Furnace Types

Fluidbed Furnaces

Used for:
Annealing, Tempering, Stress Relieving, Patenting,

Quenching Lead Furnaces

Used for:
Annealing, Tempering, Quenching, Patenting,

Muffle or Tube Furnaces

The Muffle or Tube Furnaces are built for the continuous in-line austenitizing or annealing of multiple wire strands. High velocity burners are mounted along both sides of the furnaces in a staggered pattern that produces excellent temperature uniformity. Pressure controled combustion available on some furnaces gives a high turn-down ratio and efficient multiple burner control.

Direct Fired Muffle and Tube Furnaces

Direct Fired Furnaces like the Muffle or Tube Furnaces are built for the continuous in-line austenitizing or annealing of multiple wire strands. High velocity burners are normally mounted along both sides of the furnaces in a staggered pattern in order to produce temperature uniformity. Generally used for: Austenitizing stainless steel wire

Annealing Oil Tempering Lines

Oil Tempering Lines consist of an Austenitizing Furnace, Quenching System, Tempering Furnace and Cooling and Coating Tanks. The Austenitizing Furnace can be Direct Fired, Fluidbed or Muffle Tube for atmosphere control. Following the heating section, the wires are rapidly quenched in a cooling medium of mineral based oil or water based polymer fluids.

Bell Furnaces

Bell furnace processing provides better control of the cooling process and also allows for a slower cooling period where the temperature can be held at a fixed intermediate temprature for an extended period. Bell Furnaces also allow for a more homogeneous and faster heat transfer.

Salt bath furnaces

Salt bath furnaces are used for a number of heat treatment applications such as: Preheating • Austenitizing • Martempering • Neutral Hardening • High-Speed Tool Hardening • Tempering Nitriding • Carburizing • Solution Heat Treating • Dip Brazing Modern systems offer quick ramp-up and high heating uniformity

Lead Furnaces

Lead Furnaces are used for several continuous wire heat-treatment processes including; Patenting, quenching, and tempering of high carbon wire, and annealing of low carbon wire. The furnace is built and designed to suit the application and the specific production requirements. Nozzle mix burners fire under a heavy walled steel pan in a staggered pattern producing exceptional temperature uniformity. In designing the furnace special attention must be given to heat flux and selection of materials to assure a long pan life. The combustion systems are normally arranged in multiple zones of control and can be oil, gas or dual fuel fired. Several layers of high quality refractory line the furnace to maintain efficient operation and establish low skin temperatures.

Lead Quench Furnace

Liquid metal pumps continuously re-circulate the lead to dissipate heat from the quench zone. Additional cooling is provided in the area by controlled forced air flow through submersed cooling tubes. The bottom firing burners provide heat input for start-up and for low production situations. The quench furnace is also equipped with heavy duty sinker mechanisms and a state of the art combustion and control system.

Lead Annealing Furnace

The lead annealing furnace is fired in multiple zones of temperature control to produce a consistent and fast heat-transfer to the wires. Optional covers and a fume extraction system can be provided to minimize the environmental impact and increase safety. Fabrication of the heavy walled pan should include stress relieving and a complete weld inspection to assure a long life.

Double Pan Lead Annealing Furnace Sketch & photo courtesy of qed