Custom Carbon & Graphite Machining

20 Jun

The Carbon Material Par Excellence, Synthetic Graphite

Among carbon materials, synthetic graphite is one of the most fascinating and has found its place in a wide range of industries due to its unique properties. At Semco, we work with various forms of graphite, but synthetic graphite stands out as a highly valuable and versatile variant. With its exceptional electrical conductivity, thermal stability, and mechanical strength, synthetic graphite has become a game-changer in advanced industries. We’re taking a step back here from the details of machining graphite components in order to explore the remarkable properties and applications of this unique carbon material. We’ll also try to shed light...

07 Feb

Graphite Heating Elements in Vacuum Furnaces

In our graphite machine shop, we have the three things necessary to produce graphite heating elements of any type or size: a variety of graphite blocks, machines optimized for machining graphite, and skilled and experienced graphite machinists. If your manufacturing facility produces sintered metals or brazes copper, or in any way employs high-temperature vacuum furnaces in your manufacturing process, you likely rely on graphite heating elements. There are many reasons that graphite is the preferred material for heating elements, several of which we discuss below. Why Graphite Heating Elements? Graphite is a desirable material in various thermal applications due to...

30 Jan

Impervious Graphite Grades in Process Equipment

Most graphite applications are designed with a particular graphite grade in mind. Impervious graphite grades, where the original material is altered to eliminate porosity, are especially in demand for some common graphite applications. Graphite process equipment, especially heat exchangers, are increasingly being used in chemical processing, as well as pharmaceutical and other process applications requiring high corrosion resistance. Graphite Applications in Heat Exchangers Any graphite grade has great thermal conductivity that makes it suitable for the construction of heat exchangers and other process equipment. These systems transfer heat between a substance and a fluid, many of which are corrosive. Not...

16 Jan

Industrial Uses of Graphite in the Clean Energy Field

Industrial uses of graphite in the field of renewable energy are well-known. Batteries that store clean energy when the sun sets and the wind dies down rely on graphite components. A fast-growing sector of the graphite market is providing components for solar and wind industries, as well as to battery manufacturers. Electrification is the direction most governments and private entities are adopting in pursuit of the green, renewable power source of the future. However, there are other green industrial uses of graphite. We will explore one in particular here -- hydrogen fuel cells. This technology, which has been around for...

12 Apr

Graphite Components in Weapons

On February 24 of this year, the Russian military began its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Suddenly, war was in the news every day here and around the world. As the Ukrainian people continue to stun the world with their armed and brave resistance to the invasion, we thought this would be an interesting time to explore synthetic graphite’s use in military equipment and weapons. There are, of course, numerous examples where synthetic graphite is used in all the downstream industries that produce components for military equipment, such as in foundries (graphite electrodes) that produce the necessary steel, or in facilities...