The main consequences of poorly executed processing are equipment with inadequate performance and low product reliability. Analyzing the failures in the heat treatment is fundamental to ensure the efficiency of the production process and is indispensable to guarantee the quality of the parts.

Breakage, cracking, tension, granulation, and separation are just some of the unwanted effects of heat treatment on metals and other materials. Equipment that is responsible for too many non-conformities loses its value and undermines customer confidence and loyalty.

Knowing the potential accuracy and control of an equipment is part of the monitoring process and is considered an important preventive action, which avoids losses of parts, energy, time, and labor. Therefore, this article lists three of the main failures that occur during heat treatment and how to prevent them from causing performance problems and increasing your operating costs.

 

Air infiltration

Air infiltration into industrial furnaces is one of the most common failures in heat treatment. The air that enters the environment during the process reduces the temperature, which negatively influences the operation in two ways: It threatens product integrity and raises equipment operating cost, which needs more energy to reach the ideal temperature while trying to recover from this failure.

 

Insulation failures in the heat treatment furnaces

Insulation failures in industrial furnaces can cause air infiltration, but not only this problem. Insulation also ensures that the temperature in each treatment step is reached and maintained, and that the energy source is used efficiently. When equipment is working uninterruptedly on a production line, heat losses increase the operation cost.

The insulation must also be efficient in the other stages, respecting the heat increasing and decreasing time, according to the material to be treated and its purpose.

 

Poorly calibrated equipment

The expected qualities of a material that goes through a heat treatment process depend on highly precise programs and temperatures. Small variations can cause flaws in the molecular structure of the parts and put at risk their integrity and their ability to be processed. The user may be suspicious about the calibration of the temperature monitoring equipment and return the equipment.

To extend the guarantees for heat treating equipment, it is important to know the quality of the controllers and sensors inserted into the machinery. For manufacturers of industrial furnaces, using controllers and sensors of high performance and precision prevents failures in the field that can cause additional costs in after-sales.

The main strategy to avoid failures in heat treatment is to monitor the process, using well-calibrated and efficient sensors and controllers for the type of inputs the company works with. The technology applied needs to have guarantees and certifications that promote reliability before, during, and after the use of the furnaces.

 

Read more:

4 daily use products that undergo heat treatment and you didn’t know it