Today vacuum heat treatment of tools and parts is state of the art. A broad variety of materials can be treated. Various heat treating methods like tempering, hardening and annealing can be processed.

Vacuum hardening is defined as heating of parts in a sealed kettle where air has been pumped off. Afterwards electrical heated graphit bars successively increase temperature. Quenching is done by injection of gaseous nitrogen at a pressure of up to 6 bar.

As a result of heating existing air-oxygen will react with the parts surface. This reaction will be more intense at higher temperatures. Long dwelling will lead to scaled surfaces (starting at roughly 600°C). For this reason a gas-shielding athmospere is needed.
At higher temperatures (as mostly used for hardening: 850-1200°C) vacuum will provide best protection against scaling. Even at temperatures above 1300°C parts remain blank after hardening.

Advantages of Vacuum heat treatment:
- low shape distortion
- no scaling
- no oxidation
- blank surfaces
- repeatable results

Max part size: 600x900x600mm

back