Box Furnace
Box Furnaces are suited to a wide variety of processes and temperatures, typically ranging from 1200°F to 1800°F and higher. Below those temperatures the term ‘Oven’ is often used. HTF can build custom box furnaces in any temperature range for you.
Heating systems for Box Furnace thermal equipment can be gas or electric (see our Heat Source page for more on that), and the atmosphere inside the furnace can be air, nitrogen, endothermic gas, or the products of combustion for direct gas-fired units, or others depending on the process.
Loading is by batch, with work pieces situated in baskets on various hearth systems, or on piers in the floor of the furnace. That floor can be hard refractory if wear resistance is needed; otherwise refractory fiber modules offer a floor that is more responsive to temperature changes.
Double-end furnaces have doors at both ends of the heating chamber, making them easy to integrate into manufacturing flow or specific material handling requirements.
Let’s look at a few of the many applications for box furnaces.
Stress Relief Furnaces are used for the heating process that is performed after welding, heavy machining, or straightening operations. Temperature uniformity is important and is often achieved with a recirculating box furnace design, where a fan blows across the heat source, through the chamber, and through the work to deliver energy evenly.
Forging Furnaces and Slab Pre-Heating Furnaces are used to prepare material for further processing by heating the product to a temperature suitable for forging, rolling, or other forming operations. Here the heating needs to be fast, efficient, and to high temperatures.
The openings to the chamber are designed to facilitate material handling and to minimize heat loss.
Spheroidize Annealing Furnaces are used to set up a very specific structure in a steel component, usually to facilitate a subsequent cold-forming or cold-heading operation, or for stampings. That structure is achieved by a very slow, very precise cooling rate. The balance between removing heat and maintaining that precise rate requires proper configuration of the furnace itself, and the best possible temperature control.
Wax Melt-Out and Wax Burnout Furnaces are used for investment casting mold processing. The heating rates need to be properly controlled, and the fumes generated need to be handled in a safe and effective manner.
HTF can help you with all of these types of heavy-duty box furnaces, whether a very large or small chamber box furnace, a high temperature box furnace, a laboratory box furnace, a recuperated furnace, and many more. Call us today to get started.
HTF specializes in "Plug and Play" furnaces that are many times ready for your use within a few days of delivery.
Heat Treat Furnaces
