Rapid heating furnace for aluminium billets

The aluminium billet rapid heating furnace is a tunnel furnace with material loading by means of an external hydraulic pusher.

The maximum operating temperature is about 900-1050 ° C which can be reached through heating ramps made by means of customizable gradients suitable for the type of treatment to be carried out, in compliance with the required performances.

The heating takes place by means of heads of burners distributed along the development of the furnace. The heating is of the direct type with the flames directly touching the material.

The fuel is fed to the heads already premixed with the comburent from the mixer.

To minimize the heating times, the system works with high temperature “over shoot” in the chamber, therefore a safety logic is envisaged for the rapid cooling of the chamber and to avoid the melting of the material.

The insulating lining provided is specifically designed to ensure optimal performances of the furnace and it’s made of materials suitable for the operating temperature and the required process characteristics.

Peculiarity of rapid heating furnace for aluminium billets

A peculiarity of these systems is the division of the furnace into two distinct areas:

  • Zone 1: pre-heating zone, without a combustion system, but functioning by means of the counter-current movement of the exhausts.
  • Zone 2: heating zone, divided into several combustion zones designed according to the diameter of the billet and the thermal cycle to be achieved.

A flue gas-air exchanger (engineered by I.C.M.I. S.r.l.) is installed in the flue gas exhaust line for preheating the combustion air and lowering the temperature of the fumes in order to obtain an increase in system efficiency.

The exhausts are evacuated from the plant and sent to the chimney by means of a fan adequately sized (also at a thermal level) and also installed on the furnace, thus ensuring compactness and space optimization for the machine.

The billet goes through the furnace thanks to the use of a roller way with lateral inclination of the rollers themselves.

Automation guarantees control of the entire process, interfacing with the company supervisor.

This type of system is designed and built to comply with the regulatory standards and the class of belonging of the furnace that the Customer requires (AMS – NADCAP).

Field of application

Aeronautical

Food industry

Earth-moving machinery

Petrochemical

Naval

Automotive