Custom Carbon & Graphite Machining

27 Apr

Program Addressing Graphite Manufacturing Consistency

Anyone citrus fan who also happens to work in graphite engineering knows there is more than one way to peel an orange, just as there is more than one way to reverse-engineer or fabricate a graphite component for a customer. These days, all CNC milling machines use software and programming to machine the custom shapes associated with custom parts. Our CAD Department uses CAD Models (Solid Models) to extract the needed features of a custom part in order to create programs necessary to machine that part. One would assume that such a system would guarantee consistency each time we run...

12 Apr

Continuous Casting in Graphite Materials

When people ask us at Semco what is so special about graphite, we usually describe the amazing versatility of graphite materials. The applications that are optimized by using graphite materials are only limited by the imaginations of engineers. One such application, of both ISO-molded and extruded graphite, is a casting method called continuous casting. What Is Continuous Casting?This casting method is used in high volume production of metals with a constant cross-section. The method uses an open ended graphite die which is surrounded by a copper jacket through which molten metal is poured. The graphite mold is typically water cooled....

01 Apr

Flexural Strength vs Compressive Strength in Graphite

Flexural Strength vs Compressive StrengthIt 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 Carbon, 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...

30 Mar

The Tech Side of Graphite Fabrication

Your business is designing a manufacturing set-up. One of the constituent parts will be exposed to various chemicals and high heat. Graphite is considered for this part because it is chemically inert and stands up to extreme temperatures without degrading. Engineers make a mock-up of this manufacturing set-up and they Zoom call us at Semco. Customer: “Hi, we finished the mock-up of the apparatus and it looks like we’ll need a graphite mold about 7 or 8 inches long that looks kinda like this (holds up napkin drawing of future graphite component). Semco engineer: “That’s a nice drawing. Could you...

15 Mar

Lunch at Semco

Lunchtime with Graphite Engineers Here’s a riddle: what do graphite engineers talk about over lunch? Need another minute? Ok, we’ll give you the answer: graphite engineering! Well, that’s at least one of the answers. The most important part of that riddle is the fact that in a graphite shop, the employees enjoy their lunch together -- at least they do at Semco. Lunch at Semco is a time when the crew has a chance to enjoy a meal, discuss current shop projects, review the daily news, and swap family stories. While COVID has changed the dynamic in the lunchroom to...