18 Vacuum Furnace Manufacturers in 2024

This section provides an overview for vacuum furnaces as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 18 vacuum furnace manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked vacuum furnace companies as of June, : 1.Centorr Vacuum Industries, 2.Ipsen, 3.MATERIALS RESEARCH FURNACES, LLC.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Vacuum Melting Sintering Furnace Manufacturers.

Engaged in research on nitride semiconductor growth using the MBE method at Waseda University Graduate School. After graduating from graduate school in , he joined a non-ferrous metal manufacturer. Engaged in equipment maintenance and engineering work at metal smelting plants. Moved to a chemical manufacturer in . Engaging in similar tasks.

What Is a Vacuum Furnace?

A vacuum furnace is a furnace capable of vacuum heat treatment processing.

Since the object is heated in a vacuum furnace, the surface of the object can be processed without oxidizing it. Decarburization is prevented and the luster of stainless steel and other materials can be maintained after heat treatment.

Also, because of the high surface cleanliness, bonding of dissimilar metals can be processed cleanly. A major feature of this process is that distortion can be reduced because of the gradual cooling process from heating to cooling.

This processing method emits less carbon dioxide and reduces variation in dimensions and hardness. In some cases, heat treatment is performed in a Vacuum Furnace with nitrogen gas flowing through it.

Uses of Vacuum Furnace

Vacuum furnaces are mainly used for processing metals and semiconductors.

The following are examples of vacuum furnace applications:

• Quenching, tempering, and sintering of metals
• Brazing of evaporators, etc.
• Annealing

The following are also examples of products manufactured in vacuum furnaces:

• High-grade steels for carbide tools
• Materials for electronic products such as magnets and capacitors
• Automotive parts and industrial machinery parts

Metals that require special features are fabricated in vacuum furnaces. Metals treated in vacuum furnaces are characterized by high luminosity, and surface oxidation and impurities can be reduced.

Vacuum furnaces have many advantages, but they also have the disadvantage of high maintenance and initial installation costs.

Principle of Vacuum Furnaces

Vacuum furnaces use a combination of oil rotary pumps and turbo molecular pumps to exhaust the air inside the furnace and maintain a high vacuum. Heating in the absence of oxygen in a high vacuum prevents oxidation.

1. Vessel Material

Stainless steel is generally used as the furnace vessel material; it can be heated to 1,000°C to 2,300°C and is heated by metal heaters such as tungsten, molybdenum, and silicon carbide.

Smaller furnaces are also available in which the object is heated in a tubular furnace made of alumina or quartz glass. Kanthal wire is used as the heater material, and the furnace can heat up to 700°C to 1,600°C.

2. Cooling Method

Cooling methods include natural cooling, gas cooling, and oil cooling. For high temperatures, the vessel is double-layered and water-cooled. High temperatures are measured externally with a radiation thermometer.

In a standard vacuum furnace, heating and cooling are performed in the same chamber.

 Structure of Vacuum Furnaces

Vacuum furnaces perform heat treatment of heat-treated products through the three processes of conveyance, heating, and cooling. There are two main types of furnaces, the "one-chamber type" and the "multi-chamber type," depending on the type and purpose of the heat-treated parts.

1. One-Chamber Vacuum Furnace

In the one-chamber type vacuum furnace, the operator transfers and places the product to be treated in the furnace, and the heating and cooling processes are performed in a single chamber. Since the heating and cooling processes are performed in the same room, the furnace must be able to withstand sudden temperature differences. Heat-resistant stainless steel or carbon materials are used for the heater and structural components.

Because of its simple structure, the lineup of furnaces is extensive, ranging from small to large sizes. For cooling, natural cooling or inert gas cooling with nitrogen or other inert gases is used to prevent contamination of the furnace interior and heat-treated products. The cooling gas outlet structure and stirring fan enable uniform cooling with minimal contamination.

Therefore, it is suitable for processing products that are sensitive to surface contamination or deformation. On the other hand, the disadvantage is low productivity because the next product to be heat-treated cannot be loaded until the previous treatment is completed.

2. Multi-Chamber Vacuum Furnace

The multi-chamber type vacuum furnace has a structure in which the conveying, heating, and cooling processes are performed in two or more chambers. Heating and cooling are basically completed automatically, as per the settings once the product is fed into the transfer chamber. It is possible to control the temperature in each zone, or to set up multiple heating chambers for small batches and stagger the processing time.

For more information, please visit China Vacuum Gas Quenching Furnace.

The above innovations can improve productivity. By making cooling in a separate chamber, liquid refrigerants with high cooling capacity, such as oil, can be selected. High cooling capacity can be maintained because the cooling chamber is not heated.

Even metallic materials with low hardenability and sensitive to cooling rates can be cooled to a high level of performance. On the other hand, cleaning is required after heat treatment due to contamination of the treated material by the refrigerant. There is also a risk of distortion and cracking due to the high cooling rate.

Other Information on Vacuum Furnaces

Carbon Components of Vacuum Furnaces

Carbon components such as carbon graphite and C/C composite are used in Vacuum Furnaces. They are used for heating elements, structural materials, and heat treatment jigs.

Carbon materials have high heat resistance, up to 3,000°C. They are lightweight and have a low coefficient of thermal expansion. They are characterized by their light weight, low coefficient of thermal expansion, low deformation due to thermal fatigue, and low heat capacity.

Its light weight allows for increased loading capacity of heat-treated products and reduced setup load. The low deformation resistance also leads to lower running costs. The low thermal capacity and high energy-saving effect provide many productivity-enhancing benefits.

