Vacuum heat treatment furnace
Description :
Vacuum Technology is the Basis for Process Innovation in Heat Treatment.
Heat Treatment is the process in which metallic/steel parts are exposed completely or partially to time-temperature sequences in order to change the mechanical and/or corrosion properties. There are numerous application areas, e.g.:
• Annealing • Hardening • Tempering • Aging • Case hardening
To achieve a higher strength of the material, better wear resistance or to improve the corrosion behaviour of the components.All of these processes need a temperature up to 1.000 °C and higher as well as especially developed furnaces to achieve such ranges.
Vacuum Annealing
Annealing is one type of heat treatment comprising heating up to a specific temperature, holding and cooling down slowly. Such processes are generally used to obtain a softer structure of the part and to optimise material structure for subsequent working steps (machining, forming). Parameters depend on the material and the desired structure.
Vacuum Hardening and Tempering
Hardening is a typical heat treatment process combining heating to specific temperatures (mostly above 900 °C) and direct fast cooling or quenching of the part. The requirements are selected to change the materials’ structure partially or completely into martensite. The part undergoes tempering treatment after hardening in order to obtain high ductility and toughness.
Vacuum Case Hardening
One of the important processes is the case hardening or carburizing process. Parts are heated up to 900 °C - 1.000 °C and by adding specific gases (hydrocarbons) into the atmosphere of the furnace the part’s surface is enriched by absorbing carbon. Following this treatment the part is quenched in order to achieve the required properties. This results in higher resistance to stresses and friction on the component’s surface. The core of the part remains somewhat softer and more ductile which allows the part to carry high stresses through its entire life. For example, all gear parts for transmissions are treated this way.
Application :
Die steel, stainless steel, gear, high speed steel, tool steel and so on.
Parameter :
Effective working zone size : 800 x 800 x 1200 mm
Max temperature : 1300
Ultimate vacuum : 4x10-1 pa
Pressure rising : 0.5 pa/h
Temperature uniformity : ±5
Capacity : 1200kg
