Customised furnace systems made in Germany

The company Nabertherm from Lilienthal manufactures industrial furnaces for different application areas. The close connection between development and production on the same premises makes it possible for the manufacturer to both map out and construct individual thermal process plants for their customers. Aside from the standard portfolio, this makes more complex and bespoke system solutions feasible.

This year, the company is presenting electrically heated melting furnaces at the trade fairs in Düsseldorf in June. According to the manufacturer, these systems are characterised by a high quality melt, high melting performance and optimum energy efficiency. One flexible solution for pre-melting or for direct pouring into moulds, are tilting furnaces. An optimised fulcrum allows for uninterrupted, precise pouring.

Depending on their design, the furnaces are suitable for aluminium, zinc or copper alloys like bronze or brass. The heating elements are mounted on support tubes and conceived for a long life of service. A quick exchange of the elements is possible any time. Several layers of insulation achieve optimum energy efficiency and a low temperature of the outer wall. Should a thermal element break, a security system keeps the melt from solidifying by keeping the furnace operational at a lower performance rate.

Thermal treatment processes are also part of the company portfolio. The drop-bottom furnaces, for example, are suitable for solution annealing and subsequent quick quenching of aluminium alloys. For aluminium construction parts with thin walls, only small delays of up to five seconds before quenching, measured from the opening of the door until complete submersion into the water, are possible. Depending on the design, the quenching bath can be positioned directly under the furnace. A hopper filled with workpieces can be directly lowered into the bath automatically, or semi-automatically.

For some processes – where organic gases are released – Nabertherm offers debinding or sintering furnaces. The combination chamber furnaces N 200/DB – N 1000/14 DB were specially developed for this purpose. The systems feature an inlet for fresh air to dilute the fumes that are released during the debinding. This prevents the build-up of a flammable atmosphere in the furnace chamber. The standard design allows pre-heated fresh air to be blown inside, so that the furnace is operated at excess pressure during the debinding phase.