Vacuum heat treatment technology is widely used in the industry

Vacuum heat treatment is a cutting-edge process that achieves molecular structure reorganization and performance optimization of metal materials by precisely controlling the temperature field and gas atmosphere in a sealed environment below standard atmospheric pressure. The core is to use the inert characteristics of the vacuum environment to fundamentally avoid quality defects such as oxidation and decarburization caused by air intervention in traditional heat treatment. At the same time, with the help of a computer temperature control system, the heating accuracy is controlled within the range of ±1°C, providing unprecedented accuracy for material performance regulation.
Recently, with the continuous improvement of the manufacturing industry’s requirements for material performance and product quality, this advanced technology is gradually emerging in many industries, showing great application potential and market prospects.

Application of vacuum heat treatment technology in the aerospace field
In the aerospace field, its application is meticulous and critical. The turbine blades of aircraft engines work in extreme environments of high temperature, high pressure and high-speed rotation. When using vacuum heat treatment technology, the blade material will first be placed in a high vacuum environment of 10⁻³Pa, slowly heated to 1100°C and kept warm for 5 hours to make the internal grains of the material uniform and refined. Then, it is cooled in stages, first cooled to 600℃ at a rate of 20℃/s, and then naturally cooled to room temperature. After this treatment, the high-temperature strength of the blade is increased by 25%, and the creep resistance is increased by 30%, which is enough to cope with the harsh conditions when the engine is working.

Application of vacuum heat treatment technology in the automotive manufacturing industry
In the automotive manufacturing industry, the application of vacuum heat treatment is fully reflected in the production of key components. For the gears of the automobile gearbox, when the vacuum carburizing process is used, the gears are first placed in a vacuum furnace, evacuated to a vacuum degree of 10-2Pa, and a mixed gas of acetylene and nitrogen is introduced, and carburized at 930℃. By adjusting the gas flow rate and the holding time, a uniform carburized layer with a depth of 1.2mm is formed on the surface of the gear, and the hardness reaches HRC62. Compared with the traditional process, not only the depth error of the carburized layer is reduced from ±0.3mm to ±0.1mm, but also the surface oxidation is avoided, the subsequent grinding process is omitted, and the production cost of a single piece is reduced by 15%.

Application of vacuum heat treatment technology in the field of mold manufacturing industry
The mold manufacturing industry is increasingly dependent on vacuum heat treatment. Cold working molds are subjected to huge impact forces during the stamping process. When using the vacuum quenching process, the mold steel is heated to 860℃ under 10⁻³Pa vacuum, kept warm for 2 hours, and then quickly cooled with high-pressure nitrogen at a cooling rate of up to 50℃/s. After this treatment, the uniformity of the quenching hardness of the mold is improved, the hardness difference between different parts does not exceed HRC2, and the deformation is controlled within 0.02mm/m. After this treatment, the service life of a pair of automobile cover stamping dies increased from 500,000 times to 800,000 times, and the surface roughness of the stamped parts was reduced to Ra0.8μm, without the need for subsequent polishing.

Vacuum Heat Treatment Furnace