Custom Carbon & Graphite Machining

11 Mar

Graphite - High Powered Rockets and Future Rocketeers

Semco are graphite suppliers to many businesses, but one of our favorite roles is supplier to high school science programs. This is a small but, to us, very important part of our business: we provide material either free of charge or at greatly reduced prices to educational programs that require small quantities of graphite. When our future scientists determine there is a graphite solution to a rocketry problem or other engineering project, Semco is happy to search our inventory for any graphite pieces appropriate for the task. Graphite Solution One high school Semco partners with to deliver graphite material for...

04 Mar

Challenges Producing a Large Diameter Graphite Disc

In machine shops, the size of the equipment limits the size of the pieces that can be produced. Occasionally, however, a client needs something bigger than a shop is used to handling. They need a graphite plate that’s 82” in diameter, for instance. Most shops, Semco included, rarely if ever work with a block of graphite large enough to cut this disk from. Semco, however, is not in the business of turning down business or turning away customers who need graphite components. We’ve made our reputation as leaders in the field of graphite machining on handling just this kind of...

25 Feb

Isostatic Graphite Market Grows Rapidly

At Semco, we machine graphite to produce components for many industries and businesses. Graphite is a versatile substance, and our engineers know how to form it to the exact specifications of our clients. While much of the graphite we machine occurs naturally, some of the graphite material that we machine is man-made. A common method of graphite production is extrusion, where graphite blocks are created by pressing carbon powder through a die. While extruding graphite is common, a newer manufacturing process called Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP) is being employed to meet a growing demand for isostatic graphite. Among graphite industries...

18 Feb

Graphite Dust as Fire Retardant

Recently, one of Semco’s neighbor companies had a magnesium fire on their property. Magnesium fires are no trivial matter; extinguishing them is notoriously risky and difficult. Little known to most people, but well known to firefighters and industries that work with magnesium, is that a magnesium fire is a problem with a graphite solution. In fact, the most disposable graphite material—graphite dust—is one of the most effective substances used to smother and eventually extinguish a magnesium fire. Understanding why the firefighters requested Semco’s help with this particular fire requires a little science, and maybe a visit to YouTube. Graphite Solution If...

11 Feb

Using Graphite to Build a High Powered Rocket in High School Science Classes

Semco are the graphite experts, no matter how obscure or rare the application. One of those obscure graphite applications, but also one of our favorite projects to assist with, is high school rocketry. Very simple rockets can be constructed with household props, but when a science class wants to get a bit more advanced, graphite components become necessary. And it just feels really good to say that what we do is rocket science. Graphite Applications Rockets are a common project for science classes, and students and teachers have many options to choose from when it comes to the type of...