HHV designed and built a directional solidification furnace for melting and directional solidification of critical alloys like Co, Ni and rare earths—in order to study the effect of grain orientation and to create homogeneous crystalline structures. The furnace is capable of growing cylindrical rods of 100-150 mm length and a maximum diameter of 50mm. These are basically used in magnetic switches and find applications in various defence-related products.