L&L Special Furnace Co. shipped a floor-standing box furnace to an aerospace company in eastern Canada. The furnace will be used for curing and bonding ceramic coatings to various steel bodies primarily deployed in the aerospace industry. This process provides extra strength to aerospace parts that are subject to various temperatures and stresses under normal operating conditions. The furnace has an effective work zone of 22 inches wide x 16 inches high x 20 inches deep. A horizontal door with ceramic hearth and support bricks is included to incorporate the customer’s loading system. Nickel-chrome elements that are resistant to any potential contamination the process may cause are used. Heat shields provide a safe-to-touch case temperature under operating conditions.

The furnace case is sealed for use with inert atmosphere to help reduce oxidation of the parts. The furnace has a manual inert flow panel to control the inert-gas flow into the oven. It includes a high-convection fan for uniformity of ±10°F (5.5°C) above 500-1875°F (260-1023°C). A 4-inch-diameter venturi with a variable-frequency drive evacuates outgassing that occurs during the curing of the ceramics to the steel part. The system is completely automated through the program control logic.