Vacuum induction melting furnaces (VIM furnaces) are specialized industrial furnaces that utilize electromagnetic induction to heat and melt metals in a vacuum environment. These furnaces consist of a vacuum chamber, an induction coil, and a crucible. The vacuum environment is created using a vacuum pump, which removes gases from the chamber, allowing for greater control over the melting process and producing high-purity metals.
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Arc melting furnaces (AM furnaces) are specialized equipment designed to melt and process metals under controlled conditions. They utilize an electric arc to generate intense heat, enabling the melting of even highly refractory and reactive materials.
AM furnaces offer several advantages over traditional melting methods:
AM furnaces are widely used in various industries, including:
Both Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM) and Additive Manufacturing (AM) furnaces are utilized in the melting of metals. They share certain similarities, including:
Despite their similarities, VIM and AM furnaces differ in several key aspects:
When selecting between vacuum induction melting (VIM) and arc melting (AM) furnaces, several factors must be carefully considered to ensure optimal performance and alignment with specific requirements. These factors include:
By carefully evaluating these factors and understanding the specific requirements of the application, the most suitable furnace type can be selected to ensure optimal performance and desired outcomes.
In addition to the core functions of melting and holding molten metal, furnaces may incorporate various additional features and considerations to enhance their performance and safety. These features can be crucial for specific applications or when dealing with particular types of metals.
Furnaces designed for pouring molten metal often incorporate tilt and pour mechanisms to enable precise and controlled metal transfer. These mechanisms can range from manual tilting systems to hydraulic or electric actuators.
Casting chambers are enclosed chambers that provide a controlled environment for cooling and solidifying molten metal. They are particularly useful for metals that require specific cooling rates or when precise control over the solidification process is desired.
Sampling ports are small openings in the furnace body that allow samples of the molten metal to be extracted for quality control and analysis. These ports enable periodic monitoring of the metal composition and properties during the melting process.
Vacuum interlock systems are safety features that prevent the furnace from operating when the vacuum chamber is not properly sealed. These systems ensure that the vacuum is maintained during the melting and casting processes, reducing the risk of contamination or explosions.
Vacuum induction melting (VIM) and arc melting (AM) furnaces offer distinct advantages and applications in metal melting. VIM furnaces excel in producing high-purity metals and castings with precise temperature control and vacuum degassing. AM furnaces are ideal for melting refractory materials and producing alloys with corrosion-resistant properties. Understanding the differences between these furnaces allows manufacturers to choose the optimal technology for their specific needs. Future advancements in vacuum melting technologies promise even greater efficiency, precision, and versatility in metal production.
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Smelting involves obtaining metal from a mineral-bearing ore. This process involves the reduction of metal oxides or ore into metal and the formation of non-metal oxide waste known as slag. Metals were smelted traditionally using a bonfire long before now.
A furnace (open or closed) is required to smelt metal ores because these ores have to be heated at a very high temperature to produce pure metals, much higher than what an open fire can produce. Using a furnace helps to maintain certain chemical conditions during smelting.
In an open melting furnace, there is a very high possibility of air getting into the molten metal because of the absence of vacuum that seals off air when melting is ongoing. This furnace is not advisable for smelting metals because the quality of metals are compromised when air gets into molten metal before casting, leading to oxidation and brittleness of such metals.
A closed furnace which is also a vacuum melting smelts and melts various types of metals and super alloys under a vacuum condition. This simply means that no gas or air gets into the melting chamber during the melting process. Air is known to cause fast oxidation within metal, therefore making the metal deteriorate very fast. The closed furnace is highly recommended for efficient and high quality smelting and melting.
Oxidation in metals usually occurs when the iron molecules in a metal react with oxygen in the presence of water to produce iron oxide. Oxidation usually appears on metals as red formed, scaly, loose, and easily falls away exposing more basis material to the environment. Oxidation on certain types of metals serves to protect them. Aluminium oxide, copper carbonate, and chromium oxide acts as protective coatings for the underlying metals.
Not all metals contain iron but they can corrode or tarnish in other oxidizing reactions.
Noble metals such as platinum, palladium, silver, gold, etc resists oxidation in their natural state. Many corrosion resistant metals have been invented by humans such as stainless steel and brass.
One would however think that all oxidation-resistant metals are classified as noble metals, but that is not the case. Titanium, niobium and tantalum all resist oxidation, but they are not classified as noble metals. Metals that resist oxidation are opposite of metals that are prone to it, they are called base metals. Base metals are aluminium, nickel, zinc, iron, steel, tin, lead, copper, brass, bronze and the alloys of these metals. All these metals can oxidize easily.
Below is a series of oxidation activities for some common metals. The table below shows the ability of metal that oxidizes very fast to the metals that least oxidizes.
