Spinel Reconnaissance Window

Surmet"s Sinter/HIP process for producing transparent spinel has demonstrated material of much higher strength than has been achieved through our competitor"s hot press/HIP process. However, our spinel material has also been plagued with"inclusions"which are optically undesirable and may act as potential flaw sites for mechanical failure. These inclusions are believed to be associated with the starting powder, purchased from Baikowski. Recently, Surmet has developed a process for producing our own optical quality spinel powder, and is currently producing this powder in tens of kilogram sized batches. Importantly, Surmet is able to produce inclusion free spinel material using its own spinel powder, colloidal processing and its Sinter/HIP process. This is a major technical breakthrough for Surmet. We believe that the combination of new powder, colloidal processing and Sinter/HIP will produce inclusion free material that is much stronger than has been achieved by our competitors hot press/HIP process. Furthermore, Surmet is currently bringing a very large HIP (40-in diameter x 60-in long) on-line in the 3rd quarter of 2013 as part of its ongoing Title III program. This puts Surmet in a unique position to be able to produce large high strength spinel windows for the DDG-1000 and other programs.