Early this month a new
Labmaster furnace was put into production at a lamp manu- facturer in the United States.
The small lamp components are processed in the Labmaster furnace to enhance the life and
performance of the products. Due to the small size of the components and the need for a
versatile system to support their research and development efforts, the customer selected
a Labmaster model 1100-4080-W4 for precise, well controlled, high temperature processing.
Thermal Technology worked closely with the customer to develop the
specifications for the furnace. The system is based on a standard refractory metal vacuum
furnace with a tungsten heating element 4.0" diameter x 8.0" high, rated for a
maximum temperature greater than 2800°C in vacuum, hydrogen, nitrogen or inert gases.
Temperature is controlled by a Honeywell two-channel programmable
controller. A type C thermocouple is the control sensor for operation at temperatures up
to 1600°C. When the furnace is operated above 1600°C, the thermocouple is automatically
retracted by a pneumatic actuator and control is switched to a Ircon two-color pyrometer.
Process parameters are recorded by a Honeywell 4 channel digital process recorder.
Process gases are controlled by Thermal Technology's GSS-97 combustible
gas control and safety system. The GSS-97 system controls hydrogen and other process gases
such as nitrogen, argon and helium. During operation, the system will detect the
development of various unsafe conditions (should they occur), change the operating mode to
a safe condition and activate the appropriate alarm(s). The system includes a dual element
pilot flame starter for H2 burn-off and a current monitoring circuit. |
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The vacuum pumping system consists of a Varian Turbo-V550
turbomolecular pump and a Varian 300 dry scroll forepump for oilless evacuation of the
furnace chamber. This system allows the furnace to operate at temperature with vacuum
levels in the 10-7 torr scale.
For more information contact:
Thermal Technology
1911 Airport Blvd.
Santa Rosa, California 95403
Phone: (707) 571-1911
Fax: (707) 571-8098
email: sales@thermaltechnology.com
www.ThermalTechnology.com |
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