Custom Carbon and Graphite Machining Blog

31 Aug

Diamond Tooling

Don’t believe the advertising slogan - diamonds are NOT forever, at least not if we’re talking about diamond tools. They wear out too, it just takes them a while. Diamond tools are special, though, with many specific applications that demand the singular qualities provided by what is popularly understood to be the hardest natural substance. At Semco, we play a part in using synthetic graphite to produce diamond tools. We know what you’re thinking: “Diamonds and graphite are siblings -- they both come from the same parent substance, carbon. Semco must just press the graphite until it becomes diamond graphite!”...

17 Aug

ISO Certification at Semco Carbon

We recently decided to pursue something big for a graphite manufacturing company: ISO certification. This is not a spur of the moment decision, but a culmination of years of preparation and hard work at perfecting our graphite fabrication operation. This certification (done through the International Organization for Standardization) will attest to the quality of our organization and highlight our commitment to the highest level of graphite manufacturing and to producing the highest quality carbon-based products. It will, significantly, allow us to compete for contracts where ISO certification is a requirement. As of now, Semco has completed stage one of the...

02 Aug

Graphite Density and Graphite Grade

Maybe we’re just a bit dense at Semco, but when the conversation at a party turns from politics or sports to things like graphite density or graphite grades (this never actually happens, but humor us), we get very excited (or we would, if such a thing were ever to happen). There’s a reason for that. In the graphite business, graphite density is an all-important quality that we use to separate a wide variety of graphite materials. Understanding graphite density helps us to categorize most of the graphite grades available today into three broad categories. “Why is that so important?” the...

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...

16 Jul

From Graphite Blocks to Graphite Component

We’ve covered many details in this blog about our machining of graphite components, including the different types of graphite that we use, design considerations, and some case studies about how we solved particular problems that our clients have run into. In this blog, we would like to provide a grand overview of the process that a block of graphite goes through in our facility to become finished graphite components ready to ship to our customers. More specifically, we want to tell you about the machines that do the cutting, shaping, and finishing of graphite blocks until they become the parts...