As society begins to slowly reopen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, equipment that has been sitting idle will need to be brought back online.
In this Heat Treat Today Original Content feature, Abbott Furnace gives us a few important considerations to ensure a successful return to operation.
1) Reference the manufacturer supplied manual for specific information regarding the re-starting of the equipment.
2) Be sure that water is flowing to all of the cooling chambers of the furnace.
3) Check that the belt is on and moving smoothly through the furnace. Watch for jerking or jumping of the belt that would indicate an issue with the drive or pathway through the furnace.
4) Enable the ramp mode in your controls to limit the heating rate of each zone to 55C (100F) per hour or less. If the furnace does not have a ramp mode, be sure to manually adjust the set-points of each zone so as not to exceed the suggested ramp rate.
5) Once the furnace reaches 150C (300F) , purge the furnace with nitrogen and allow the nitrogen to flow as the furnace continues to heat up.
6) When the zones of the high heat section of the furnace are above 760C (1400F), combustibles may be introduced and the furnace can continue to be ramped to the final processing set-points, once the pilots are ignited.
7) Allow the furnace atmosphere to re-condition the furnace, clean the belt, and stabilize.
Loading scrap metal that is free of oils, grease, and rust will help the furnace to “clean-up” and stabilize.
