Crucible Type Tilting Furnaces for Copper, Aluminium, Zinc

Silcarb manufactures Hydraulic Tilting Type Furnaces with energy-efficient Silicon Carbide Heating Elements as the heat source. These furnaces range from 200kgs of aluminium up to 1000kgs of aluminium. Copper furnaces from 200kgs up to 1 Ton capacities are manufactured.

The temperature is accurately controlled using high-quality PID controllers along with phase angle firing thyristor drives.

Crucible furnaces are small capacity furnaces used for small melting applications or exclusively as holding furnaces. The metal is placed or poured into a ceramic crucible which is contained in a circular furnace that is fired by a gas burner or heated by electric elements. The heating fuel is typically coke, oil, gas or electricity. Gas-fired crucible style furnaces offer the advantage of a high-volume melt capacity per square foot of floor space required. They are perhaps the most flexible of all furnace styles. Less affected by frequent cycling, they offer faster start-ups and temperature recovery.

Silcarb has in excess of 1100 crucible furnaces currently operating in India and around the world.

Silcarb manufactures crucible furnaces with the primary heat source being electric, gas, heavy fuel. These crucible furnaces can be used for melting aluminium, copper, brass and in fact most nonferrous metals. In the electric range of crucible furnaces that silcarb manufactures the heat source usually is the silicon carbide heater which is manufactured in house. These heaters are highly energy-efficient and ensure energy consumption as low as 11 units of energy consumed to hold 500 kgs of molten metal.

The heaters in combination with silcarb’s refractory insulation of microporous insulation and low-density insulation make this furnace very low energy, low capital, low maintenance furnace. The average life expected out of this combination of refractory insulation and heaters is usually 5-7 years of continuous operation.

The same combination of refractory insulation is also extended to our fuel-fired (gas, heavy fuel) systems. Combustion systems used in the silcarb furnace is completely tailor-made to suit nonferrous applications.

Recuperates, direct flame systems are used in order to increase efficiency. Flue paths inside the furnace are elongated to get maximum “time spent” in the furnace hot zone. Silcarb has a unique “crucible failure” alarm inbuilt in all its crucible furnaces as a safety feature.

All automated control systems with molten metal temperature measurement systems allow the aluminium temperature to be maintained in tight tolerances.

Silcarb has a Hugh number of both electric and gas-fired tilting furnaces operating in the non-ferrous fields of aluminium,zinc,copper and brass. These furnaces have a silicon carbide crucible as the metal hold pot. These silicon carbide crucibles are spouted to allow easy flow of metal. The furnaces are tilted at the “lip” axis to allow for metal collection at a single point during the tilt. Best in class hydraulics are used as the tilt mechanisms where high temperature viteon seals along with dampers are used for smooth tilting. various safety interlocks such as “electricity failure” in the middle of a metal pour have been addressed in our furnaces with on field experience gained over years and hundreds of furnaces manufactured. Crucible locking with refractory at the right areas is one of the aspects perfected in the silcarb make aluminium tilting furnace. When upwards of one tonne of hot liquid is tilted on the lip axis every 45 minutes, tremendous stresses, both mechanical and thermal act on the ceramic crucibles. The right angles and pressures of locking the crucible ensure the longevity of this expensive consumable. Rigid frame structures and phosphor bronze bearings specially manufactured in the silcarb in house machine center ensure a warranted 10 year service life of the tilt system. All cabling used in our tilt furnaces are high temperature silicon sleeved cables which tilt along with the furnace. Silcarb makes special tilting furnaces for low-density chip melting where accurate temperature control is required.Option nitrogen purging on the surface ensures very little surface oxidation. Stirring mechanisms are available on request to create a vortex for the chips to submerge or a slow vortex can be created for the purpose of alloying.

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