However, a disadvantage is that carbon volatilization during heating causes contamination of the furnace interior and heat-treated parts. The cooling method is also limited to gas cooling only.

From ceramics used in construction to hydraulic systems installed in airplanes and cars, many products we use today are made through sintering. The manufacturing industry relies on this process to transform porous raw materials into sturdy components. 

There are multiple sintering techniques depending on the furnace atmosphere used to heat materials. One example is vacuum sintering, which is often used by aviation, medical equipment, and additive manufacturing industries.

In vacuum sintering, materials are heated to the point of melting to transform them into different properties. When done right, this process offers many advantages that can help streamline the work of industrial manufacturers.

If you want to learn more about vacuum sintering, use this article as your guide in understanding this technique and choosing the right gasses and furnaces for it.

What is Vacuum Sintering? 

Vacuum sintering is the process of melting metallic powder materials into dense material in a vacuum environment. As you heat these materials with pressures ranging between 10-2 and 10-4 millibar, they transform into different properties.

Metals prone to absorption or dissolution in the atmosphere, such as tantalum, niobium, titanium, and zirconium, typically undergo this process.

Vacuum sintering often comes after another process called debinding, which involves removing &#;binders&#; or impurities developed during injection-molding processes. It&#;s similar to cleaning meat and vegetables before cooking so that they&#;re free from dirt and germs.

Without debinding, the impurities can contaminate the binding process. However, when debinding is done poorly, component surfaces will develop blisters or forms that cannot be removed during the sintering phase.

Advantages of Vacuum Sintering

Vacuum sintering offers many advantages for industrial manufacturers, such as:

1. Reduces machining processes
   Vacuum sintering helps manufacturers create special-shaped components, so the output is already close to the end product&#;s final shape. This minimizes the need for post-machining processes, saving you time and labor.

2. Prevents atmosphere contamination
   This process involves gasses that help deoxidize and remove non-metallic substances from raw metals. This process prepares materials for assembly, heat treatment, densification, and finishing.

3. Cleans and brightens components
   By cleaning and deoxidizing raw metals, both the debinding and vacuum sintering processes help create brighter and purer materials by removing defects, surface flaws, and dimensional inconsistencies.

Picking the Right Process Gas

You&#;ll need different gasses to deoxidize materials during the sintering process. When it comes to vacuum sintering, the three primary gasses used to process materials are nitrogen, argon, and hydrogen.

1. Nitrogen
   Nitrogen is the most used gas for sintering because it&#;s less expensive than other gasses. It also provides more flexibility to sintering atmosphere systems, making it easier to turn furnaces on and off and keep them idled under protective environments.

2. Argon
   Argon is more expensive compared to nitrogen and is only used as an inert gas when the workpiece material is sensitive to nitrogen. It also helps protect molten and heated metals as they&#;re processed.

3. Hydrogen
   Hydrogen is used as a reducing agent in the sintering process. It helps protect sintered metals from oxidation and decarburization and enables consistent performance throughout the process. However, it comes with a hefty price, like argon.

How to Choose a Vacuum Sintering Furnace

Aside from gasses, furnaces also play a crucial role in vacuum sintering. Before you select one, make sure to consider the following factors.

1. Cleaning process
   Since metals have to undergo the debinding process before being placed in a vacuum atmosphere, you must determine whether you need separate furnaces to handle each treatment or just one to handle both.
   
   Vacuum sintering requires metals to be clean, meaning it needs a furnace that&#;s also free from substances that can negatively affect the product&#;s characteristics. If your binder is difficult to use or your application requires a higher-than-average purity, you may need to use separate furnaces for debinding and vacuum sintering.
   
   Meanwhile, if you plan to use a single lab furnace for both treatments, make sure it uses gas-flow distribution with a box separating the binders from sintering powders.

2. Fragility of parts
   Choose a furnace capable of reaching the required temperature for pre-sintering, as this process can help strengthen materials after the debinding process. Debinded materials become fragile and at risk of breaking when moved from one furnace to another.

3. Manpower
   If you&#;re short of workers, a single furnace for debinding and vacuum sintering may work in your favor. Using a furnace for both treatments can help you meet high production requirements where you may need to work overnight to process raw materials.

4. Productivity
   Many factors come into play when choosing a furnace based on your capacity. Do you have high or low production requirements? How long do both the debinding and vacuum sintering processes take? How many loads would you usually transfer from one sintering furnace to another?
   
   Answering these questions can help determine if you need a separate furnace for each treatment or if a single one will do.

5. Energy consumption
   Minimizing energy consumption is an important part of any manufacturing process today as it helps reduce costs and save the environment. If saving energy is part of your goals as a manufacturer, you may want to consider getting a single furnace for debinding and vacuum sintering.
   
   However, remember that the amount of energy used for debinding can be different from that for vacuum sintering. Make sure to research how much energy each treatment uses to determine the right furnace for your needs.

High-Quality Lab Furnaces

Choosing the right furnace with the right features and settings is an integral part of the vacuum sintering process. It helps manufacturers save time and costs and even improve the quality of their products.

However, selecting the right furnace can often be a difficult task. If you need assistance in choosing vacuum sintering equipment, look no further than AIl Furnaces. We offer vacuum tube furnaces that can effectively heat metals to very high temperatures and conduct processes like sintering with high consistency and low contamination.

Check out our catalog to explore our range of high-quality lab furnaces. You can also fill out the contact form for inquiries or assistance in selecting the right lab furnace or oven for your needs.

For more China Vacuum Induction Melting Sintering Furnace Equipmentinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.