A car radiator manufacturer has expanded its heat treatment capacity with an EV/CAB line adapted for the production of oversized battery coolers. The aluminum brazing furnace facilitates the ability to make quick modifications and switch from gas to electric heating in order to meet climate change challenges.
Piotr Skarbiński Vice President of Aluminum and CAB Products Segment SECO/WARWICK Source: LinkedIn
SECO/WARWICK designed the CAB line with temperature uniformity across the entire belt width in order to accommodate the size specifications of the battery coolers.
“This order is for an aluminum brazing furnace adapted to the production of oversized battery coolers,” said Piotr Skarbiński, vice president of the aluminum and CAB product segment at SECO/WARWICK. “The EV/CAB line with a belt width of 2100 mm (6.89 ft) is designed to produce oversized battery coolers. It consists of a preheating and main heating chamber, a radiation brazing furnace, an air jacket cooling chamber, a final cooling chamber and a control system.”
The press release is available in its original form here.
PWR Advanced Cooling Technology has ordered two universal batch CAB furnaces and a CAB continuous line. The furnaces will be used for brazing aluminum heat exchangers. The 3 solutions will go to 2 continents – Australia and North America.
PWR Advanced Cooling Technology specializes in the production of modern and efficient heat exchangers and has used SECO/WARWICK Group furnaces in the past. Two furnaces, the continuous CAB line and Universal Batch CAB Furnace, will be delivered to production plants in Australia. The second chamber furnace will be delivered at the same time to the American branch of PWR, C&R Racing Inc.
Andi Scott, general manager - advanced technology, PWR Australia Source: PWR Australia
The universal batch CAB furnace meets the requirements for protective atmosphere aluminum brazing technology (Nocolok®) and allows users to braze products in a horizontal or vertical position. The continuous CAB line performs brazing in a protective atmosphere for mass production of various heat exchangers.
“We have already ordered the company’s furnaces twice, and the current contract, although more than 25 years have passed since the first order, is the best proof that we are satisfied with the product quality, cooperation, and after-sales service.” said Andi Scott from PWR Advanced Cooling Technology.
“The current contract is special because we will deliver different solutions simultaneously to two continents but to the same customer,” commented Sławomir Woźniak, CEO of the SECO/WARWICK Group.
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One of the great benefits of a community of heat treaters is the opportunity to challenge old habits and look at new ways of doing things. Heat TreatToday’s101 Heat TreatTipsis another opportunity to learn the tips, tricks, and hacks shared by some of the industry’s foremost experts.
Today’s selection includes tips from Nutec Bickley on how to meet temperature uniformity requirements, and PhoenixTM on how to use “dash cam” tech in your furnace and address the technical challenges in thru-process temperature monitoring.
Heat TreatTip #6
A Products Eye View in the CAB Furnace Using Optical Profiling
PhoenixTM Optic System designed to perform optical profiling in a CAB furnace. A high resolution 4K video camera is protected by an innovative thermal barrier during its journey through the furnace.
Ever wished you could see what truly happens to your product as it travels through your conveyorized CAB furnace? Well now you can! Thru-process Optical profiling is similar to temperature profiling but instead of measuring the temperature of the product the system records a high-resolution video of the products journey through the furnace. It’s like running your car “Dash Cam” but through the furnace at over 1000°F. The resulting video “Optical Furnace Profile” shows process engineers so much more about how their process is operating without any need to stop, cool and dismantle the furnace. This allows safe routine furnace inspection without any of the problems of costly lost production and days of furnace down time. From the video evidence, the root cause of process problems, possibly already highlighted by running the temperature profile system, can be identified accurately and efficiently. Furnace structural damage or faulty furniture such as recirculating fans, control thermocouples or heater elements can be detected. Buildup of unwanted flux within the furnace can be monitored allowing accurate service and clean down schedules to be planned preventing future unplanned costly line stoppages. Damage or distortion of the conveyor belt compromising the safe smooth transfer of product through the furnace can be isolated with accuracy helping reduce corrective action turnaround times.
(PhoenixTM)
Heat TreatTip #7
3 Tips to Meet Temperature Uniformity Surveys
Adjust the burners with some excess air to improve convection.
Make sure that the low fire adjustment is as small as possible. Since low fire will provide very little energy, it will make the furnace pulse more frequently and this will improve heat transfer by convection and radiation.
Increase internal pressure. This will “push” heat to dead zones allowing you to increase your coldest thermocouples (typically near the floor and in the corners of the furnace).
(Nutec Bickley)
Heat TreatTip #12
Temperature Monitoring When the Pressure is On!
PhoenixTM Thermal Barrier used for Low Pressure Carburizing furnace monitoring. Shown fitted with a unique high-performance gas quench deflector.
Increasing in popularity in the carburizing market is the use of batch or semi-continuous batch low pressure carburizing furnaces. Following the diffusion, the product is transferred to a high-pressure gas quench chamber where the product is rapidly gas cooled using typically N2 or Helium at up to 20 bar pressure.
In such processes, the technical challenge for thru-process temperature monitoring is twofold. The thermal barrier must be capable of protecting against not only heat during the carburizing but very rapid pressure and temperature changes inflicted by the gas quench. From a data collection perspective to efficiently perform temperature uniformity surveys at different temperature levels in the furnace it is important that temperature readings can be reviewed live from the process but without need for trailing thermocouples.
During the gas quench, the barrier needs to be protected from Nitrogen N2(g) or Helium He(g) gas pressures up to 20 bar. Such pressures on the flat top of the barrier would create excessive stress to the metal work and internal insulation / logger. To protect the barrier therefore a separate gas quench deflector is used. The tapered top plate deflects the gas away from the barrier. The unique Phoenix design means the plate is supported on either four or six support legs. As it is not in contact with the barrier no force is applied directly to the barrier and the force is shared between the support legs. The quench shield in addition to protecting against pressure, also acts as an additional reflective IR shield reducing the rate if IR absorption by the barrier in the vacuum heating chamber.
