Category: Blog

Annealing Furnaces - Working Principle Annealing Furnaces - Working Principle Annealing Furnaces - Working Principle Annealing is a heat treatment process that is used to alter the chemical or physical properties of a metal to make it more ductile and reduce its hardness. An annealing furnace works by heating an annealing furnace above its recrystallization temperature and then cooling once the sample has been maintained at this temperature for a suitable amount of time. During the annealing process, the atoms within a sample diffuse in the crystal lattice and the number of dislocations reduce, changing the ductility and hardness properties…

A heating element is used to convert electricity into heat, and within an industrial furnace, there are various materials that can be used. Typically, iron-chrome aluminum or nickel chrome alloys are used in furnaces, and the standard shapes are cylindrical, semi-circular, or flat panels. This blog post will look at the other different types of materials that can be used as high-temperature heating elements. Precious Metals A precious metal can be materials including pure platinum, pure rhodium, and platinum/rhodium alloys, however these materials aren’t as common as others as they have a high cost. Precious metals are often used as…

A rotary furnace is a barrel-shaped instrument that is rotated around its axis when performing heat treatment. These instruments are tilted slightly to allow the sample under heat treatment to be passed from one end of the barrel to the other. This sample transfer occurs as the rotary furnace rotates, and this rotation can also induce some mixing or stirring of the sample. When the rotary furnace is in operation, hot gases pass through the chamber to perform the heat treatment. Generally, the hot gases pass through in the opposite direction than the sample, but depending on the application requirements…

Calcining (also known as calcination) can be defined as the heating to high temperatures in the presence of oxygen or air, or it can be the heat treatment process of inducing thermal decomposition. Thermal decomposition is achieved using calcining by placing a sample in an absence or limited supply of air or oxygen. The main objectives of a calcination furnace are to drive off water that is present as absorbed moisture, to drive off volatile constituents such as carbon dioxide, or to oxidize part of, or the entire substance. Calcining is carried out in a range of instruments, including industrial…

A Bridgman furnace is an industrial furnace used specifically for crystal growth. It uses a specific technique developed by Percy Williams Bridgman, a Harvard physicist. This blog post will discuss the method used in a Bridgman furnace and its applications. The Bridgman Method Within a Bridgman furnace, there is a distinct temperature gradient, and a crucible containing the pre-synthesized material is slowly transferred along the axis of this temperature gradient. As the material melts through the decreasing temperatures it forms a single crystal. In a similar technique called the Stockbarger method, that’s name is often used interchangeably with the Bridgman…

An industrial oven is an instrument used by many different industries, including food production, pharmaceutical, and electronics. These ovens have a heated chamber that is used to perform many different heat treatment processes and a range of increasing temperatures. Industrial ovens can be built to be extremely large and bulky, which can take up a lot of space in the laboratory and their size can also make the oven inefficient. This blog post will look at the benefit of using benchtop industrial ovens as an alternative to bulky upright ovens. Using Benchtop Industrial Ovens Any benchtop instrument is one that…

Within an industrial furnace, there are many different components that ensure it is performing successfully, and insulation is one of these important components. There are many benefits of using a high temperature insulation material in furnaces, and there is a range of materials that are used as insulation materials, this blog post will highlight both. High Temperature Insulation Material Benefits Industrial furnaces operate at extremely high temperatures, so high temperature insulation materials are critical to ensuring that the furnace runs safely and efficiently. One use for insulation within an industrial furnace is to ensure operator safety. The outer body of…

Thermcraft have years of experience in developing and manufacturing high-quality industrial furnaces and parts. In addition to our standard range, we also offer custom industrial furnaces and parts to fit specific requirements. Our team of experienced sales engineers are able to help you build a custom industrial furnace configured to your exact requirements. We also supply custom parts for industrial furnaces. All of our industrial furnaces are built with low watt density heating elements and a heavy gage steel sheet, and they can be built for any laboratory or industrial application. Our custom industrial furnaces are available with either electrical…

Operating a lab furnace comes with a range of safety hazards, this blog post will outline a few of them and the measures that can be made to ensure a safe working environment. Fire Due to the extremely high temperatures that lab furnaces operate at, there is always the increased risk of fire. Fires can be caused due to improper use of a lab furnace, for instance, if a flammable chemical or material is placed inside a furnace by mistake. Fire resistant surfaces should also be available outside of the lab furnace for hot samples to be placed on after…

The components within an industrial furnace are crucial to ensure successful operation. Two of the most important components are heaters and high temperature insulation materials. Thermcraft supplies a range of Fibercraft heating elements and insulation materials, and this blog post will outline both components. Fibercraft Heating Elements The heating element within an industrial furnace is possibly the most important component as it needs to provide enough heat for the application. If the heating element fails to do this the sample within the furnace will not undergo successful heat treatment. Fibercraft heating elements are made using high quality, high purity vacuum…