World’s largest commercial vacuum furnace completes successful first run
September 28, 2016
Solar Atmospheres, Western PA, USA, has begun operation of its newest and largest vacuum furnace. The recently installed 14.6 m long vacuum furnace, with a diameter of just over 2 m, is said to be the world’s largest commercially owned vacuum furnace.
The furnace has a maximum operating temperature of 1315°C and the dual load car design has the capacity to transfer up to 68 tonnes of material in and out of the furnace. The state of the art vacuum furnace has the ability to apply tight pyrometric controls to ± 5.5°C.
In its inaugural cycle, the furnace successfully vacuum heat treated nickel alloy components while preserving the crucial elements of brightness and cleanliness. The U.S. patented load car design prevented distortion of the more than 12 m long tubes.
Due to the furnace’s increased efficiency, the total cycle time for this thermal process will be reduced by two days compared to traditional furnace designs.
“Solar Atmospheres of Western PA is absolutely confident their brand new 48-foot vacuum furnace will consistently surpass customers’ expectations,” the company stated.
