Consolidated Engineering Co. (CEC), Kennesaw, Ga., announces that it has received a purchase order for a four-zone natural gas-fired chain conveyor solution furnace for the T4 treatment of aluminum high-pressure die castings. To be installed in a casting facility in Mexico, the furnace will heat treat automobile shock towers. The system includes a solution furnace, air quench, age oven, cool unit, and four load/unload gantry cranes, and will process the castings at a rate of 90 castings per hour.
High pressure die casting, in which molten aluminum is injected into a metal die, now accounts for more than half of all aluminum castings worldwide. This manufacturing method has shown to be particularly suitable for making complex part shapes for automobiles.
CEC manufactures a variety of industrial chain furnaces that allow for efficient conveyance of the product during heat treatment. A chain type furnace may describe one of several methods moving the casting or forging through the furnace.
The chain furnace concept allows the product to go directly into the furnace without a basket, rack, or tray. Wasted heat for heating up the tray or basket is eliminated. The processed part can come directly from the casting dies or the forging press without cool-down. CEC can automate a foundry or forge shop to the current state of the art for heat treatment with its broad array of chain furnace configurations.
