Is a horizontal atmosphere-controlled sintering furnace a vacuum furnace

A horizontal atmosphere-controlled sintering furnace is not necessarily a vacuum furnace. Whether it belongs to a vacuum furnace depends on whether it has the function of creating a vacuum environment. The following is a detailed analysis of both:

Definition and characteristics of vacuum furnaces

Definition: A vacuum furnace is an industrial furnace that can perform heating in a vacuum or controlled atmosphere. It is widely used in the heat treatment, sintering, annealing, quenching, and other processes of materials. Features:

Vacuum environment: By extracting the air inside the furnace, a nearly vacuum environment is created, reducing or eliminating the influence of oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor and other gases in the air on the processed materials.

Precise control: Equipped with a high-precision temperature control system, it can precisely control the temperature, ensuring the stability and consistency of the heat treatment process.

Improved product quality: Materials processed in a vacuum environment have clean surfaces and are less likely to be contaminated by the atmosphere, thus achieving higher material purity and better performance.

Definition and features of horizontal atmosphere-controlled sintering furnace

Definition: A horizontal atmosphere-controlled sintering furnace is a process testing instrument mainly used for sintering, purification and heat treatment of materials such as rhenium metal, hard alloys and powder metallurgy under vacuum or protective atmosphere. Features:

Horizontal structure: It adopts a horizontal door opening structure, making material loading and unloading convenient.

Atmosphere control: Specific atmospheres (such as nitrogen, hydrogen, argon, etc.) can be introduced into the furnace to facilitate reactions or protect the material surface from oxidation and other influences.

Automation operation: Equipped with a PLC and touch screen control system to achieve automated operation.

The relationship between horizontal atmosphere-controlled sintering furnaces and vacuum furnaces

Inclusion relationship: The original design intention of horizontal atmosphere-controlled sintering furnaces is to support sintering under vacuum or protective atmospheres. If the equipment is equipped with a vacuum pump system and can significantly reduce the internal pressure of the furnace (such as reaching 6.67×10⁻³Pa or lower), its core function is consistent with that of a vacuum furnace and it falls within the category of vacuum furnaces.

Non-absolute classification: Some horizontal atmosphere-controlled sintering furnaces may only support inert gas protection and lack vacuum functionality. Although these devices can control the composition of the atmosphere, due to the absence of the core feature of a vacuum environment, they are not classified as vacuum furnaces.