Custom Carbon and Graphite Machining Blog

27 Jul

New Hire Matt Millard - Senior Saw Operator

When Semco posts a job, we are often looking for very specific qualifications in possible new hires. Often, we are searching for someone with a background in graphite fabrication. Other times, we need a person who can communicate knowledgeably with graphite suppliers and shipping companies. Recently, we needed someone who was expert in operating large saws like the ones we use on our shop floor. If that sounds like a simple qualification, think again. If you hear the word “saw” and what comes to mind is a wooden handle attached to a one-foot blade, like the one you use to...

05 Jul

Graphite Material Property-Coefficient of Thermal Expansion

At Semco Carbon, we are constantly thinking of new, relevant, and useful topics involving graphite materials and graphite applications to share with the readers of this blog. If something has to do with the manufacture of graphite products, we’ve probably got a lot to say, and a story to tell, about it. During a recent meeting, our application engineers were working on a specific issue that one of our customers was having. This customer had been experiencing premature component breakage in a new high temperature process they were testing. After thinking about the specifics of their application, we realized that...

02 Jun

Metal Fabrication Requests

Every machining shop has its choice material. At Semco, that material is carbon graphite. We know the ins and outs of this material and can talk all day about isostatic vs. extruded graphite, or about graphite’s conductive and heat-resistant properties. While we are experts at graphite machining, we generally do not machine metal. Nevertheless, Semco Carbon occasionally receives metal fabrication RRF’s, projects we are not equipped to produce in house. Conversely (if you are a metal machining shop), your facility might receive graphite or carbon RFQ’s, projects that you are not equipped to produce. We would like to start a...

01 Apr

Flexural vs Compressive Strength in Graphite

It is an oddity of the graphite business, and in many other endeavors in life, that the more you know about something, the more you realize you still don’t know. At Semco, we do know there are many elements in graphite component design. We’ll go ahead and claim to know most of them (hey, decades in the same business can teach you a lot). But what we recognize is that when a client brings to us a problem with a graphite component that we machined, we may not immediately know what the problem is nor how to fix it. In fact, we’ve...

04 Feb

Graphite Parts Shipping

We have all learned many things over the past year. We’ve learned how to meet over Zoom. Many of us learned about sourdough baking. We also learned a lot about the Postal Service and other mail carriers. The political battles over USPS and mail-in voting highlighted the importance of a service that is often taken for granted. At Semco, we do not take shipping for granted. We make a pledge to our customers not only to expertly manufacture custom graphite components, but to get those graphite parts to the customer in perfect condition as quickly as possible. Getting shipping right...