Custom Carbon & Graphite Machining

12 Jun

Guide to Selecting a Custom Graphite Manufacturer: What to Look For

Selecting a Custom Graphite Manufacturer If you company requires custom graphite components, choosing the right custom graphite manufacturer can make the difference between a successful project and costly delays or performance issues. While we at Semco may be a little biased about this topic, we have over 50 years of graphite machining experience to back up our recommendations. Whether you need precision-machined components for aerospace applications or specialized graphite parts for industrial processes, selecting a manufacturer requires careful evaluation of several key factors. Below we explore several considerations when choosing a custom graphite manufacturer. Qualification and Reputation Start by researching...

07 May

Synthetic Graphite in Electric Vehicles

Synthetic Graphite in Electric VehiclesThink back ten years. Do you remember seeing electric vehicles on the road? Hybrids, perhaps, and yes, those featured advanced battery technology. But lithium-ion batteries were not powering many cars. Now, think of your commute today. Chances are, you saw several electric vehicles, possibly even e bikes, on your way to work. Electric vehicles have become so common, you probably don’t even notice them. The electric vehicles revolution continues to accelerate in the market today, with automakers worldwide transitioning their fleets from internal combustion engines, with their carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse...

24 Jun

The Installation of Our New 2000 lb Gorbel Overhead Crane

Semco is excited to share another significant update from our graphite machining facility in Lorain, OH: we recently installed a new 2000 lb Gorbel Overhead Crane. This state-of-the-art crane is a game changer for our operations, particularly in our lathe department. Our Haas lathes are state-of-the-art, but the ways we were moving graphite blocks and tools around the department was not. That changed with the installation of the Gorbel Overhead Crane, which spans across the shop floor, creating a safer work environment for our team and enhancing efficiency in loading and unloading parts and tools. The Overhead Crane’s Safety Impact...

15 Feb

Graphite and Oxidation

A recurring issue we hear about from people using graphite components is graphite oxidation. This term describes unwanted redox reactions where oxidizing agents modify graphite properties negatively. Hence, especially at high temperatures, steps need to be taken to eliminate oxygen presence so that oxidation and deterioration of graphite components is avoided. Semco strives to educate our clients who order custom graphite components about the proper environments in which those components should operate. However, new clients will come to us expressing their frustration that graphite components are failing long before they should. One reason to work with the synthetic graphite experts...

01 Feb

Molded Graphite Rods

Graphite is well known for its corrosion resistance and good thermal conductivity. At Semco, we have noted an uptick in a particular mechanical application of synthetic, high density graphite: molded graphite rods. With this large increase in requests for molded graphite rods in various diameters, we have decided to add a new piece of equipment that would allow us to substantially increase the volume of rods produced. This dowel rod machine takes high density graphite blocks, which can be machined with more precision than with less dense material, and shapes them into rods that are useful across industries, in a...