Abstract
Heat treatment furnaces are exposed to extreme conditions. For consistent, high-quality results, furnaces should be kept in excellent condition. Even with regular corrective and preventive maintenance, furnaces can still break down, resulting in lost production and unplanned downtime. Predictive maintenance is based on real-time monitoring of in-service equipment to optimize operations and determine when maintenance should be performed. The ideal system prevents equipment failures before they occur, and schedules maintenance as needed. This paper examines how predictive maintenance is emerging as a tool for analyzing future performance and maintenance requirements for furnaces. It covers predictive maintenance benefits and implementation considerations.
