminum and CAB Products Segment at SECO/WARWICK Group.
He added that aerospace manufacturing imposes stringent requirements on metal heat treatment technology, making projects of this scale important references for the group.
Beyond temperature control, the project places particular emphasis on cooling dynamics and the timing of material transfers between processing stages. Maintaining specified parameters throughout the heat treatment cycle is critical, especially when transferring loads from atmosphere chamber furnaces to the quench tank.
To meet these requirements, the line will incorporate an automated transport and handling system. This will include a material handling unit operating on an external track, a robot for automatically positioning loads onto process fixtures, and two roller conveyors equipped with turntables.
The automation system is intended to coordinate material movement and maintain the required transfer times between operations, supporting consistent processing conditions across the production line.
“The interdependencies among the individual units are crucial in this project. Reaching the correct process temperature is not enough. We must also ensure the required cooling dynamics in the vacuum furnaces, repeatable parameters, and a strictly defined load transfer time between the atmosphere chamber furnaces and the quench tank,” Skarbiński said.
He noted that the line has been designed as a single integrated technological process rather than a collection of independent machines.
The project highlights the role of integrated heat treatment solutions in aerospace manufacturing, where process repeatability, precise thermal control and coordinated automation are essential to meeting demanding component production requirements.
