Ask | Share | Grow™ - Question & Answer Community
Of the Members, By the Members, For the Members!
VacuumFurnaces.com is a Q&A community where vacuum furnace product and service suppliers connect with commercial and captive heat treaters to share their practical skills and know-how and to establish valuable relationships around niche topics of expertise with vacuum furnace end-users in operations, production, training, maintenance, marketing, sales, and engineering.
How frequently should leak testing be performed on vacuum furnaces?
Maybe once or twice a year, depending on many things. I recommend taking a leak rate (rate of rise test), after the furnace hot zone has been through a burn-out and cooled under vacuum, on a routine basis. This should be done maybe weekly or at least monthly and recorded. Eventually you will beginRead more
Maybe once or twice a year, depending on many things.
I recommend taking a leak rate (rate of rise test), after the furnace hot zone has been through a burn-out and cooled under vacuum, on a routine basis. This should be done maybe weekly or at least monthly and recorded. Eventually you will begin to see trends as the leak rate deteriorates. When the leak rate is determined to be to high, I would recommend a helium leak test using a mass spectrometer.
See lessHow to clean vacuum seals for vacuum furnace?
I would suggest using rubbing alcohol and a clean lint free rag.
I would suggest using rubbing alcohol and a clean lint free rag.
See lessWhat is an acceptable leak rates for o-rings?
An o-ring should not leak when tested with a helium mass spectrometer in the range of 10-6 or 10-7 Torr. Acceptable leak rates would be subjective and relate to the materials being processed in the furnace and the hot zone deterioration that can be tolerated with a leaking o-ring or system.
An o-ring should not leak when tested with a helium mass spectrometer in the range of 10-6 or 10-7 Torr. Acceptable leak rates would be subjective and relate to the materials being processed in the furnace and the hot zone deterioration that can be tolerated with a leaking o-ring or system.
See lessHow to grease a high vacuum o-ring?
Use a minimal amount of vacuum (silicone) grease. Just enough to make it shine. Grease collects dirt and dust leading to vacuum leaks.
Use a minimal amount of vacuum (silicone) grease. Just enough to make it shine. Grease collects dirt and dust leading to vacuum leaks.
See lessWhat is the service life expectancy of a vacuum furnace?
Typically if maintained well the life expectancy of a vacuum furnace should be 30 years or more. The critical component is the vessel. It is like the foundation of a house, and if maintained it will last a long time. Cooling water quality is critical to vessel life and longevity. All other compoRead more
Typically if maintained well the life expectancy of a vacuum furnace should be 30 years or more. The critical component is the vessel. It is like the foundation of a house, and if maintained it will last a long time. Cooling water quality is critical to vessel life and longevity. All other components can be repaired or replaces, but when the vessel deteriorates furnace life begins its demise.
See less