How to Choose the Heating Element for an Atmosphere Furnace?
Atmosphere furnaces are typically used for heat treatment processes that require a specific atmosphere environment, such as metal annealing and sintering. Therefore, the selection of suitable heating elements is crucial.
When selecting heating element for an atmosphere furnace, a variety of factors need to be considered to ensure heating efficiency, temperature uniformity, equipment durability, and safety.
Considering the different needs of our customers, atmosphere furnaces from Brother Furnace are provided with different heating elements for selection. The following is a detailed description of the characteristics and application scenarios of these heating elements.
What is Heating Element
Heating elements are materials or devices that convert electrical energy directly into heat or thermal energy through a principle known as Joule heating. When an electric current flows through the heating element material, friction is created and this friction generates heat, which results in a heating effect on the workpiece.
Brother Furnace offers a wide range of different heating elements, the most common of which are stainless steel tubes, resistance wires, SiC heating elements, graphite, etc. Depending on the temperature of the different equipment you can choose the appropriate heating element.
Here we will focus on several types of heating elements used in atmosphere furnaces.
Types of Heating Elements
Not all conductors are suitable for heating elements, the materials that can be used for heating elements need to take into account mechanical properties, resistivity, oxidation resistance, melting point, and many other factors.
There are three main types of heating elements used in atmosphere furnaces produced by Brother Furnace. These heating elements have different characteristics depending on the material, and customers can choose them according to demand when purchasing atmosphere furnaces.
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Resistance Wire
Characteristics
1. Material:
Resistance wire is generally made of nickel-chromium alloy or iron-chromium-aluminum alloy. These alloys have high resistivity and good heat resistance.
2. Temperature Range
Normally suitable for temperatures below 1200°C. The resistance wire can reach a heating temperature of 950-1200 degrees.
Resistance wire heating temperature can reach 950-1200 degrees, of which high-temperature resistance wire can be heated to 1200 degrees to use, and medium-temperature resistance wire can be heated to 950 degrees to use.
The higher the current used to heat the resistance wire, the higher the temperature will be, but the heating should not exceed the temperature limit it can withstand.
3. Cost
Resistance wire is relatively low cost compared to other heating elements.
4. Flexibility:
Resistance wire can be bent and shaped, which is suitable for complex-shaped heating bodies. And it is easier to manufacture and replace.
Applicable Scene
● Low to medium temperature heating environment.
● Need for uniform heating effect: Resistance wire can provide better temperature control when a more uniform heating effect is needed.
MoSi2 Heating Element
Characteristics
1. Material:
MoSi2 Heating Element is made of molybdenum disilicide, which has a very high melting point and good chemical stability.
2. Temperature Range
Can be used at temperatures up to 1700°C.
The maximum service temperature of MoSi2 heating elements depends mainly on their composition and preparation process: 1700°C to 1800°C in air, 1600°C in nitrogen, and 1220°C to 1450°C in hydrogen; the resistivity of MoSi2 increases rapidly with increasing temperature.
Under normal circumstances element resistance does not change with the length of time of use, therefore, new and old MoSi2 heating elements can be mixed.
3. Oxidation Protection
When used in a high-temperature oxidizing atmosphere, the surface of molybdenum disilicide will rapidly generate a layer of bright dense quartz glass film under high temperature and oxygen atmosphere, which can protect the inner layer of MoSi2 from further oxidization, so the MoSi2 heating element has unique high-temperature antioxidant components.
4. Firm Solder Joints:
Using a special process of butt molding, strong impact resistance.
5. Provide Customized Service
Hot process molding can produce special shapes and sizes according to customer requirements.
Applicable Scene
● High-temperature application: suitable for high-temperature environments, such as ceramic sintering, glass melting, metal smelting, etc.
SiC Heating Element
Characteristics
1. Material
It is made of a mixture of silicides and carbides, with stable chemical and electrical properties at high temperatures.
2. Temperature Range
The working temperature range of the SiC heating element is wide, and the normal operating temperature in an oxidizing atmosphere can reach 1450℃, and the continuous use can reach 2000 hours.
3. Antioxidant
SiC Heating Element has good corrosion resistance and antioxidant performance. It can also form a protective layer at high temperatures to extend its service life.
Applicable Scene
● Medium and high-temperature application: It is suitable for medium and high-temperature heat treatment processes, such as metal quenching and glass heating. Model 14-AS atmosphere furnace from Brother Furnace uses SiC Heating Element for its heating element.
● High thermal conductivity requirements: Very suitable in applications requiring fast temperature rise and high thermal conductivity.
● Good mechanical properties: SiC heating elements also have good mechanical properties and can withstand high mechanical stress.
Selection of the proper heating element is critical to the performance and efficiency of an atmosphere furnace. A variety of factors are to be taken into consideration when making the selection, such as temperature requirements, atmosphere conditions, ease of maintenance, etc.
When ordering our atmosphere furnaces, Brother Furnace will provide you with the relevant heating elements with the machine.
The atmosphere furnace produced by Brother Furnace is not only fast in raising and lowering the temperature rate but also has a balanced temperature field without pollution, which is the ideal product for universities, research institutes, and industrial and mining enterprises to do sintering with atmosphere protection and atmosphere reduction.
If you have any special needs when ordering an atmosphere furnace, Brother Furnace also offers you an exclusive customized service.
Brother Furnace is always committed to providing our customers with the most attentive service.