Abstract
A recently introduced new vacuum furnace design allows the total integration of heat treatment into the manufacturing line. This compact unit can be implemented into the heart of the production chain and provides heat-treatment processes which can be fully synchronized with the green and hard machining-operations. When performing case hardening, the components are low pressure carburized at high temperatures (1050°C) followed by gas quenching. Using this technology, the components are treated in most cases in a single layer of parts (“2D-treatment”) which allows for an easy automated loading and unloading of the fixture-trays. Furthermore this “small batch – treatment” leads to an optimum in quality regarding quench homogeneity and distortion control. By using the small batch concept, a continuous flow of parts can be established. There is no need to wait until enough parts are collected to build a large batch with multiple layers (“3D-batch”). Therefore excessive costs are avoided for inventory, part storage and transportation within the plant. Typical components for this technology come from the automotive, aerospace and tool industry. The paper shows several new results from case hardening applications.
