Heat treatment furnaces for metals:
To obtain a high-quality finished product, metals must undergo specific heat treatments. Processes such as hardening and case-hardening require special furnaces that can improve the mechanical properties of metals, increasing their hardness and strength.
Power controllers are essential in these processes, as they ensure precise control of the temperature and power output within the ovens.
CD Automation offers state-of-the-art solutions with its REVO family of power controllers. Our thyristor units are particularly effective because they are designed to maintain constant temperatures and handle fluctuations in mains voltage, thus ensuring uniform, high-quality heat treatment.
The use of CD Automation power controllers not only improves energy efficiency, but also the reliability of thermal processes. With CD Automation, industries can count on technologically advanced tools that ensure excellent results and a significant reduction in operating costs.
Types of furnaces and heating elements used in the heat treatment of metals:
all machinery for which CD Automation offers advanced solutions
Silicon carbide elements
- Electrically heated rotary hearth furnaces up to 1300°C
- High-temperature laboratory furnaces with SiC rod heating up to 1600°C
- Sintering furnaces
Kanthal Super elements
- High-temperature laboratory furnaces with MoSi2 rod heating up to 1800°C
- Sintering Furnaces with Molybdenum Disilicide Heating
Spiral resistors on tubular support
- Bogie hearth furnaces
- Chamber furnaces for continuous processes
- Electric holding furnaces for melting and temperature maintenance
- Convection ovens
- Drop-bottom furnaces
- Chamber dryers for foundries
- Laboratory ovens
- Muffle furnaces
- Preheating ovens
- Chamber Furnaces for Annealing, Hardening and Brazing
- Electric crucible furnaces for melting aluminium and ladles
- Low pressure aluminium casting machines
Infrared emitters
- Steel Hardening Furnaces Preheating Phase
Graphite heating elements
- High vacuum furnaces, normally placed on the secondary side of a single-phase or three-phase transformer
Furnaces for the heat treatment of metals:
learn more about REVO C 3PH power controllers from CD Automation
For metal heat treatment processes, CD Automation offers the REVO C 3PH universal power controller. This high-performance thyristor unit is suitable for all SCR applications, including inductive loads and high-temperature furnace resistors. Fully configurable via software, it is ideal for Industry 4.0 thanks to integrated Ethernet IP and Profinet communication.
Revo C 3PH: technical specifications
- Controlled phases: 3
- Current range 30 to 2100A
- Voltage range 480V, 600V and 690V +/-10%
- Input: 0:20 e 4:20mA, 0:10V, SSR and ModBus as std and different Field Bus (see Order Code)
- Firing: Half Cycle, Single Cycle, Burst Firing, Delayed Triggering, Phase Angle and Soft Start
- USB: integrated port for configuration in safety mode (no load and auxiliary voltage needed). Unit powered through USB
- 100 kA: Short Circuit Current Rating (SCCR) up to 600V
- Approvals: compliant with CE+EMC; EAC; cUL from 30A to 500A, UL from 600A to 2100A
CD Automation’s REVEX power controllers are designed for industrial applications, with particular effectiveness in the heat treatment of metals, steel hardening and metallurgy. These thyristor units offer precise power control, supporting currents from 30A to 280A for single-phase, two-phase and three-phase configurations, and operating voltages from 480V to 600V.
Firing modes include Single Cycle, Half Cycle, Burst Firing, Phase Angle and Delayed Triggering, providing flexibility in thermal control.
Communication via Modbus® RS485 protocol, together with analogue and digital inputs and a USB port for programming, allows easy integration and customisation in industrial processes. Thyristor Configurator software facilitates fast and accurate configuration, optimising efficiency in metal heat treatment processes.
Advanced management of furnaces and heating elements for heat treatment of metals:
discover the SiC touch panel
CD Automation has developed many applications dedicated to drive particular loads and one of these application is for Silicon Carbide (SiC) heating elements.
Our Philosopy is to use standard Thyristor units with serial communication and to implement the control strategy inside the intelligent panel.
This system consisting of Touch Panel coupled with CD Automation universal units is able to work with all types of firing and control modes. This eliminates all risks involved in selecting the type of control.
This solution gives many advantages
- The Thyristor Units are standard and easy to be found everywhere
- An external communication port capable of connecting to commonly used PLCs is available
- In addition, an Ethernet port may be available on the Touch Panel
- The human-machine interface is user-friendly and two different ways of driving SiC elements can be selected:
– Burst Firing with automatic adjustment of Power Limit
– Phase Angle with transfer from voltage to Power Control Mode
Features
- Automatic configuration and tuning of the thyristor unit
- Automatic tuning of Power Control mode VxI
- Alarm at approaching end of service life of heating elements
- Automatic change of control mode from Voltage to VxI when heating element is suitable
- Automatic tuning procedure of Heater Break alarm to diagnose partial or total load failure
- Fuse failure and short-circuited thyristor diagnostics
- Recent and historical trends of the following variables:
– Power density W/Cm2
– Load Voltage
– Load Current
– Power to the Load
– Trend of the new resistance curve
– Trend of the current resistance curve
– Time elapsed since start-up
All features are in line with SANDVIK’s requirements for optimal element durability.
Learn more by watching the interview with Demis Pigozzi of AGIBI Progetti, together with Simone Brizzi and Stefano Colombo, respectively CEO and R&D Director of CD Automation, where they discuss challenges, innovations and future prospects.
