Custom Carbon & Graphite Machining

17 Oct

Why Choose Graphite for Your Vacuum Furnace?

Perhaps we’re a little biased towards graphite here at Semco. We recommend this wonder material for many applications (many of us even prefer to write with pencils). One field where we especially encourage our customers to use graphite is in their vacuum furnaces, induction furnaces, and other heat treat applications. There are multiple benefits to using graphite in vacuum furnaces and induction furnaces. Where should we even start? There’s the increased furnace capacity when graphite is used, there’s the quicker turnaround times for heat-treating processes. You know what, we should make a list. Benefits of using graphite in your vacuum...

03 Oct

Synthetic Graphite Supply Chain Update

Synthetic Graphite Supply Chain Since early 2020, Semco has been detailing in these blogs how pandemic-related supply chain issues have affected the synthetic graphite industry. Now that many of the supply chain issues we heard about so much in 2020 and 2021 have subsided, we wanted to check in on how this issue is affecting the availability of, and demand for, synthetic graphite. Lithium-ion Battery Anodes and Graphite Electrode Machining Apart from lithium, there is one material that is currently a fundamental part of all lithium-ion batteries, regardless of cathode chemistry: graphite. Graphite is a strangely unnoticed piece of the...

28 Sep

Graphite Material & the Glass Industry

Most consumers have probably never considered the relationship between carbon graphite and the glass industry. If people associate any other material with glass, it may be lead (which glass was once impregnated with to increase glass’s aesthetic properties). That being said, there is a heavy reliance on carbon graphite in the glass industry. Graphite is the ideal material for glass manufacturing due to its physical and chemical composition properties. If you’ve ever witnessed glass blowing, you may have an idea why graphite material is so useful in this industry. Hint: it has to do with a property of graphite material...

14 Sep

Challenges of Machining Graphite

Graphite materials have particular characteristics that make machining them into graphite parts a challenge. At Semco, we have decades of experience working with graphite materials, so we know these characteristics well. Our shop is designed with this unique material in mind, and our machines are perfectly calibrated to machining graphite without harming the material or the machines. What makes graphite difficult to machine? For starters, graphite is strong, but also soft and brittle. It is prone to chipping. Graphite is abrasive, potentially causing high tool wear. Graphite is typically machined without coolant and at high speeds. Our work centers are...

01 Sep

Cross Training for Graphite Manufacturing Success

What We Mean by “Cross-Training” No, this article isn’t about a fancy exercise regimen. Cross-training, in our sense, means broadening the skills of our graphite manufacturing workforce. It is about developing our employees to improve our business and our customers’ experience. Semco’s practice of cross-training allows our employees to expand their skills and knowledge of graphite engineering and machining graphite components. This training is on the job — employees work on projects outside their typical role and gain the skills necessary for specialization. Put simply, our cross-training program is an investment in our excellent employees, and effort we are confident...