It is generally recommended that metal should be melted above the melting point of the metal. It is important that the metal is protected from oxidizing and absorbing unwanted gases. Protecting the metal from coming in contact with air can be achieved in the following ways: using a gas flame, a protective inert gas such as Argon, Nitrogen, or by using flux.
Air can get entrapped in molten metal during melting and during casting, thereby causing porosity, oxidation and incomplete casting. This is why an induction furnace is often used for casting in order to prevent air from getting into molten metal.
If air then gets into metal (this cannot be avoided especially with the traditional methods of casting, the solution is to melt the metal all over again in an induction melting furnace or a vacuum induction melting furnace. An induction furnace melts the metal and no air gets into the melting chamber. The molten metal is then removed and poured in a mold.
Chapter 2:The vacuum induction melting furnace is used to melt metals via electromagnetic induction under vacuum. An induction furnace contains a refractory lined crucible surrounded by an induction coil located within a vacuum chamber. Metals and alloys that have a high affinity for oxygen and nitrogen are usually melted in a vacuum induction furnace to prevent contamination with these gases.
The breakthrough for the vacuum induction casting machine was in the early 20th century and it has continued to advance since then. Vacuum induction is indispensable in the manufacture of metals and alloys because the vacuum induction melting furnace has the following features:
We can describe the vacuum induction furnace as a melting crucible inside a steel shell that is connected to a high speed vacuum system system. The heart of the furnace is the crucible, with heating and cooling coils and refractory lining. Heating of the furnace is done by electric current that passes through a set of induction coils. The coils are made of copper tubing that is cooled by water flowing through the tubing.
The passage of current through the coils creates a magnetic field that induces a current in the charge inside the refectory. When the heating of the charge material is sufficient that the charge has become all molten, these magnetic fields cause the stirring of the liquid charge.
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Features found in most vacuum induction melting furnaces are: casting chambers, control panels, tilt and pour mechanisms, mold holding facilities for automated and semi-automated processing, crucible, etc.
Apart from melting a wide range of metals, a vacuum induction melting furnace can also be used for:
Vacuum induction melting was initially developed as a method to refine alloys like nickel and cobalt. Right now, there the furnace is more widely used for other metals. Many of these metals offer a high level of cleanliness and a variety of properties that allow them to be used in numerous manufacturing processes, such as melting metals for aerospace and nuclear industries. Vacuum induction melting furnaces might have been developed to create superalloys, but it can also be used for stainless steel and a host of other metals.
The process of melting with a vacuum casting machine: It is important to note that a vacuum induction melting furnace provides a non-contact melting process, i.e, the molten metal does not have a direct contact with the heating coil, therefore, making the molten metal to have no contamination. Whether you need to melt a few grams of metal in small crucibles or several kilograms of metals in large furnaces, the process of melting is the same.
The melting process is carried out using a vacuum induction furnace.
In this metallurgical process, metal is melted via electromagnetic induction under vacuum. Electrical eddy currents are used to make the melting process possible, which is not possible through other melting processes. This is because certain metals and alloys are highly combined with hydrogen and nitrogen, therefore they cannot be melted in air.
Inside the vacuum chamber, there is an induction furnace that contains a refractory lined crucible enclosed by an induction coil. The furnace is air tight and has the ability to withstand the required vacuum for processing. The metals used in vacuum induction melting have melting points up to degree celsius.
The vacuum arc furnace is an electric furnace that directly heats the smelting metal in a vacuum furnace. In other words, a vacuum arc furnace is a furnace that uses consumable electrodes to melt under vacuum at a carefully controlled rate using heat generated by an electric arc struck between the electrode and the ingot. Exposure of the molten metal to the low near vacuum pressure reduces the amount of dissolved gases such as oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen in the ingot.
Heating of metal ore or scrap metal is done through an electric arc. Metallurgical furnaces can be heated with different heat sources but the vacuum arc furnace unlike the induction steel furnace, the charged metal is directly heated by the electrical arc and with the electric current running from the furnace’s terminals through the charged material.
The gas in the furnace is thin by the molten metal vapor arc that makes the arc stable, mainly for direct current. The electric furnace arc is divided according to whether the electrode is consumed in the process of melting, it is divided into a self-consuming furnace and non-self-consuming melting furnace. Most industrial applications of the vacuum arc furnace are self-consuming furnaces. Vacuum arc furnaces are used to smelt special steel, active and refractory metals like titanium.
Arc electric heat can be considered as arc resistance. The stability of arc (arc resistance) is a necessary condition for the normal production of furnace. Arc melting is used for melting metals to form alloys.
The melting process of a vacuum arc furnace: The melting process starts at a low voltage (short arc) between the electrodes and the scrap. The scrap is loaded into baskets, the scarp basket is then taken to the melt shop. The roof of the furnace swung off the furnace and the furnace is charged with scrap from the basket. Melting begins after the roof is swung back over the furnace.
