Equipment

Heat Treating Furnaces

We divide Heat Treating Furnaces into two major classes, Atmosphere and Vacuum

Atmosphere Furnaces operate with air or a protective atmosphere around the material being heat treated. Vacuum Furnaces remove most of the atmosphere surrounding the work and the parts are processed in an absence of atmosphere.

Atmosphere furnaces are in the following types:

Batch, Batch furnaces run in individual batches, and do not have a continuous flow of material into the furnace.

Box
Box furnaces are probably the most common type of furnace. They can be heated with gas or electric and are used both with and without special atmosphere. Many different types of processes are carried out in box furnaces. Box furnaces are also popular laboratory furnaces due largely to their flexibility.

Bell
Bell furnaces are used where the heating and cooling steps can be separated. It is common to have one “heating bell” with multiple bases. The materials are loaded on the base, the heating bell placed over the load and the heating cycle take place. On completion the heating bell can move to another base that was loaded during the heat up of the first. Annealing of wire and strip coils are typical of materials processed in a bell furnace. If a special atmosphere is required then an internal gas tight retort is provided. Thus after the heating bell is removed, the product is still protected by the atmosphere.

Integral Quench
 
Continuous, Continuous Furnaces have a feeding means where the material being processed in continually being feed into the furnace.

Mesh Belt furnaces have a continuous alloy belt running through the furnace and then returned either inside the furnace or generally running outside the furnaces. These types of furnaces are very often used for lighter loads that require an air or atmosphere cooling after heating.
Cast Link furnaces have a continuous belt made up of cast links that are pinned together like hinges. Cast link furnaces can support much higher loads than Mesh Belt Furnaces.

Roller Hearth
Pusher
Rotary Retort
Muffle

Vacuum Furnaces operate with the atmosphere (air) removed. In some cases the chamber may be backfilled with gasses such as Nitrogen or Argon during different portions of the heating / cooling cycle.