Gasbarre Thermal Processing Systems rebuilt and shipped a 24-inch, four-zone continuous mesh-belt brazing furnace for an automotive-parts supplier in Mexico. The rebuild included a new 330 stainless steel muffle, new silicon-carbide heating elements, new cooling sections and new furnace controls to meet CQI-9 requirements. The CQI-9 controls package includes data acquisition, preventive-maintenance alerts, remote connectivity, furnace parameter trending and temperature deviation alarms. Gasbarre will provide ongoing service and support for the company in Mexico.

The same torch can be used for each process (brazing, braze welding and welding), but the torch-handling techniques involved – and the training – are VERY different.

Dan Kay fields a reader question about the differences between brazing and braze welding.

We discussed a problem last time, and we will look at the solution today.

How can I keep a tube centered in a fitting for brazing when the dimensions of the tubes and fittings have such broad, loose commercial tolerances and the tube tends to “wobble” inside the fitting?

Abbott Furnace Company received an order from a global automotive supplier for a continuous-belt, stainless steel brazing furnace. It is scheduled to be installed in Mexico in the second quarter of 2020. Abbott Furnace will design, manufacture and install the five-zone, electrically heated furnace, which is rated for 2150°F (1175°C) and includes a 30-inch-wide belt and silicon-carbide muffle.

Solar Manufacturing shipped a vacuum furnace to a company in Virginia that services the tool-and-die industry. The furnace, which has a load weight capacity up to 250 pounds and a maximum operating temperature of 2400°F (1315°C), will be used for solution annealing, aging and brazing. It includes a graphite-insulated hot zone and the SolarVac Essentials control system.

You mentioned that your brazing cycle was such that the molten BFM was held at brazing temperature for 10 minutes.

Aluminum brazing is a growing industry around the world today, and I teach a lot about this topic in each of my brazing training seminars. This article discusses dealing with the oxide as well as brazing aluminum to stainless steel.

Wall Colmonoy will offer a spring session of its Modern Furnace Brazing School May 12-14 at its Aerobraze Brazing Engineering Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Engineers, technicians, quality managers, production managers and others will participate in hands-on practical applications while learning about brazing technology from experienced engineers.