[May 2010]  Consarc, an Inductotherm Group company, has developed a new range of induction melting furnaces for processing ferrous and nonferrous metals under vacuum in the liquid state.

The Vacuum Cap (VCAP) furnace is designed for induction melting a solid charge in an air atmosphere, with the final refining stage under vacuum.  Once the atmosphere is evacuated, the degassing procedure and intensified C-O reaction allows removal of undesirable gases, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen to much lower levels than would be possible in air.  The final pouring of the metal into the transfer/casting ladle is performed in air or under protective atmosphere in inert gas.

The VCAP furnaces are available to suit a wide variety of melting applications in sizes ranging 80kg - 20 tons.  Typical applications might include low and high carbon steels, tool and die steels, stainless steels, nickel-based alloys, cobalt-based alloys and nonferrous alloys.

Some typical processes that can be performed in the VCAP range include:

• Air melting from solid charge
• Alloy homogenization and chemistry adjustment
• Vacuum degassing (hydrogen and nitrogen removal)
• Reduction of low vapor pressure tramp elements e.g. Pb, Cd, Bi, Zn.
• Deoxidation using combination of vacuum and C-O reaction
• Decarburization-Intensified C-O reaction at low pressure
• Desulphurization

Some of the more important advantages from VCAP operation are:

• Improvement of mechanical properties, such as yield strength, ductility, impact strength, fatigue, and stress rupture elevated temperature properties.
• Improvement of technological characteristics, like hot workability, weldability and machinability.
• Better micro-cleanliness due to strong carbon deoxidation and smaller residual inclusions.
• Reduces scatter in product properties and characteristics
• Fewer rejections

Consarc Corporation has over 40 years of technical experience specializing in design and manufacture of a wide range of advanced vacuum and controlled atmosphere furnaces for the processing of metals, specialty alloys, and engineered materials.  Furnaces include:  Vacuum Arc Remelting (VAR), Electroslag Remelting (ESR), Vacuum Induction Melting (VIM), Vacuum Precision Investment Casting (VPIC), Induction Skull Melting (ISM), Induction Vacuum Ladle (IVL), Vacuum brazing, Vacuum De-Oiling, Vacuum Heating and custom Vacuum and Controlled Atmosphere Systems.

Click here to visit Consarc's website:  www.consarc.com/pages/news.html