The electrodes are lowered onto the scrap, an arc is struck and the electrodes are then set to bore into the layer of the shred at the top of the furnace. Once heated, the meltdown process begins. Electrodes are lowered down into the scrap to produce the arc in a low voltage condition. Once the arc is formed, the voltage is increased to speed up the melting process.
A vacuum arc furnace is applicable in: Super alloys for aerospace, melting of reactive metals for aerospace, chemical, oil and electronic industries. Copper and copper alloys for high voltage circuit breakers, die steels, tool steel for milling cutters, drill bits, etc
An electron beam melting furnace is often distinguished by its superior refining capacity and offers a high degree of flexibility of the heat source and the distribution of power. That is, the electron beam melting furnace uses a high-energy electron beam inside a vacuum as a means of transferring heat to the metal being melted.
Thereby making it ideal for remelting and refining of metals and alloys under high vacuum in water cooled, ceramic free copper molds. The electron beam process is employed for production of refractory and reactive metals such as tantalum, titanium, niobium, tungsten and their alloys. The electron beam furnace uses a hot cathode for the production of electrons and high voltage towards melting metals at a fast rate. The electron beam furnace performs the same function as the electric arc furnace.
The electron beam melting furnace plays an important role in the manufacturing of ultra-pure sputtering material and alloys for the electronic industry and the recycling titanium scrap.
How the electron beam melting process occurs: Electron beam guns represent high power heat sources that are able to exceed at their beam spot the melting and the evaporation temperatures of all metals at their beam spot.
By magnetic deflection and rapid scanning at high frequencies, the electron beam can be effectively directed at targets of multiple shapes. Therefore making it the most flexible heat source in remelting technology.
The electron beam strikes the target with typical power densities of 100W/cm2. Depending on the properties of the metal being melted, the power transfer efficiency ranges from approximately 50-80%.
Since electron beam melting is a surface heating method, it produces only a shallow pool at acceptable melt rates which positively affects the ingot structure as regards to porosity, segregation, etc.
The exposure of the superheated metal pool surface to the high vacuum environment at levels of 1-0.Pa results in an excellent degassing of molten metal.
Metallic and non-metallic constituents with vapor pressures higher than the base material are selectively evaporated, thus generating the desired high purity of the ingot material.
Rapid scanning of the beam spot along the melt surface avoids local overheating and allows a consistent production of alloys.
The Electron beam melting has four process variations:
Process control
Electron beam furnaces operate in a semi-automatic control mode. Process automation includes:
From the comparison of all vacuum furnaces for melting metals and alloys, the best and most convenient of all is the Superbmelt vacuum melting furnace. Here are the benefits you derive from using the vacuum melting furnace:
Superbmelt vacuum induction furnace is your best choice considering the fact that there are a number of features and benefits you enjoy when you use our vacuum induction furnace.
Safety: Our vacuum induction melting furnaces are totally safe for all your melting operations. The vacuum induction melting furnace is equipped with a primary safety detector, which is designed to protect you against electrical shock and warning of metal to coil penetration, a highly dangerous condition that could lead to furnace explosion.
Flexibility design: Whatever the size, whether large tons or small size melting and casting operations, our vacuum induction furnaces can handle it.
Temperature control: You have total control over the melting temperature of your vacuum furnace, thereby giving you a hitch free melting and casting processes. Hence, you don’t have to worry about your metal or alloy not reaching its melting temperature or going above its melting temperature.
Improved productivity: Melting and casting with our vacuum induction melting furnace is fast, this means that you don’t have to spend a long time during production. Therefore, you are able to meet up with production demands.
Affordable vacuum induction furnace: You get the best price of a vacuum induction furnace when you buy from us. The affordability of our vacuum induction furnace is a great investment.
High quality products: Melting and casting with our vacuum induction furnace gives you a high quality on all your products. This is so because of the vacuum machine’s ability to remove dissolved gasses like hydrogen from your metal. The presence of hydrogen in your metal makes it very easy and fast for the oxidation process to begin rather quickly on your metal.
Zero pollution: Not only is your metal free from impurities brought in by raw materials that will later cause your casting to get damaged, also the melting and casting environment is not polluted with chemicals and harmful gases. Thereby making our vacuum induction furnace safe for humans and the environment at the same time giving you a quality product.
Recycling: It is totally possible to recycle your metals and alloys using our vacuum induction furnace, therefore, there is no wastage of metals.
Warranty: We have a 12 months warranty coverage over your vacuum induction furnace when you purchase from us. Through this, we are confident of giving you the best of our vacuum induction furnace.
Multiple usage: Our vacuum induction furnace can be used in all industries including industries that make use of heavy metals and alloys such as aerospace engineering.