Can high vacuum electric furnaces hot press sintered materials?
11-04-2025 Author: KJ technology
High vacuum electric furnaces can be used for hot pressing and sintering materials, which suppress oxidation through a vacuum environment, promote material densification by combining high temperature and external pressure, and have wide applications in the field of materials science. The following is an explanation from four aspects: technical feasibility, device functionality, application examples, and advantages:
1. Technical feasibility
A high vacuum electric furnace extracts gas from the furnace through a vacuum pump, creating a near vacuum environment that effectively reduces the contact between materials and oxygen during sintering, thereby avoiding oxidation reactions. This is crucial for maintaining the purity and performance of materials, especially for metal materials with strong gas affinity such as titanium, molybdenum, niobium, etc. At the same time, a high vacuum environment also helps to remove gases and moisture from the raw materials, avoid the formation of pores during sintering, and improve the density of the material.
2. Equipment functions
Heating system: The high vacuum electric furnace is equipped with advanced electric heating systems, such as quartz heating tubes, molybdenum heating rods, tungsten heating elements, etc., which generate heat energy through current heating and transfer it to the materials inside the furnace. The furnace is usually equipped with temperature sensors and advanced PID temperature control systems to ensure precise control and stability of the temperature inside the furnace.
Pressure system: In a vacuum environment, a high vacuum electric furnace applies external pressure to materials through a pressurization system, such as hydraulic pressurization, mechanical pressing, etc. Pressure can promote the densification of materials, eliminate pores, promote grain growth and bonding at contact points, and improve the density and mechanical strength of sintered materials. The external pressure can be adjusted according to the process requirements to control the speed of the sintering process and the density of the material.
Vacuum system: The vacuum system of the high vacuum electric furnace adopts a combination of mechanical pumps and oil diffusion pumps, with a vacuum degree of up to 6.67 × 10-3Pa. The vacuum system also includes components such as valves and sealing rings to ensure that the vacuum state is not damaged during the entire sintering process and prevent external gases from entering the furnace.
3. Application examples
Preparation of metal based composite materials: High vacuum electric furnaces can be used to prepare metal based composite materials, such as aluminum magnesium alloys, titanium alloys, etc. By hot pressing sintering treatment, stress inside the material can be eliminated, grain size can be refined, and the plasticity, toughness, and processing performance of the material can be improved.
Densification treatment of ceramic materials: For high-performance ceramic materials such as silicon nitride, aluminum nitride, aluminum oxide, etc., high vacuum electric furnaces can provide a sintering environment without oxidation or decarburization, reducing the formation of pores and oxides, thereby improving their density, hardness, thermal stability, and mechanical strength.
Nanomaterial sintering test: Nanomaterials have unique physical and chemical properties and have broad application prospects in fields such as optoelectronics, catalysis, biomedical science, etc. High vacuum electric furnaces can be used for sintering experiments of nanomaterials, providing support for their research and application.
Special alloy forming development: For certain special alloy materials, such as hard alloys (tungsten cobalt alloys, molybdenum alloys, etc.), high vacuum electric furnaces can ensure the uniformity and density of the alloy, improve the performance and service life of the alloy material.
4. Advantages
Improving material performance: Through high vacuum electric furnace hot pressing sintering treatment, stress inside the material can be eliminated, grain size can be refined, and the plasticity, toughness, and processing performance of the material can be improved. This helps to extend the service life of materials and improve the quality and performance of products.
Maintaining material purity: The high vacuum environment effectively suppresses the oxidation reaction of the material during sintering, maintaining the purity of the material. This is particularly important for manufacturing that requires high-purity materials.
Energy saving and environmental protection: The high vacuum electric furnace adopts advanced heating and cooling technology, which has a high energy utilization rate. Meanwhile, the sintering process reduces gas emissions, which is beneficial for environmental protection.
