Application of Box type Tempering Furnace in the Metal Industry

Box type tempering furnaces are widely and crucially used in the metal industry, which optimize the mechanical, physical, and processing properties of metal materials by precisely controlling temperature, time, and atmosphere for heat treatment.

1. Process effect and performance optimization
Relieve residual stress
Case: After quenching, the residual stress of 45 # steel reaches 800MPa, which can be reduced to below 50MPa by tempering at 560 ℃ for 2 hours, reducing the risk of deformation and cracking.
Data: After tempering, the dimensional stability of the workpiece increased by 30%, and the processing qualification rate increased by 15%.
Adjust hardness and toughness
Tool steel: Cr12MoV steel has a quenched hardness of HRC 62. After tempering at 560 ℃, the hardness decreases to HRC 58 and the toughness increases by 20%.
Spring steel: After tempering at 480 ℃, the elastic limit of 60Si2Mn steel is increased by 15%, and the fatigue life is extended by three times.
Optimize organizational structure
Carbon steel: After tempering, martensite decomposes into tempered martensite, resulting in grain refinement and improved overall mechanical properties.
Alloy steel: secondary hardening phenomenon (such as hardness recovery of high-speed steel after tempering at 560 ℃), improves high-temperature wear resistance.

2. Technical advantages and equipment characteristics
temperature control accuracy
PID intelligent temperature control: ± 1 ℃ (precision parts) to ± 5 ℃ (ordinary parts), ensuring process repeatability.
Multi point temperature measurement: The uniformity inside the furnace should be ≤ ± 5 ℃ to avoid local overheating or underheating.
Atmosphere protection function
Nitrogen/argon protection: prevents oxidation of titanium alloys and stainless steel, and improves surface smoothness by 1 level.
Vacuum tempering: suitable for high-precision parts, eliminating the risk of hydrogen embrittlement.
Automation and Energy saving Design
Program temperature control: supports 100 temperature rise curves, reducing manual intervention.
Ceramic fiber insulation: energy consumption reduced by 30%, furnace surface temperature rise ≤ 60 ℃ (in compliance with safety standards).

3. Typical cases and data support
Tempering of automotive molds
Material: H13 steel (4Cr5MoSiV1)
Process: Tempering at 540 ℃ for 4 hours
Effect: Hardness reduced from HRC 52 to HRC 48, toughness increased by 25%, and mold life extended to 80000 stamping cycles (originally 50000 cycles).
Tempering of aviation fasteners
Material: 30CrMnSiA alloy steel
Process: Tempering at 420 ℃ for 3 hours
Effect: The tensile strength has been increased to 1200MPa, and the elongation has been increased from 8% to 12%, meeting the requirements for high strength.
Powder metallurgy gear tempering
Material: Fe-Cu-C stainless steel powder
Process: 650 ℃ × 2h vacuum tempering
Effect: Density increased to 98%, hardness increased from HRC 35 to HRC 40, and wear resistance increased by 40%.

4. Summary and Industry Value
Process core: The box type tempering furnace achieves a balanced optimization of metal material hardness, toughness, and corrosion resistance through precise temperature control and atmosphere protection.
economic performance:
Reduce scrap rate (increase by 10% -20%) and minimize rework costs.
Extend the lifespan of molds and parts by 30% -50%, and reduce long-term operating costs.
Industry Trends:
Intelligence: Integrate MES system to achieve process data traceability and remote monitoring.
Greenization: Adopting waste heat recovery technology, energy consumption is reduced by 15% -20%.

Box type tempering furnace is the core equipment for heat treatment in the metal industry, and its technological progress directly promotes product quality upgrades in high-end manufacturing, aerospace, automotive industry and other fields. Through scientific selection and process optimization, enterprises can significantly enhance their competitiveness and meet the stringent market demand for high-performance metal materials.