The Spheric Technologies Advantage

The Company's next-generation sintering technology was developed and patented by internationally renowned materials experts at the Penn State Microwave Processing and Engineering Center. Extraordinary savings are produced because microwave sintering reduces energy consumption up to 80 percent, and produces superior-quality parts in as little as one-tenth the time of traditional radiant heat sintering.

Spheric/Syno-Therm™ microwave systems produce fine microstructures and near-theoretical densities in sintered powdered metal and advanced ceramic components at affordable cost. The technology is ideal for manufacturing high-integrity materials for advanced engineering and high-stress applications.

Microwave processing features unique heating characteristics - parts are internally heated by microwave stimulation rather than being subjected to external ambient or radiant heat. Energy is used only to process the parts, not to heat the furnace. Microwave sintering of powdered metal and advanced ceramic components, when compared with conventional sintering, yields significant benefits:

• Greater durability
• Greater density and hardness
• Finer grain size
• Less post-sintering finishing
• Lower shrinkage rate, closer to "net shape"
• Less raw material waste
• Greatly reduced energy consumption
• Much faster throughput

Inefficiencies of Traditional Sintering Methods

The U.S. powdered metal industry has been wedded to high-energy-consuming gas and electric sintering furnaces, while agile foreign competitors, particularly in Japan and China, have adopted the far more efficient Penn State microwave technology.

Conventional powdered metal or advanced ceramic sintering processes often yield parts with dimensional variation and less than desired density; many sizes and shapes are impossible to produce; the process is time- and energy-intensive.

Sputtering Targets

Spheric Technologies researchers are developing the use of microwave to sinter a wide variety of materials into high-quality sputtering targets for the thin film deposition industry. These materials will include metals, ceramics and metal/ceramic composites.

High-Purity Metal Oxides for Diverse Applications

Spheric Technologies scientists, using a patented, proprietary process, have successfully produced small-particle, high-purity oxides of several metals on a laboratory scale.