What Are the Common Furnace Types Used in Galvanizing Production Lines?

What Are the Common Furnace Types Used in Galvanizing Production Lines?

The heat treatment furnace in the galvanizing production line is one of the key equipment to ensure that the final product has excellent performance. According to different production process requirements, different types of heat treatment furnaces can be selected to meet specific technical requirements. The following are several commonly used heat treatment furnaces on galvanizing production lines and their characteristics.

1. Horizontal annealing furnace

The earliest annealing furnace used for hot-dip galvanizing lines was a horizontal annealing furnace, which had a simple structure and easy operation, and was suitable for traditional, small-scale production lines. However, with the development of technology and the increasing demand for product quality, simple horizontal annealing furnaces are gradually being replaced by more advanced furnace types.

2. Vertical annealing furnace

Compared to horizontal annealing furnaces, vertical annealing furnaces have the advantages of smaller footprint and better temperature uniformity. Vertical annealing furnaces have been widely used in modern continuous hot-dip galvanizing production lines. It can effectively control the atmosphere composition inside the furnace (such as hydrogen ratio, dew point, residual oxygen, etc.), which is crucial for ensuring good adhesion of the zinc layer.

3. L-shaped annealing furnace

The L-shaped annealing furnace combines the advantages of horizontal and vertical types and is suitable for large-scale production. Its design can better utilize space and help improve the temperature distribution uniformity of the strip steel throughout the annealing process.

4. Foldable horizontal annealing furnace

The folding horizontal annealing furnace is an innovative design aimed at further optimizing the space utilization and efficiency of traditional horizontal annealing furnaces. Through clever design, this type of furnace can achieve higher output and better quality control within a limited space.

5. Muffle furnace

In certain special circumstances, such as when dealing with small or standard parts, a square crucible hot-dip galvanizing furnace or muffle furnace may be used. This type of furnace is usually used for periodic operations, with a maximum working temperature of around 500 ℃, and is very suitable for local heating or hot-dip galvanizing treatment of small objects.

6. Indoor heat treatment furnace

For the heat treatment of small and medium-sized components, various types of chamber heat treatment furnaces can be used. This type of furnace has high flexibility and can adjust internal environmental parameters according to specific needs to achieve ideal heat treatment effects.

7. Underbody heat treatment furnace

Car bottom heat treatment furnace is suitable for large-scale processing of large-sized workpieces, with a large bottom area (such as a car bottom heat treatment furnace with a bottom area of 12.24m ²), which can load a large number of products for heat treatment at once.

8. Square crucible hot-dip galvanizing furnace

The square crucible hot-dip galvanizing furnace is an energy-saving periodic operation furnace, mainly used for hot-dip galvanizing of small metal parts, standard parts, or large and long metal parts. Its characteristics are compact structure and low energy consumption.

The selection of the appropriate type of heat treatment furnace depends on multiple factors, including but not limited to production line size, product specifications, cost budget, and expected quality standards. For modern large-scale production of continuous hot-dip galvanizing lines, vertical annealing furnaces or L-shaped annealing furnaces have become the preferred choice due to their efficient energy utilization and good temperature control capabilities; For some specific application scenarios, it may be more suitable to use muffle furnaces, square crucible hot-dip galvanizing furnaces, or other forms of specialized heat treatment equipment. Regardless of the type of heat treatment furnace selected, strict monitoring of the atmosphere conditions inside the furnace is necessary in practical applications, such as maintaining residual oxygen levels below 10ppm and dew points below -40 ℃, to ensure that the surface quality and mechanical properties of the final product meet the requirements of relevant industry standards.