Benchtop Oven for Heat Treating with Nitrogen

R. Hueter Co, Beverly, Mass., a CNC machine shop specializing in male and female RF connector contact production, has added a Lucifer Furnaces’ heat treating oven to meet their growing heat treating needs. Adam Hueter, operations manager, chose Lucifer Furnaces because of their reputation for delivering high-quality products at an affordable price.  

Model 42GT-H12 was customized as a benchtop unit. With a chamber size of 9” x 12” x 12”, this oven is insulated with 5” of both insulating firebrick and mineral wool backup. The 4 KW power allows fast heat up to 1200° F. GT ovens, built for operation using inert atmosphere, are crafted with a continuously welded outer steel shell and gasketed roof plate. 

A strong seal on the double-pivot door is achieved with a square gasket around the door perimeter to form a tight seal to the oven face-place. Swing bolts with T handles make clamping easy. The stainless-steel liner baffles the work chamber from the side wall heating elements and directs the air flow horizontally through the chamber for uniform heating. 

Hueter choose a Honeywell DC2500 temperature controller with a soak timer to shut off heating elements at the end of a programmed cycle in addition to a flow meter mounted and piped to the oven for easy connection its atmosphere supply. Hueter plans to use the furnace primarily around 600 °F for 2-hour cycles to achieve a specific Rockwell hardness with small lots of Becu pins under a nitrogen atmosphere to reduce surface oxidation in order to achieve a scale free, bright finish. After installation, Adam noted, “Right now the oven is running like a dream. I am completely satisfied with my Lucifer Oven and your team has given me great support along the way.”